Erik Prince

“If the Chinese are sensitive about anything, it's not having their people die.”

“Why should I pay for business? Fly coach, you arrive at the same time.”

“Some people will always hate the name Blackwater. They might not like me.”

“Unfortunately, I kind of split between Virginia and living in an airplane. I travel a lot.”

“We have a great all-volunteer force, but the fact is that 0.5% of the U.S. population serves in the military, maybe another 3-5% knows someone who serves. Leaving 95% of Ameria with no real contact with the military.”

“I've done dumb things.”

“Video games are an exciting medium. The creativity of design, the technology and the interaction represent the best of American innovation.”

“I know a lot of people in the aviation business, particularly ones who will fly to places where your boots get dirty when you get out of the airplane.”

“China trading with its neighbours and building infrastructure brings only benefits.”

“I loved being a SEAL. I loved working with those kind of guys and a sense of mission, and Blackwater was started to continue that sense of mission.”

“I like the fact that Donald Trump has been in the private sector. I like that he's had to make a payroll. I like that he's had to do projects.”

“We need to privatize whenever possible.”

“Afghanistan is an expensive disaster for America.”

“I would rather deal with the vagaries of investing in Africa than in figuring out what the hell else Washington is going to do to the entrepreneur next.”

“The people we helped in the field, they know what the legacy is. The 40% or so of Americans that really can't stand the name of Blackwater, that's fine, I'll never really win them over anyway. And I really don't care.”

“When the United States first went into Afghanistan in 2001, it devastated the Taliban and Al Qaeda in a matter of weeks using only a few hundred C.I.A. and Special Operations personnel, backed by American air power. Later, when the United States transitioned to conventional Pentagon stability operations, this success was reversed.”

“Every individual who has worked for Blackwater in Iraq has previously served in the U.S. military or as a police officer. Many were highly decorated. And from the beginning, these individuals have been bound by detailed contracts that ensure intensive government direction and control.”

“You pretty much remove the entire political texture from Blackwater when you come to China. What they look at is our 100 per cent success rate.”

“Like Vietnam, Afghanistan was never about troop levels; it is about how troops are utilized.”

“I never intended to be a defense contractor in the first place.”