Founder of Blackwater Erik Prince, now working with state controlled Chinese firm in Africa

The article is as much about Erik Prince and his money making deal more so than the 5.4 million supposedly killed in the endless wars and tribal purges that have in the recent past (15 years) and presently going on in certain regions of Africa even today.
With major players such as the Chinese and no doubt the U.S. you have to wonder what the future will be for many parts of Africa and it's resources ?

www.againstcronycapitalism.org...

Africa is a continent which doesn’t seem to get a break. Though almost no Americans know it “The Great African War” has raged for the past 15 years in the heart of Congo. It is estimated that 5.4 million people have died because of the war. But yet almost no one in this country knows about it.

Why? Partly because Americans aren’t interested. But it’s also because in this chaos are opportunities for nation states and large companies. Too much attention is not good for the outside players.

Africa is the last real frontier region on the planet which isn’t frozen over. In its dirt are rare earths, diamonds, gold, oil, and just about everything a large industrial country needs to do large industrial things.

libertyblitzkrieg.com...

www.scmp.com...

China’s ongoing colonization of Africa represents yet another sad development in the continent’s tragic history. I briefly highlighted this topic once before in December 2012, via a “Guest Post” I suggest reading titled: Africa in the Crosshairs.

DVN shares surge as former Blackwater owner named chairman

Prince last November sold to DVN a company that plans to build a pan-Africa provider of aviation, logistics, risk management, security services and exploration support services, needed by many Chinese businesses active in Africa. He received US$3 million plus the first batch of options.

DVN shares yesterday closed at HK$1.61, up 115 per cent from November when DVN first announced Prince's business injection, giving Prince a potential profit of HK$180.5 million on his first batch of options.

Well, Mercenaries follow the fighting I suppose and Chinese AK-47's are about $100 American in the Democratic Republic of the Congo according to a UN Video I'd seen in classes last year. China is big all over Central Africa and the fighting is as bad as it's ever been. Same game..different puppet masters. Africa never gets a break.

Prince has ...issues..with karma. To say the very VERY least.

(If I believed in reincarnation across species...I'd imagine him due to come back as a garden slug in a real salty environment)

reply to post by 727Sky


I wanted to reply so as to keep tabs on this topic. It should be a very interesting read.

Thanks for posting the links content.

So, what do you feel should be done?

Any suggestions?

reply to post by 727Sky


Everybody is worried about Iran and they should all be worried about Imperial China.

They are and will be what Britain was during to colonization years.

~tenth

Wrabbit2000
(If I believed in reincarnation across species...I'd imagine him due to come back as a garden slug in a real salty environment)

Fair enough and very appropriate.

No 'Karma' for those financing this endeavor and gain the most?

Cough cough cough China cough...

reply to post by SLAYER69


Oh, but of course... lol.. Not the whole of the Chinese people, naturally..but who in the Central Committee is most responsible for Africa policy? I really have no working understanding of how that all breaks out within the Chinese Communist Party structure, which is where I'd presume ultimate decisions and blame lay for the damage done.

The man with the plan and a way to cash in on it seemed a decent target for karmic ire at the moment though, eh?

SLAYER69
reply to post by 727Sky

 

I wanted to reply so as to keep tabs on this topic. It should be a very interesting read.

Thanks for posting the links content.

So, what do you feel should be done?

Any suggestions?

I hate to say this but evolution as far as "the fittest and strongest survive" is alive and well. As far as Karma (which I am around in it's beliefs all the time) kinda reminds me of a buzzard cartoon I once saw..

A hungry buzzard was sat on a fence post and was very hungry waiting on something to die.. Finally the buzzard says, " f***it I am gonna kill something"!

Siam was once a great power in its' region.. Then the Brits sailed into the harbor with their big cannon war ships... Anna and the King; it has been all down hill since then..

Weak nations have fallen to the strong since the first city states or villages were formed.. History is a painful teacher sometimes.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Interesting perspective.

Personally I think the 'West' doesn't really care in all honesty. The West have been playing around in Africa going back quite a few centuries and may feel that if China can make a go of it then so be it. Unless of course there isn't already a large 'Oil' or Diamond or other such resources already claimed for that is.

Where else could China 'Expand'?

