What Do Erik Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and Elliott Abrams Have in Common?
Win Without War
(July 24, 2021) — A decade ago, employees of Erik Prince’s company, Blackwater, killed 17 unarmed civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle. Prince was never held to account. So how has one of the world’s worst warmongers used his unjustifiable impunity the past few years?
Time Magazine recently exposed his attempts tobuild a $10 BILLION private army and weapons industry in Ukraine. [1] It’s yet another grim reminder that Prince — and too many others — never face accountability for their litany of bad acts. Instead, they fail up and continue destroying innocent lives across the globe.
Now seven months into office, the Biden administration has yet to bring the full force of the law to bear on those implicated in corrupt acts during the past four years. It’s clear that decades of impunity will continue — unless we say ENOUGH.
Win Without War is committed to pursuing accountability for warmongers like Prince. We’re calling on Congress for urgently needed investigation and oversight, pushing President Biden to take overdue action, and keeping people’s stories alive in the media. This work doesn’t make us popular and it won’t make the headlines, so we need your support if we want to keep it up.
Because it’s not just Erik Prince who gets away with war crimes. Elliott Abrams, who helped the initial cover up of the El Mozote massacre in El Salvador in the 1980s, failed up into the role of Special Envoy to Iran and Venezuela under Trump.
And even after the obvious — that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was guilty of approving the murder and dismemberment of Washington Postcolumnist Jamal Khashoggi — was made public months ago, largely nothing changed.
There’s been no targeted sanctions, no assets frozen, no travel bans imposed on high-level individuals like MbS. People get worse consequences for driving too fast, for exercising their right to protest, and for attempting to claim asylum at the southern US border.
Justice Seems to Be Intentionally Avoided
We see it with plea deals and pardons. It’s mirrored in the way the United States engages with international law and treaties. Another easy example: continued US refusals to participate in the International Criminal Court — a court designed to investigate and prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
The truth is there can be no moving on, no healing, and often no stopping the next horror without REAL ACCOUNTABILITY. And our team at Win Without War is pushing day-in and day-out to hold the warmongers accountable.
From holding war criminals to account, to blocking paramilitary training for Saudi special forces, and banning the private funding of National Guard troops, our work doesn’t end until the light of day exposes and stops the horrific abuses of power and privilege that perpetuate war and suffering.
With every dollar you give, call you make, letter you send, and signature you add to a petition, you are showing your shared commitment to building a safer and more just world along with us.
ACTION: Can you help us hold Erik Prince and other warmongers to account?
Thank you for working for peace,
Amy, Sara, Kate, and the Win Without War team
[1] Time Magazine, “Exclusive: Documents Reveal Erik Prince’s $10 Billion Plan to Make Weapons and Create a Private Army in Ukraine“
Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Had Plans to
Create a $10 Billion Private Army in Ukraine, Time Reports
KYIV, Ukraine (July 2021) — In 2020, Blackwater founder Erik Prince pitched plans to hire Ukrainian combat veterans and buy into the country’s military-industrial complex in order to create a $10 billion private army, according to a new Time investigation.
The former Navy SEAL created a “roadmap” detailing his goals to acquire factories in Ukraine that make engines for fighter jets and helicopters as well as build munitions factories in the country and combine Ukraine’s top aerospace and aviation firms in order to compete with Boeing and Airbus, the outlet reported.
Prince’s full plan, obtained by Time, dates back to June 2020 and is one of his most ambitious ventures in a long career of pursuing and creating controversial defense infrastructure, according to the magazine.
Documents obtained by the outlet reveal Prince’s coveted venture would have given him a pivotal role in Ukraine’s military industry amid its continuous conflict with neighboring Russia.
Several of the proposals required approval from the Ukrainian government, including one that would create a new private military company staffed by veterans of the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, according to the magazine.
But the businessman’s Ukraine-centric efforts stalled after former President Donald Trump left office, as the Ukrainian government began stimulating more competition for Prince’s desired assets.
“Had it been another four years of Trump, Erik would probably be closing the deal,” Igor Novikov, a former top adviser to Ukraine’s president, told the magazine.
Even before Trump’s departure, Ukrainian officials reportedly had reservations about working with Prince because of his connection to people tied to Russia. Two other Prince associates are now under investigation in New York. The inquiry is said to be focused on whether the men were involved in a possible Russian plot to affect the 2020 presidential election, according to The New York Times.
“We had to wonder: Is this the best sort of partnership we can get from the Americans? This group of shady characters working for a close ally of Trump?” Novikov told TIME. “It felt like the worst America had to offer.”
The former aide said concerns among Ukrainians heightened even more so after one of Prince’s associates drafted a “participation offer” that Novikov believed was a bribe.
Prince has dealt with controversy in the past. After his time as a Navy SEAL, he founded private military company Blackwater, which came under intense scrutiny in 2007 after company employees opened fire on Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, killing 17 in what became known as the Nisour Square Massacre. Prince, who was not on the ground during the incident, resisted claims that Blackwater guards were responsible. A US court found four employees guilty of manslaughter or first-degree murder in 2014.
Prince is also the brother of Betsy DeVos, former Secretary of Education under Trump.
Prince did not respond to TIME‘s numerous requests for comment, the outlet said.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
