Brad Taylor, Columnist

The Afghan War Is No Place to Turn a Profit

Erik Prince thinks 6,000 mercenaries can do what 110,000 troops could not. That’s a deadly mistake.

August 30, 2018 at 12:00 PM UTC

Brad Taylor is the author of the Pike Logan series of military thrillers including the forthcoming "Daughter of War." He served for more than 20 years as a U.S. Army officer in various special operations positions.

Coming to a war near you.
Photographer: Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images

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The idea of “privatizing” the war in Afghanistan is back. Erik Prince, the founder of the now-defunct security firm Blackwater Worldwide, is making the rounds in a self-described “aggressive media air campaign” to make the case that 6,000 private military contractors can do what 110,000 uniformed soldiers couldn’t. Anonymous White House sources have said President Donald Trump has shown interest.

This would be a terrible mistake. I’m a capitalist at heart, but capitalism has no business in a war zone. Privatizing our fighting forces would ultimately cause any national strategic objectives to be subsumed by profit motive.