How the US privatized WAR

The ways of war are changing. Artificial intelligence is used to bomb families in Gaza. Flying drones are deployed to track down refugees on the US-Mexico border.
But the biggest change is the one we talk about the least: the privatization of war. From Yemen to Sudan, Syria to Nigeria, tens of thousands of guns for hire now fight on behalf of foreign powers.
For Episode 7 of “The International,” a world-spanning video series brought to you by Jacobin and the ‪@ProgIntl‬, Rania Khalek of ‪@BreakThroughNews‬ tells the story of how we got here. It is the tale of an infamous US firm known as Blackwater and the rise of the secret mercenary armies that have pushed warfare into the shadows.
Subscribe to the channel, hit the like button and notification bell to stay up to date with upcoming episodes of “The International.”
Jacobin is a leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture. Find out more at jacobin.com/ and / jacobin .
The Progressive International unites, organizes, and mobilizes progressive forces around the world. Find out more at progressive.international/ and / progintl .
Subscribe to Jacobin in print for just $10: jacobin.com/subscribe/?code=J...

[@p5rsona]

"The goal is to have an endless war, not a successful war." | Julian Assange's Interview 8.10.2011

[@practicaliching2311]

Assange knows nothing. Every empire in history has spent about half its time at war. Just like an alpha buck has to fight all contenders. The same laws of the universe apply to both. And just like the alpha buck doesn't start the fights and doesn't want to fight. Empires don't start or want to fight. They have no choice.

[@janmortimer1758]

Free Julian Assuage!✌️

[@skmed1983]

Been tryna say this for years... The next humanitarian struggle isn't against the state. It's against the corporations.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Right.... the "corporations". 🤣🤣🤣

[@thomasmurdochduncan]

it's against capitalism, which requires both state and corps

[@brucecampbell6578]

@@imperialmotoring3789 May our spirits arise beyond our corporations. Spirits may wake to our exaltation. In the mean time most will forage for a paycheck. Corporations seem inclined to play a zero sum game in exalting quarterly profits. The spirit has time on our side.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@thomasmurdochduncan So no government and no jobs? Odd utopic vison you have. How will you handle other nations coming to take your land?

[@thomasmurdochduncan]

@@imperialmotoring3789 no, it means a workers government, ie socialism, and not the bourgeois government which sustains and supports the capitalist system

[@saqibkhan2908]

“America is the only nation in history which, miraculously, has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of Civilization.” George Clemenceau

[@dragonfly1929]

Love this saying from G.Clemenceau ,thank you for reminding mi of the wise French politician’s words ..❤❤❤❤❤

[@timothyrockwell2638]

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children." "The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some 50 miles of concrete highway. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people." "This, I repeat, is the best way of life to be found on the road that the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron." -President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 'A Chance for Peace'

[@keirfarnum6811]

Great quote. It’s amazing how it’s the warriors most likely to recognize the dangers of never ending war.

[@kegsofvomitspit]

@@keirfarnum6811: I’m the son of a WWII veteran who also became a devout pacifist. Men who have engaged in bloodshed are more apt to understand the true cost of warfare.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Explain that to the Latinx street gangs in Chicago.

[@crissyhutto8409]

@@imperialmotoring3789they only come here because all of our media glorifies that lifestyle…

[@deemo5245]

And that was a long time ago. Now multiply that by ten thousand

[@hugevibez]

I can't believe we are actually living in the reality Metal Gear Solid 4 predicted. It was supposed to be a caution, not a guide...

[@tallflguy]

Yikes, you are right

[@Quinceps]

And we’re going directly to the relationship between states and military depicted in Cyberpunk 2077. Fully private armies operating parallel to failed states to that cover urban patches among open land cartels.

[@heiligensheiny]

This was already well underway when MGS4 came out.

[@twentyarms]

came here to say this

[@matthewcaldwell8100]

@@Quinceps Guess there's nothing for it but to get chromed out, choom

[@Syphil23]

‘It was said that weapons were produced to fight wars - now wars are produced to sell weapons ‘ - said someone. 😢

[@RJGilman1967]

Great job, Rania! The crew too, lots of info in there. Great delivery.

