Erik Prince

Erik Prince is the founder of private military corporation Blackwater USA. In February 2009, shortly after Blackwater changed its name to "Xe," Prince announced he was stepping down as the company's CEO, but would remain its chair. "I'm a little worn out by the whole thing, the politics of it all," he said.

Prince is a former Navy Seal and a "billionaire right-wing fundamentalist Christian from a powerful Michigan Republican family. A major Republican campaign contributor, he interned in the White House of President George H.W. Bush and campaigned for Pat Buchanan in 1992. He founded the mercenary firm Blackwater USA in 1997 with Gary Jackson, another former Navy SEAL."

Prince's father, Edgar Prince, and Gary Bauer started the Family Research Council, where Prince interned. Prince's sister, Betsy DeVos, is a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party. (RightWeb profile)

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Private military company
 * War profiteering
 * Xe

External resources

 * Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater book.
 * James Meek, Book review: "Hooyah!!", London Review of Books, August 2, 2007.


 * Erik Prince, Political Friendster.
 * Campaign Contribution Search: Erik Prince, NewsMeat.com.
 * Erik Prince in the Wikipedia.
 * "The Far Right in West Michigan: Erik Prince," Media Mouse.
 * Robert Greenwald, Iraq For Sale, BraveNewFilms.org.
 * "The Tale of a Prince - A War Profiteer," Iraq For Sale.org.

External articles

 * Jeremy Scahill, "Blackwater Down," The Nation, September 21, 2005 (posted)/October 10, 2005 (issue).
 * Joseph Neff and Jay Price, "Series: The Bridge: Chapter 4: A business gets a start. Erik Prince thought he saw an opportunity as the U.S. military began to shrink. He was right," The News & Observer (N.C.), November 28, 2005.
 * "Blackwater's top brass," The Virginian-Pilot, July 24, 2006.
 * "Q&A: Blackwater's founder on the record," The Virginian-Pilot, July 24, 2006.
 * Robert Greenwald, "Erik Prince, Blackwater War Profiteer, Attacks Iraq for Sale," The Huffington Post, September 25, 2006.
 * "Why Isn't Republican War Profiteer Erik Prince in Prison?" DownWithTyranny! Blogspot, September 26, 2006.
 * "Blackwater USA's Erik Prince & Dick Devos are Brother-in-Laws at Arms," The Disembodied Head of Dick Devos Blog, October 20, 2006.
 * "Analysis: Erik Prince says 'Nothing mercenary about Blackwater activities'," Media Mouse, May 16, 2007.
 * "Jeremy Scahill Responds to Blackwater CEO Erik Prince, Visits Blackwater Sites and Prince’s Hometown," Democracy Now!, May 23, 2007.
 * Bill Berkowitz, "Blackwater Blues for Dead Iraqi Civilians," Dissident Voice, September 19, 2007.
 * Jeremy Scahill, "Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder," The Nation, August 4, 2009.
 * Adam Ciralsky, "Tycoon, Contractor, Soldier, Spy", Vanity Fair, January 2010.