Community | March 02, 2009 | 11 comments

Founder, Eric Prince, CEO of Blackwater Steps Aside, 'Worn Out'

source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123595280053605191.html

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bansheewail
Erik Prince, who founded security contractor Blackwater Worldwide and remained defiant after the company became embroiled in controversy following a deadly 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad, is stepping down as chief executive of the parent company.


Erik Prince
The 39-year-old Mr. Prince will retain his post as chairman but move away from daily oversight of the company he started 11 years ago. The closely held venture earned more than $600 million in revenue last year, with about a third of that coming from a major U.S. State Department contract to protect diplomats in war zones.

"I'm a little worn out by the whole thing, the politics of it all," Mr. Prince said during an interview at the company's headquarters in McLean, Va. "Me not being part of the equation reduces the 'X' on the thing."
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11 comments // Founder, Eric Prince, CEO of Blackwater Steps Aside, 'Worn Out'

  • Marilynn_Murray
  • Bren589
  • WhiteNoise
  • Scarabus
    • 0
      Scarabus  

    • The evil Prince says, "Me not being part of the equation reduces the 'X' on the thing." (Nice grammar!)

      So the chairman of the board is no longer "part of the equation"? WTF! The board hires the CEO. If the CEO doesn't do what the board wants, then they fire him or her.

      Either he's being disingenuous or he's assuming that critics of his private army are stupid. Don't know about the former. The jury's still out on the latter.

    • 3 years ago
  • merasyad
  • 02
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  

    • Another one riding off into the sunset. I guess he'll just take his money and ride away? Best to get out while the getting's good.

    • 3 years ago
  • WhiteNoise
  • tommytripper
  • WhiteNoise
    • 0
      WhiteNoise  

    • Perhaps Erik Prince and his men have been watching Monty Python.

      In Monty Python And The Holy Grail, the Knights Who Say "Ni" are a bizarre band of forest-dwelling pirates, headed by a 12-foot-tall leader with antlers on his helmet. The Knights are charged with protecting a series of sacred words (including the word "Ni"), which, if heard by mortal ears, cause horrible pain and suffering.

      "Those who hear them seldom live to tell the tale!" King Arthur tells his companions when he and his entourage encounter the Knights in the forest. The King and his men cower at the very mention of the word, "Ni" before the Knights demand a sacrifice in return for safe passage: a shrubbery. King Arthur bows in respect. "O Knights of Ni, you are just and fair and we will return with a shrubbery." But when they do, the Knights are intent on extorting King Arthur and his men.

      Their leader informs the King that they are no longer the Knights Who Say "Ni." Now they are the Knights Who Say, "Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptang Zoo Boing..." Thus, the King must now pass a new test: bring them another shrubbery and, while he's at it, "cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with a herring." The King refuses this clear attempt at extortion.

      Meanwhile...

      Today, that merry band of Knights from Blackwater Worldwide -- infamous for the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq -- having failed to have their lucrative Iraq contract renewed, have announced that they shall no longer be called "Blackwater Worldwide." They shall now be called, "The Knights Who Say 'Xe.'" Well, actually, the company will just be called "Xe," pronounced "Z." (No word yet on whether Blackwater chief Erik Prince will be donning an antler helmet.)

      Blackwater Changes Its Name, Shall Now Be Called the Knights Who Say 'Xe'
      http://www.alternet.org/blogs/waroniraq/126863/blackwater_changes_its_name,_shal...'xe'/

    • 3 years ago
  • bansheewail
    • 0
      bansheewail  

    • I wonder where he'll land next?? Maybe, he'll fill the chairmanship vacated last week at Focus On The Family?? Or maybe, he's coming here to South Carolina to head up the brand spanking new Counter Narco-Terrorism Pilot Programm. If anyone can forge a link between domestic drug trafficing and Islamic Fundamentalism, it's Mr. Prince. He's done such a great job in Iraq. (sarcasm!) Now, all he needs is another no-bid contract to scare the shit out of all of us here in the homeland.

    • 3 years ago
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