[@the0ne809]

she is a Assad apologist lmaooo. I didnt know she works for Jacobin. Sad

[@georgemichaelpetty5111]

Rania Khalek, the state media employee who made money selling genocide. Same Rania Khalek, right?

[@orionxingu1758]

@@the0ne809 And you sound like the genocidal warmonger.

[@apolodelsol]

The greatest negligence of allowing the privatization of armies is that these, like every company, seek the sustainability of their supply by CREATING DEMAND. Thanks for sharing.

[@LeftKinect]

Good thing we listened to Dwight D Eisenhower’s warning about the military industrial complex. 🤦‍♂️🤬

[@billmitchell2080]

Eisenhower was one of the founders of American intelligence. His acquiescence to the Dulles brothers has caused as much blowback as any other decision in American history.

[@licosaenz]

The "Military Industrial Complex" now rules the planet, destroying all semblance of a representative government everywhere on this planet. All the world's capital remains entrenched in military expenditures, the world's militaries consuming their inordinate amounts of labor and material. We avoided basic social evolution by going militarized.

[@Bleilock1]

He helped build it lol

[@lancemanfredi6123]

Sarcasm noted and appreciated. Ike's speech, addressing the Military was modified just a little bit. "The Military, Industrial, CONGRESSIONAL complex was how the President originally read.

[@daivietnguyen7289]

But sadly, his words seemed to have no impact whatsoever as we all can see with our own eyes how massive and monopolies the US military industrial thugs has become !!!

[@menudobucket9837]

An appropriate name: Blackwater. My RV has a blackwater holding tank that gets emptied into a sewage system.

[@user-lz5dz1qx2q]

Black Rock is used by UAE to take control of Yemeni Island of Socatra

[@DRUNKBEATZ]

Friendly reminder that Lloyd Austin (secretary of „defense“) is also a board member at Raytheon, the 🚀company for the IOF

[@jeffrey1025]

Jacobin wouldn't mention this because he's on the correct side of the political aisle, but the truth is that both sides are equally complicit.

[@DRUNKBEATZ]

@@jeffrey1025 another friendly reminder to not engage with the IOF trolls trying to both side a G side. Just keep on protesting everybody!!

[@maheshwarasriram]

​@@jeffrey1025 This is not true , sir . For example , this thing in Ukraine started 1991 . With Ukraine in the pocket , Russia is finished . Bismarck . This is the reason why your sincere attempt to be objective , failed . Failed , big time .

[@jeffrey1025]

@@maheshwarasriram What are you even talking about schizo. Take your meds. I don't care about Russia or Ukraine, I didn't even mention them. I could care less if Russia steamrolled Kiev tomorrow, or if Ukranians marched to Vladivostok. All I care is that the taxes I pay to the government are used to fund foreign wars, and the politicians are getting richer off it, rather then the money being used on infrastructure, housing developments, etc.

[@dimitri1946]

Three cheers for Rania's great narration.❤ Mercenaries are wanton murderers, psychopaths with no concern for life and therefore lacking totally in basic human empathy. The sign of an illegitimate government, or a government that rules by force, is exactly its reliance on mercenary enforcement (which would not be needed if the governments policies were legitimate).

[@orionxingu1758]

Exactly right.

[@svarog63]

I would just add that the actual rulers of us are also psycopaths, not just their executioners-for-hire.

[@evelyndominguez4757]

Erik Prince is the brother of Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Secretary of Education.

[@curmudgeon1933]

That was a great quid pro quo for the DeVos/Prince family. They got to make billions, and Betsy was installed in a position to dismantle the public education system...and syphon off huge sums to fund her faith-based charter school network, to intensify right-wing Christian fundamentalist indoctrination.

[@yannickille4049]

😂of course, only with connections can someone achieve something😮😮😮😮

[@Silentnocturnes]

Damn. Makes more sense now

[@non9886]

he is conman, just proxy. like most of these puppets...

[@mikejohnson2098]

Blackwater was involved in Iraq. Don't you know about the contractors/Blackwater who were killed. Over a decade before t-rump was president.