They can't go North, They'd run into Russia, South? India, East? Japan, South Korea and American interests. Central Asia may be in play soon if not already so. The New Great Game?


So, Africa it is, For now...

reply to post by SLAYER69


I tend to agree that the West in general is pulling back. I don't know about the US with the growing military presence in jump bases and logistics locations in a virtual line across the Northern line of Central/Northern Africa. That's been a little disturbing to watch and wonder about in recent years...but it'll take far far more than a few thousand guys and drones to get into serious trouble there, so largely? yeah.. I think China has a free field to play on, for the most part.

Rare Earths...that's what the game is and Africa is still a board in play. Not everything is locked up tight for rights and contracts there yet, where it is in much of the rest of the world for what forms the tiny core to our higher technology. I'd say the diamonds and gold mines of the central Africa republics just pay expenses, so to speak, for the pursuit of the rare earth material.

China ain't dumb..... Why make the widget when they can control what is required to produce it instead?

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Rare Earth's...


Apparently the over riding belief is that China has those all locked up, when infact they do not and are far from it. They have contractual agreements with those locations that produce but do not have control of other locations which are rich in such materials but are not producing/mining presently. Such as the Salt flats here in the US. Where some of the more desirable of those rare Earths are located.

Jumping off locations US presence...

This is also interesting because it isn't just 'US' interests but the Wests as a whole. Sad, but I think they are prepositioned to simply have the infrastructure in place to have a two fold ability. 1. Help China exploit the region *the West being the muscle so as to keep the widgets flowing and helping the Global economy stay afloat and 2. Keep a very strong 'Western' presence to keep tabs on China.

China has been making friends all over the resource rich third world. Last year I was in Costa Rica and you would be surprised but the Chinese paid for a ton of really great roads all connecting the best tourist spots. One can go from the top to the bottom of Costa Rica on pavement these days. What did they get in exchange? Lots of Visas.

China is expanding all over the place, very quietly.

Good thread 727Sky.

I wonder how many DoD types are nervous about what he's selling himself out to. Could be the start of a very bad trend.

Same game different powers. Private Military companies live less in a capacity to supplement a nation's military as a physical manifestation of political force and more in a capacity to defend the commercial interests of said nation.

Very rarely do contractors perform direct action missions, and when they do, they're very slick tier 1 dudes, and usually at the behest of another company and not a sovereign nation. We're talking individual salaries of $1000 bucks a day in some cases.

Example: Someone with a decent life insurance policy is kidnapped in a militant Muslim area like Afghanistan Iraq, or even southern Thailand or Southern Philippines. Unlike drug cartels in central/South America, very seldom in these areas do the kidnappers ask for ransom. They will keep their hostages for a week or two, film them with various political messages, then kill them, usually through beheading. Instead of paying a multimillion death benefit, insurance companies sometimes hire private military companies to go in and get their insureds for a few hundred thousand. Risk management reigns supreme.

The above is very rare. A similar thing may involve retaking a maritime vessel and its crew. Again, paying contractors to do it rather than paying the huge insurance claim on the vessel and goods is worth it sometimes.

Most of the time, PMCs have their guys guard nouns and are in a strictly defensive posture. VIP protection, guarding a mine, supply convoy, whatever. They're there to make sure you don't mess with whatever commercial interests are in play.

Central Africa has been the puppet of powerful nations for a long time, and considering the average IQ of central Africans is in the vicinity of the mid 70s, and the natural resources are gigantic, I can't see this changing in the foreseeable future. It's a shame, but smarter and stronger nations manipulate weaker and dumber nations through force or coercion much like stronger and smarter people manipulate weaker and dumber people through force or coercion.

I'm not terribly worried as Mr. Prince isn't actively hurting the USs interests directly, even though he is helping an adversary's.

Look at it this way: It is long been a tactic of scumbags to align themselves with the winning side. By making nice nice with China he is setting himself up to survive what is eventually going to happen to the USA.

Always make friends with those that control the gold.

reply to post by 727Sky


I hate to say this, but this is old news to anyone that has any ear to the Military/PMC world.
He is also working with the Saudi Govt and families to bring in certain PMCs from other countries that are known to be violent in their reactions towards people.