More on Blackwater and its Chairman, Erik Prince

With Blackwater USA based in Moyock, North Carolina, which is a becoming increasingly a commuting suburb of Norfolk, the investigation of Blackwater is continuing to get local coverage. Hence I decided to do a little research on Erik Prince, who apparently thinks he is a prince out to slay the infidels. Here is what I found (P.S. He also apparently no friend whatsoever to the LGBT community for reasons you will soon see):

Form the Huffington Post, I found this article from last year (the emphasis is mine)(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-greenwald/erik-prince-blackwater-w_b_30235.html):

[Erik Prince] who after interning in the Bush Sr. Whitehouse said, "I saw a lot of things I didn't agree with - homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of bills." This from a man whose car says "Bush: "Let's Roll" Kerry: "Let's Roll Over." This from a man who, together with his family have given over 2 million dollars to Republican candidates and use their political access to protect Blackwater from scrutiny.

Profiteering during a time of war is indeed a serious and important issue. I invite Erik Prince to see the film, to meet with our researchers and to have a full and open discussion about the way he is profiteering. And for those who would like to see the Prince story and the mansion, purchased from his profiteering, check out this video (http://iraqforsale.org/video_erik.php) we have created...

I also found this article from the Virginian Pilot that talks about Blackwater's top brass (:http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=108028&ran=144012):

ERIK PRINCE, 37, Blackwater’s founder and chairman, has deep roots in conservative Republican politics in Michigan. His father, Edgar Prince, turned a small die-cast shop in Holland, Mich., into a major auto parts supplier with a specialty product: a windshield visor with a lighted mirror. After his death in 1995, the company was sold for $1.4 billion. Edgar Prince was a confidant and financial backer of Gary Bauer, a conservative activist and onetime presidential candidate. Erik Prince’s sister Betsy, a former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, is married to Dick DeVos, billionaire son of the founder of marketing giant Amway and this year’s likely Republican candidate for governor of Michigan. Prince is a board member of Christian Freedom International, a nonprofit group dedicated to helping persecuted Christians around the world.

COFER BLACK, 56, joined Blackwater in February 2005 as vice chairman after three decades in the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department. He was the CIA’s director of counterterrorism when al-Qaida hijackers struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. (My comment: Obviously, if he had done a better job, 9-11 might not have occurred). In 2002 Black moved to the State Department, where one of his duties was managing security for the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece. In 2003, Blackwater won a contract to train security teams for the games. Company officials say there was no connection

JOSEPH SCHMITZ, 49, became chief operating officer and general counsel of the Prince Group in September 2005 after a stint as inspector general at the Defense Department. Schmitz’s father, John G. Schmitz, was a two-term Republican congressman from California and a prominent member of the John Birch Society, an ultra-conservative group that flowered during the Cold War. He ran for president in 1972 as the candidate of the American Independent Party after its founder, George Wallace, was paralyzed by a would-be assassin. John Schmitz’s political career ended with the revelation that he had a mistress who bore two of his children. He then moved to Washington, where he bought a house once owned by Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

THE BLACKWATER EMPIRE
Prince Group (Parent company)
Blackwater divisions
Blackwater Training Center -- Firearms and tactical training
Blackwater Target Systems -- Manufacturing and sales
Blackwater Security Consulting -- Security services
Blackwater Canine -- Explosives-detecting dogs
Raven Development Group -- Construction
Blackwater Armor -- Armored personnel carriers
Blackwater Airships -- Blimps
Affiliated companies
Presidential Airways -- Aviation
Greystone -- International security services

Yet another website (http://www.nndb.com/people/926/000117575/) describes Prince as follows:

Gender: Male

Religion: Born-Again Christian
Race or Ethnicity: WhiteS
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Business, Military
Party Affiliation: Republican
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Blackwater USA mercenary firm
Military service: Navy SEAL Team Officer (1993-96, Bosnia, Haiti)

Erik Prince is a multi-millionaire right-wing fundamentalist Christian from a powerful Michigan Republican family. His wealth came from his father, Edgar Prince, who headed Prince Automotive, an auto parts and machinery manufacturer. A major Republican campaign contributor, he interned in the White House of President George H.W. Bush and campaigned for Pat Buchanan in 1992, finding time to intern for conservative congressman Dana Rohrabacher as well. Prince founded the mercenary firm Blackwater USA in 1997 with Gary Jackson, another former Navy SEAL.

If you are LGBT and not scared yet, pehaps this story from Josh Marshall's "Talking Points Memo (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/054744.php) will make you sleep easier at night - NOT:

One issue that's got our attention about Blackwater is the firm's ability to leapfrog a number of much older and well-established US firms in Iraq. And that's got us interested in Prince's Republican political credentials. Along those lines, a few details about Prince to help frame tomorrow's hearing.

Erik Prince is 37 years old. He founded Blackwater in 1997 with money he inherited from his father, Edgar Prince, the head of Prince Automative. The elder Prince and his wife were major Republican and conservative activists and funders. And Prince himself co-founded The Family Research Council with Gary Bauer and apparently provided the key early funding for the group. According to Bauer, "I can say without hesitation that, without Ed and Elsa and their wonderful children, there simply would not be a Family Research Council."

Still another site (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Blackwater_USA) describes Blackwater USA as follows:

Blackwater USA is a private military contractor co-founded by former Navy Seal Erik Prince. Blackwater USA offers "tactical training," firing range and target systems, and security consulting under the company's subdivisions: Blackwater Training Center, Blackwater Target Systems, Blackwater Security Consulting and Blackwater Canine. According to its website, Blackwater provides "a spectrum of support to military, government agencies, law enforcement and civilian entities in training, targets and range operations as a solution provider." Their slogan is: "Providing a new generation of capability, skills, and people to solve the spectrum of needs in the world of security."[1] Blackwater USA received no-bid contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and post-Katrina New Orleans from the current Bush administration.[2]

All in all, another frightening look at Bush's Amerika.