[@oceantransistor]

Capitalism really brings out the worst in humanity.

[@DrRussPhd]

It is working as designed.

[@gypsy547]

Capitalism isn’t the the flaw, a monkey brain fear of scarcity manifesting as greed is the issue. It has infected capitalism, communism, socialism and every other large scale system. Let me know when you step up, give it all up and have nothing in order to put your fellow man ahead of you.

[@ricklodestein1101]

Greed and power. It's been around long before capitalism came to be.

[@samarshazadamirshazad4181]

@@ricklodestein1101 but it certainly made it easy to acquire

[@Leto2ndAtreides]

At least, more diverse interests are served. Otherwise, you'd end up serving very few interests, held by those with power. Thus things like the Egyptian pyramids... Because that's how the pharoahs chose to use their free labor. A lot of things are limited by human intelligence being too shallow... Even among the (relatively) highly intelligent.

[@afauxican_american]

this is actual super villain shit.

[@Ryan_hey]

Profit incentive is quite a thing

[@user-ok8zj8xy6i]

Are we the baddies?

[@tjord]

@@user-ok8zj8xy6i always have been

[@Mystery_G]

Welcome to MuriKa.

[@tallflguy]

“War never changes” - Fallout

[@user-iu4wh1zs6t]

That was my first thought. haha... shit's fucked.

[@marcusgotosleep4853]

“War has changed…” -Metal Gear Solid 4

[@Walter-dq2uf]

People don't understand that the prices of things are never going back down. This inflation is deeper than we think. Those buying groceries are well aware that the real inflation is much over 10%. The increments don't match our income, yet certain investors still earn over $365,000 in stocks and assets. Wish I could accomplish that. Financial planning is like navigation. If you know where you are and where you want to go, navigation isn't such a great problem. It's when you don't know the two points that it's difficult

[@BlitoEmactao]

Very possible! especially at this moment. Profits can be made in many different ways, but such intricate transactions should only be handled by seasoned market professionals.

[@Masonserena]

Very possible! especially at this moment. Profits can be made in many different ways, but such intricate transactions should only be handled by seasoned market professionals.

[@TRRecordEntertainment]

Having an investment advisor is the best way to go about the stock market right now. I was going solo, but it wasn't working. I've been in touch with an advisor for a while now, and just last year, I made over 80% capital growth minus dividends.

[@Pelkey71]

Finding yourself a good broker is as same as finding a good wife, which you go less stress, you get just enough with so much little effort at things

[@ChrisStephen-sl1kn]

Sofia demonstrates an excellent understanding of market trends, making well informed decisions that leads to consistent profit

[@joyg2526]

"Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry-" We were doomed from the onset, because not a lot of citizens can claim those attributes.

[@wyesjcbnwr8606]

This is in the process of changing now, .. and hopefully will continue increasing (I.e. alert and knowledgeable)

[@lcoleman1961]

I'd love to see Erik Prince in the dock at The Hague.

[@scipioafricanus4875]

I think our press should question our politicians publicly about this

[@theobserver9131]

lol.

[@Redouane.77]

They own the press.

[@skutchBlobaum]

Why would the CIA bother questioning their puppets ?

[@naseehatogurabaa9515]

All bought already!

[@CroutonSometimes]

war is a business

[@keirfarnum6811]

“War is a Racket” by US Marine General Smedley Butler

[@jeffreycheng5984]

"All wars are banker's wars."- Michael Rivero.

[@practicaliching2311]

Not a very good one. The US aerospace and defence sector net profit margin is 4.6%. Before taxes. Compare that to Google at 26% of Microsoft at 36%. And US defence spending is only 3.4% of GDP. Near an all-time low of 3.3% of GDP. We already spend multiples of that on health and human services and education. Defence spending is not an issue

[@KlausBahnhof]

@@practicaliching2311 Found the Blackwater representative.

[@juanrodriguez5404]

This same private armies can become a threat for democracy. 😢😢😢

[@theobserver9131]

ya think?

[@theobserver9131]

secret operations, no accountability....what could go wrong?

[@SixOneNiner23]

Already happening

[@practicaliching2311]

Good, what we have now isn't working.

