Serious Thoughts...
I'm currently reading a book by Jeremy Scahill call "Blackwater: The Rise Of The World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army".
It's heavy reading and slow going, but it's interesting. I have a very long way to go in the book yet, but what I've read so far certainly has me thinking, though not all my thoughts are well-formed just yet.
In reading the opening of this book, I've been struck by the fact that this company is downright scary. On the surface, it doesn't seem all that bad, but as the various changes, growth and information is being revealed, I'm seeing a whole lot of scary possibilities.
The one my brain seems to be circling back to, however, is "This company is already powerful enough to overthrow some governments and it's still growing. It's OK now under the auspices of Erik Prince, but what happens when he's gone? What happens if he becomes displeased or if he loses it? Would they attack the US?"
I know that seems far fetched now and I certainly need more data before developing potential scenarios, but in a generation or two, wouldn't it be possible for a private army to take over while governments feed in to their own demise?
But, I think I need to read further into the book before I start letting my imagination wander down that road.
In a related, though still dark, note, I can't help but imagine a problem in the Plum world where Rangeman is hired for a job and finds itself up against mercenaries from a competitor, rather than people from the country in question.
Anyway, enough dark thoughts for today.
Maybe a walk will help.
It's heavy reading and slow going, but it's interesting. I have a very long way to go in the book yet, but what I've read so far certainly has me thinking, though not all my thoughts are well-formed just yet.
In reading the opening of this book, I've been struck by the fact that this company is downright scary. On the surface, it doesn't seem all that bad, but as the various changes, growth and information is being revealed, I'm seeing a whole lot of scary possibilities.
The one my brain seems to be circling back to, however, is "This company is already powerful enough to overthrow some governments and it's still growing. It's OK now under the auspices of Erik Prince, but what happens when he's gone? What happens if he becomes displeased or if he loses it? Would they attack the US?"
I know that seems far fetched now and I certainly need more data before developing potential scenarios, but in a generation or two, wouldn't it be possible for a private army to take over while governments feed in to their own demise?
But, I think I need to read further into the book before I start letting my imagination wander down that road.
In a related, though still dark, note, I can't help but imagine a problem in the Plum world where Rangeman is hired for a job and finds itself up against mercenaries from a competitor, rather than people from the country in question.
Anyway, enough dark thoughts for today.
Maybe a walk will help.