
Xinjiang: Ex-Blackwater chief's security firm linked to China training centre - seagullz
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-47089665
======
ohaideredevs
If anyone is interested, Erik Prince is also in Saudi Arabia:

[https://www.google.com/search?q=blackwater+saudi+arabia&oq=b...](https://www.google.com/search?q=blackwater+saudi+arabia&oq=blackwater+saudi+arabia&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l2.6421j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)

He seems to have his hands in a LOT of things. Blackwater alone was a big
deal, but the more interesting part is that it got re-organized as Academi and
seems like into other companies as well. In short, it was never de facto shut
down, or reduced in scope, at all.

~~~
hd4
It's not really a coincidence that this person's companies are linked to
Muslim regions or where there are conflicts in Muslim nations.

[https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-
america/2009/08/06/er...](https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-
america/2009/08/06/erik-prince-and-the-last-crusade)

>In an affidavit lodged with a court in Virginia, one of the witnesses said
that Mr Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating
Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe." The statement continues

>To that end, Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared
his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every
available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs
based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.

>Mr. Prince operated his companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded
the destruction of Iraqi life. For example, Mr. Prince's executives would
openly speak about going over to Iraq to "lay Hajiis out on cardboard." Going
to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince's
employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis
and other Arabs, such as "ragheads" or "hajiis."

~~~
tivert
If that's his view, he's pretty stupid to operate in China. It isn't very
friendly to Christians either:

[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/world/asia/china-
christma...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/world/asia/china-christmas-
church-crackdown.html)

------
nabla9
The immediate shutdown of FBI’s war crimes unit is easier to understand under
the light of these type revelations.

Mercenaries, Saudis and others have incentive to lobby for shutdown because
the unit is a threat to the individuals within the United State who may have
committed these types of crimes.

~~~
pcbro141
Additionally, Erik Prince (ex-Blackwater chief) held informal roles in the
Trump transition team, establishing channels with various foreign governments
(including clients of his). He has also been an informal advisor to the White
House. His sister is also Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

------
sremani
I am currently reading "Civilian Warrior" by Erik Prince

[https://www.amazon.com/Civilian-Warriors-Inside-
Blackwater-U...](https://www.amazon.com/Civilian-Warriors-Inside-Blackwater-
Unsung/dp/B00GRBO9NU/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=erik+prince&qid=1550074912&s=gateway&sr=8-1)

For those who want to know or understand beyond the headlines and news
articles.

~~~
tivert
> I am currently reading "Civilian Warrior" by Erik Prince

> For those who want to know or understand beyond the headlines and news
> articles.

Something like that is probably only valuable to understand how Erik Prince
conceives of himself. It's highly likely to be a self-serving portrayal, so I
don't think it's a great help for someone who wants to "know or understand
beyond the headlines and news articles." It's more like something a historian
could use to mine unindented admissions and small facts that only become
valuable when carefully combined with other sources.

------
walrus01
Many previous articles in the nytimes:

[https://www.google.ca/search?q=nytimes+xinjiang](https://www.google.ca/search?q=nytimes+xinjiang)

Let's not forget that a member of the UN security council is apparently
running prison camps for an ethnic/religious minority.

Foreign journalists are severely restricted from working in Xinjiang.

~~~
skytayloriii
> a member of the UN security council is apparently running prison camps for
> an ethnic/religious minority.

You can say the name China lol China isn't scary like voldemort.

In fact, China is a paper tiger desperately trying to oppress its citizens
because its economy is collapsing.

China's import fell 10% in january, and expect to drop 20% in february.
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-
trade/china...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-trade/china-
january-exports-imports-seen-falling-again-in-blow-to-global-growth-reuters-
poll-idUSKCN1Q10D5).

It is in a long term decline, says morgan stanley, as it will have a account
deficit not seen since 1993. [https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/china-economy-
morgan-stanley...](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/china-economy-morgan-
stanley-predicts-chinas-account-deficit-in-2019.html).

Home sales in January declined 56%! across 14 major cities
[https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-
china/article/218583...](https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-
china/article/2185836/china-new-home-sales-decline-56-cent-during-lunar-new-
year)

Chinese firms are suffering from a wave of default. The government is propping
up state firms and squeezing profits out of the private firms.
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-
debt/debt-g...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-debt/debt-
guarantee-tangle-chinas-private-firms-hit-by-default-contagion-idUSKCN1Q107W)

It will continue its internal oppression because it has no chance of winning
any war against the West or any of its neighbors. However, perhaps after some
building up of its navy and airforce in a few years, it will _think_ it has a
shot.

~~~
plink
Your Voldemort reference was genuinely hilarious. It also evokes a real
unnameableness embedded in this subject: that US courts have determined it
slanderous to speak the term "ponzi" in describing the DeVos family's great
American fortune.

~~~
WillPostForFood
_US courts have determined it slanderous to speak the term "ponzi" in
describing the DeVos family's great American fortune_

Do you have a citation for that? People criticize Amway as a pyramid or Ponzi
scheme all the time.

~~~
plink
Touché! Such a citation would help elevate my post out of the realm of mere
glibness. I must apologize, though, that it wasn’t a court case but an FTC
decision:

[https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/commission...](https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/commission_decision_volumes/volume-93/ftc_volume_decision_93_january_-
_june_1979pages_618-738.pdf)

On a related point, I am unable to prove, owing to the destruction of many
DeVos family documents in the Great Fire of Massachusetts’s port town of
Innsmouth, that Betsy DeVos’s real maiden name is humanly unpronounceable and
that the Blackwater Company is a cryptic nod to Lake R’lyeh.