[@SixOneNiner23]

@@practicaliching2311 yeah, I suppose they’ll really go after “the bad guys” 🤡🙄

[@theobserver9131]

It's interesting and appropriate that a mercenary group would name themselves after sewer sludge.

[@theseustoo]

I wish people would understand that, no matter whose side you are on now, by the inexorable logic of 'endless war for endless profit', it's only a matter of time before the guns will be turned on YOU, whether you're in the military or not!

[@kathleenhillock9366]

Biden smirked and publicly stated.........you will find yourself seriously outgunned. I took him at his word. Our guns won't help us much facing down drones and biological weapons. In memory of Lahaina. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@WizDomSon]

Wow. Incredible presentation. Great job Rania. I want to see more expose's like this.

[@serenitywintirs2773]

This needs to be on prime time. Why is no one talking about this shit? Great work!

[@omarrymad7699]

Great reminder ty rania🫡🇱🇧🇵🇸🇾🇪🇸🇾🇮🇶🇮🇷

[@bazojc8677]

Blackwater, Blackrock, Vanguard.. 😅 WhiteRock's Fairy Link flies everywhere.

[@brandon2378]

Anyone scared or interested should read Jeremy Scahill's book on Blackwater. They deployed mercenaries all over the world but the government also had them dispatch troops in places like New Orleans after hurricane Katrina to stop "looters." The power of PMCs is almost unlimited at this point.

[@alexalke1417]

War hasn't been pushed into the shadows, it always has been, mercernaries have always existed. The scale of the phenomenon has dramatically increased though.

[@earnthis1]

Yep, The Revolutionary war was fought against mercenaries.

[@JazzMaven]

Extremely troubling yet necessary to understand; thank you!!

[@ragoogli]

Ad AI into this mix. Humanity faces an unprecedented and cataclysmic challenge to the survival of our species.

[@Michael0663-qo4wx]

And climate crisis

[@GabrielHellborne]

Several, actually. Teehee; we're buggered.

[@matthewcaldwell8100]

Great, another one.

[@theobserver9131]

It's more a certain outcome than a challenge. I think we failed the "challenge" a long time ago. There's no stopping an avalanche.

[@theobserver9131]

@@GabrielHellborne interesting name. strange sense of humor.... but yeah. You're right.

[@stephss]

WE... are letting this happen

[@wolfswatch3645]

So play the pentagon clip of plane hitting. Stop when you see the nose cone. It's not a plane nose but a missile. Also note they removed part of the feed that would show the whole projectile.

[@lawrencekennedy2589]

Thank you for sharing your video with us ❤

[@reneeleveld5614]

Great great analysis en profound and to the point presentation 🎉

[@jamesmurphy9426]

I wonder how many little private armies we are unaware of

[@0zoneTherapyW0rks]

Israel has hired many mercenaries in its Gaza war.

[@deaftears]

Thanks for this I knew it was going on but couldn’t get it anchored properly

[@user-zr8nx4wi5p]

Rania Khalek is a beacon of light in an otherwise dark world. Or as Noam Chomsky pointed out: the world is pretty awful and dangerous.

[@user-gn7rs9ok3x]

thank you rhania. you have come into your own in reporting. God bless you always.

[@Rodrifuuu]

Capitalism must end before it ends us.

[@martee888]

It is an extreme variant of capitalism.

[@taylormanning2709]

@@martee888capitalism naturally leads to extreme inequity. The extremism is just a measure of how long it has been slowed to happen

[@sprsmoke]

@@taylormanning2709 Yes, but not on the scale of communism.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Then how will you provide for your family? Begging the government for food?

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@taylormanning2709 Socialism is an equal share of misery.

[@fwowncwown]

Thank you for this piece.💔

[@Luke1959]

Great report! Thank you, so much, for keeping it real! Whenever i see young people speaking the truth, it gives me hope!! 🙏

[@joehopfield]

Someone will have noted that Eisenhower's original draft included Congress in that unholy alliance.

[@morgan1719]

Our rulers are above the law. They prove it all the time. --And-- Written laws are like spiders' webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful. --Anacharsis

[@mxrkxo]

great timing, thanks........

