Letting mercenaries fight our wars undercuts the Constitution
By Kimberly Wehle, opinion contributor - 09/02/17 03:00 PM EDT The founder of the infamous Blackwater security contracting firm, Erik Prince, recently renewed his call for the Pentagon to fight the war in Afghanistan with an army of mercenaries — possibly under Prince’s own command.
This effort has had the support of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law, as well as the backing of ousted chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon.
The New York Times reported in July that the White House recruited Prince and Trump supporter Stephen A. Feinberg — the billionaire owner of the military mega-contractor DynCorp International — to “devise alternatives to the Pentagon’s plan to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan.”
Prince shot back in an op-ed that he finds the word “mercenary” pejorative. But, of course, his company (renamed several times after “Blackwater” became associated with lethal mayhem in Iraq) exists to make a profit — for Prince.
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http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/defense/348981-letting-mercenaries-fight-our-wars-undercuts-the-constitution
