Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

Just finished Robert Young Pelton's "Licensed to Kill," recommended by Robb.

It is a great book, the kind Warren would have forced me to write if I had taken on the subject: a certain amount of geostrategic analysis (but not nearly enough--just great observations stitched together) but loads of narrative storytelling, to include a long bit on touring Blackwater's Moyock, NC headquarters, before the new HQ was built and the 6k-foot landing strip poured (Prince flew Steve and I down and back on the same day in his plane last year after I got the invite following a speaking gig on Development-in-a-Box to a foreign aid conference, and Blackwater's sole owner gave us a long tour of the huge facility and his famous PPT pitch).

Young goes on about how hard it is for any outsiders to get into the place, making me think it was quite the privilege. But frankly, Prince and Blackwater aren't all that secret. It's just a classic start-up that's booming in a new marketplace (Robb's bazaar of violence being matched by a bazaar of security innovation and companies), so it combines a certain paranoia with a certain bravado. As a pioneer in an uncertain rule-set environment, Blackwater is naturally a target for both lawsuits and regulators. That's what you get for aspiring to be the Pinkertons of the 21st century (the description that got me the invite, methinks).

I keep thinking of a story to pitch Esquire on Blackwater that would be different. I have one in mind, but am unsure on the timing.

I am committed to a first draft of my next book this summer, whether it comes out next spring or fall '08 (I suspect the latter, since I see this book as less of a first draft-heavy effort and more one that gets rewritten a lot because, as Mark and I both discuss recently, we see this book as my timeless distillation, so less topical and current as PNM and BFA, though it will inevitably have some).

Still, a story or two lurks in the back of my brain. Might just have to call Blackwater and see what they're up for.

But again, great book. Beats the left hack job on Prince and Blackwater just out, and lacks the academic distance and hostility of Singer's work. Based on my 18 years working with the military, I found Young's descriptions very compelling.