[@edjuillard4054]

Outstanding! Thank You.

[@manuelbaez7148]

absolutely fantastic reporting Rania

[@TheFutureisretro]

Interesting. Would love a deeper dive on this

[@fabioadurao]

Great video!

[@will823]

I knew those robot dogs couldn't be trusted

[@datboib3432]

Thank you for this story & explaining how the US is responsible for the world’s very first mercenary group. How could the US have come up with such a thing.

[@nedkelly8495]

Sending greetings of solidarity to RK from newzealand aotearoa. U r inspiring

[@GEORGEEEJ]

Terrific reporting.

[@tiredcaballero]

ty, Jacobin

[@davidramirez5127]

Thank you for this..your a true hero..

[@Justin_Beaver564]

Ideology, not money is driving US wars

[@CMare-pt7ei]

Are u crazy?

[@willieduffie4967]

Great foresight i

[@alissonburgers5329]

great video

[@ARK1phil]

Good report…. These types of groups can remain in the shadows indefinitely with no oversight… so dangerous

[@aldenfriend9625]

“War is changing” is crazy hard

[@phillbradshaw7190]

Outstanding repirtinf 👍 👍 & also totally depressing

[@airliner791]

Great journalism

[@alicejyi4705]

excellent material.

[@robertburdoff1789]

old chestnut but at 2.30, I didn't see any airline - I got a fleeting glance of something less than a third the height of an airliner..... otherwise, great journalism, keep up the great work. :(

[@Anubis-hm7ro]

Thank you

[@robinhazell6019]

I read that Erik Prince was charging Afghanis US$ 5,000 - 10,000 for a place on one of his pleames leaving Kabul when the US pulled out.

[@nowthenzen]

War for Fun and Profit!

[@mojrimibnharb4584]

It's the best kind!

[@practicaliching2311]

Not that much profit. The US aerospace and defence sector net profit margin is only 4.6%. Before taxes. Compare that to Google at 26% of Microsoft at 36%. And US defence spending is only 3.4% of GDP. Near an all-time low of 3.3% of GDP. We already spend multiples of that on health and human services and education. Defence spending is not an issue

[@mojrimibnharb4584]

@@practicaliching2311 Small picture thinking. 1. Much of google and ms revenue is from various securacry contracts. 2. The profits in software are always higher because you make it once and sell it a million times. 3. Incomplete totals. For 2022... GDP = $25.44T DoD = $725b DHS = $55b ODNI = $90b total expense = $870b % GDP = 3.48% lowest in 20thC = 0.85% in 1916 The reality is that the US is maintaining absurdly high defense budgets for peacetime.

[@kevinderr440]

Excellent

[@skog44]

Nice work Rania, economic strife in the US and other countries exploited by multinational energy corporations are driving local economies into the ground. Low wages, hight cost of living, lawless communities provide fertile ground for would be mercenaries; maybe comparable to the Sea Peoples of the modern era.

[@walterbrownstone8017]

How the US privatized war? The best message is the simplest. They used a class of people called lawyers to get around any law that may forbid it. One group of lawyers interpret "laws " written by the other group of lawyers, and they do it all for the low, low price of your freedom. And a few trillion.

[@scrumpy8192]

Good video

[@mrpatchy9950]

An excellent eye opening documentary about the difficult times that we live in , where there is no space for diplomacy and ingenious ways are found to keep filling up the coffers of the military industrial complex when the amount spent on war could be spent to fight Global warming and sustainable development and universal education and skill development.

