Ex-Blackwater CEO Hearts O’Reilly Plan To Unleash Mercenaries On Terrorists

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

After floating the idea of creating a giant mercenary army to fight terrorists around the world on Tuesday, Bill O’Reilly had the founder of Blackwater on his show to rubber stamp the grandiose plan.

“It’s possible and doable,” said Erik Prince, former CEO of the notorious private security firm Blackwater USA.

He went on to address some possible objections: “There’s three arguments against this, there’s reliability, accountability and cost.”

But O’Reilly quickly waved off concern over the cost of raising a 25,000 man army, saying countries like Saudi Arabia would “kick in” to fund the force.

As for accountability, O’Reilly quickly noted that four Blackwater contractors currently face charges for killing at least 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007, but that overall, a paramilitary force would be trustworthy.

“Y’know, in war, bad things happen inevitably, but there is control, there’s a central control over such a force,” O’Reilly said.

Prince, who sold the company in 2010 after stepping down as CEO in 2009, went on to compare O’Reilly’s giant mobile mercenary unit to the French nobility assisting America in the Revolutionary War.

“It’s as part of American history as apple pie,” he said, citing the involvement of the Marquis de Lafayette and Rochambeau during the Revolution.

Watch the segment below, courtesy of Media Matters:

h/t Media Matters

Latest Livewire
25
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for mantan mantan says:

    went on to compare O’Reilly’s giant mobile mercenary unit to the French nobility

    Didn’t Prince mean to say Freedom Fry nobility also known as common rabble, Marquis de Loofaette?

  2. “There’s three arguments against this, there’s reliability, accountability and cost.”

    All three are fantasy crushers for small minded men like you guys.

  3. The guy is fishing around for another billion dollar no-bid contact. Sorry, Obama is smarter then that.

  4. Avatar for pine pine says:

    There you go Bill,Mr Prince has your back,but who has his ?

  5. Avatar for meri meri says:

    How does the board of Evian feel about using Evian watercannons on them?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

19 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for sooner Avatar for meri Avatar for tomconoley Avatar for bigpoppajumbo Avatar for pickwick Avatar for Patriott Avatar for trippin Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for henric668 Avatar for mantan Avatar for slagathor Avatar for sherlock1 Avatar for grandpoobah Avatar for borisjimbo Avatar for astralfire Avatar for magical_panda Avatar for pine Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for darrtown Avatar for madisontruth Avatar for mspender

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: