{"id":43351,"date":"2018-09-05T19:16:51","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T19:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/05\/heres-the-blueprint-for-erik-princes-5-billion-plan-to-privatize-the-afghanistan-war\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:37:40","slug":"heres-the-blueprint-for-erik-princes-5-billion-plan-to-privatize-the-afghanistan-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/09\/05\/heres-the-blueprint-for-erik-princes-5-billion-plan-to-privatize-the-afghanistan-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s the blueprint for Erik Prince\u2019s $5 billion plan to privatize the Afghanistan war"},"content":{"rendered":"
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That’s the question MIlitary Times asked in a briefing with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Joseph Dunford.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Blackwater founder Erik Prince thinks the time is right to try a new approach in Afghanistan<\/a>, one that he says will reduce war spending to a sliver of its current levels, get most troops home and eliminate Pakistan\u2019s influence on U.S. policy there: Let him run it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an exclusive interview with Military Times, Prince shared new details about his proposed force and why he believes a small footprint of private military contractors and even smaller footprint of U.S. special operators <\/a>may be able to accomplish what hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops and NATO forces over the last 17 years could not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prince first presented the idea<\/a> as President Donald Trump took office last year, hoping that the president\u2019s long-stated opposition <\/a>to keeping U.S. forces in Afghanistan would open the door to a privatized presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Trump listened to his national security team instead, including critics of the plan like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Blackwater founder Erik Prince attends a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 30, 2017. (Jacquelyn Martin\/Associated Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, more than a year later, Prince senses opportunity again. McMaster and Tillerson are no longer working for the White House; Mattis’ ability to influence the president seems to have waned and new National Security Adviser John Bolton told ABC News this month he\u2019s \u201calways open to new ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I floated this idea last year a lot of people shot it down,\u201d Prince told Military Times, referring to his initial pitch as Trump took office. \u201cI floated it again this year, because I know even days after [Trump] made the decision [to extend the U.S. mission in Afghanistan] last year, how reluctant he was to make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t