[@keenanz9882]

Erick prince is close friend of trump, even his military advisor. Source : interview with erick prince by mehdi hassan

[@Silentnocturnes]

Exactly why trump pardoned him knowing he committed terrible crimes. Trump is in on it or just a neat puppet like creepy joe Biden. Just with a brain and motor functions

[@MQuinn-eb3zz]

You do realize that this is not something kniew. Mercenary armies, in post ww2 have been used worldwide, but especially in Africa. For instance, the Rhodesian (now Zimbabwe) civil war was famously fought with thousands of mercenaries, there were the Biafra/Nigerian civil war, the liberation wars of Mozambique,and Angola, and the failed operation to overthrow an elected primeminister in the Seychelles. The CONTRAs of Nicaragua was started with the use of Chilean mercenaries. Groups like Executive Outcome and 4 Commando made headlines in the mid to late 20th century. Americans have produced some famous mercenaries, like William Walker and Josiah Harlan in the 19th century. Go back further to the middle ages and one finds the Condottiero of Italy, the Routiers, the Swiss Pikemen, and the Landsknecht. The fact is that as a profession, mercenaries are nearly as old as prostitutes - and perhaps are the male equivalent. One can find there use as far back as ancient Egypt. Don't get me wrong, this is not to excuse the actions of people like Eric Prince, its just that the use of mercenaries is not establishing a new phase of military history, rather it is a continuance of military history.

[@user-pm8je4fo7e]

WAR NEVER CHANGES.

[@theobserver9131]

"Live by the sword...." this will consume us all. Perhaps for the best.

[@fibanacci8]

Excellent..

[@user-uo2bk7vz2l]

Anyone know the music featured in this video? I really enjoyed it

[@chicolofi]

Realismo Visceral · Monplaisir kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGq9e5JqgtuAd8U

[@louisbertaux5193]

🇺🇲 Eye-opening and disturbing! Thanks Rania Khalek

[@kasperhauser987]

Can you imagine if instead of spending all the money ever spent on war was spent on health care or space travel or care for the planet we would be living like God's

[@briangrigsby1842]

excellent

[@kimemia_maina]

All we need now is for Eric Prince to announce a 'King of Iron Fist Tournament' and the dystopia will be complete.

[@manuelbaez7148]

only Rania can bring me to Jacobin

[@DrRussPhd]

War . . . war never changes. "Thars gold in them thar hills and we means to git it!", Blackwater CEO.

[@mridlon1634]

This is the thing President Gen. Eisenhower tried to warn our nation about.

[@thegrandmaster2517]

Rania one of the best journalist

[@rocodux]

2:30 a ghost AA 707, even in the video we can see only an explosion, no debris no plane rest, nothing. And the story of the misterious building tower 3 collapsing with no reason at all.

[@TVY2013]

A physics-defying false flag operation if there ever was one!

[@CaptPeon]

Mondale spitting facts!

[@AasraTeraa]

Thanks Khalek jee 4having the guts to raise a voice 4 goodness but what jacobin ? does that have to with people that belive in the jacob doctrine?

[@hydrohasspoken6227]

The Military Industrial Complex started during Eisenhower's watch. I wonder why he didn't stop it when it was on it's infancy.

[@kathleenhillock9366]

Because he didn't want to become another dead Kennedy and valued the lives of his family.

[@JasonRichter-qb7es]

Lead investigator in the field stuff

[@A277-mw8gp]

Just imagining the money that these companies receive, literally blows up my thoughts!

[@WuDong-oi5qq]

Mercs? thats a tale as old as warfare lol. we are just returning back to feudalism, soon enough these mercs will have to make a honor system and get its own factions in every country, sort of its own state and country .

[@alexvagias5295]

My mother always said that God was gonna "turn the devil loose in the last days", and my mother was rarely wrong.

[@radiotec76]

A good series to watch that addresses the use of these mercenaries is Jericho. A rogue group within a private mercenary company bombs several major cities with thermonuclear warheads they obtained. One town, Jericho after which the series is named, escapes the radioactive fallout but is targeted by mercenaries from the mercenary contractor Ravenwood which demands authority to run the town. The town is able to repel them. The whole first season revolves around these Ravenwood mercenaries and their attempts to undermine the town’s local mayor and police mistrustful of their intent and the shadowy corporation that owns and controls Ravenwood.

[@c.i.z.recordings8325]

This was posted before the "Slovakia incident", right?

[@orangetara4268]

All we are saying is give peace a chance 🙏🇵🇸🙏

[@Silentnocturnes]

I see what you did there. I agree but it won’t happen unless we actively fight for peace.

[@ottomanempirelives6566]

I am still waiting for someone in mainstream media to call blackwater a mercenary group like the wagner group.