Master of War
Master of War: Blackwater USA’s Erik Prince and the Business of War
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The Blackwater story is one of wealth, power, violence, billions in taxpayer money, politics at its worst, betrayal, sacrifice, patriotism and a Caesar-esque fall from glory. Perhaps the world’s most notorious private security provider, Blackwater USA rose to prominence in a very short period of time, drawing more than a billion taxpayer dollars in contracts that included secret work for the CIA, and protecting America’s diplomats abroad as well as those charged with the monumental task of rebuilding Iraq. How is it that the United States came to rely so much on contractors and in particular, on this one company owned by just one man? |
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In answering those questions, CNN Executive Producer Suzanne Simons has gotten closer than any other journalist in uncovering the real story of how Blackwater rose to power on a desperate government need and then promptly fell from grace. She had access as Erik Prince reacted to news that his men were involved in a deadly shooting in Baghdad. She was the journalist he called within minutes of leaving the Congressional hearing room in Washington DC where he was forced to defend the company he built against accusations of ruthless greed and irresponsibility. She traveled with him to Afghanistan in 2007, just weeks after the infamous shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in which more than a dozen Iraqis were gunned down. She was there as Prince tried to piece together what was left of the company’s tattered reputation. Her incredible access to top Blackwater executives over more than three years has given her unmatched insight that helps lay out the incredible true story of how the United States government became – for a while – solely dependent on one man for its diplomatic task in Iraq. About the Author: Suzanne Simons is an Executive Producer for CNN based in Atlanta. She started with the network in 1998 as a freelance anchor for CNN International in Berlin where she hosted a morning news program broadcast live throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She covered politics and business in Germany and hosted a weekly show on German politics before traveling to Kosovo in 1999 where she covered the NATO conflict for several American and European news organizations. She was among the first journalists to travel inside Kosovo as NATO troops made their way to Pristina. Prior to that, she was a morning news anchor at a CBS affiliate in Michigan. In addition to her duties as an Executive Producer, she also blogs on military and national intelligence issues for CNN. She has reported from Afghanistan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Germany.
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