Erik Prince, the founder of the private military company Blackwater, has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of recent military action against Iran, arguing that the operation was poorly conceived and unlikely to achieve lasting strategic goals.
Speaking in an interview, Prince said Trump had been "badly advised" and that the mission itself had been poorly planned, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.
When asked how he would have approached the military operation, Prince declined to elaborate publicly.
"He says he has an idea, but will not air it publicly," the interviewer noted. Prince later discussed his proposal off the record, although details were not disclosed. The interviewer said only that it "was not the 14-point ceasefire deal that Trump signed in Versailles."
Looking beyond the immediate conflict, Prince predicted that Gulf states could gradually reduce their reliance on U.S. military support, turning instead to alternative partners and private contractors capable of responding more quickly to emerging threats.
In his view, Gulf countries may prefer to "open up" to other countries or private companies — anyone who can "iterate at the speed that's necessary to actually provide defence".
Prince, who maintains ties with Gulf leaders including Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, said he had not recently been contacted by regional governments.
"We are still friendly, but they haven't called," he said. "They seem to have things in order. I'm available as needed."
Prince argued that his controversial reputation has at least ensured that governments and organisations understand what services he offers.
"Some people love me, some people hate me, but at least they know I'm a serious person," he said.
He also defended the role of private military organisations, arguing that history has often demonstrated the value of smaller, more flexible forces.
"In history, there were generally a lot more roles for smaller, more efficient applications of force that inherently could only come from small units, privately organised forces," he said.
Prince said his operations have expanded beyond traditional security work. Over the past year, the government of Haiti hired him to provide a small force to combat powerful criminal gangs, while the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo awarded him a tax collection contract aimed at reducing the looting of mining revenues.
He said both missions were likely to grow in the coming months.
"We are not paid by the US government or the EU. We're paid by some local government that has a big problem," he said.
Prince explained that his business model typically involves taking a share of the revenues his teams help governments recover.
"Our mission is to do it at a price point they can afford. The secret sauce is figuring out how to organise the materiel, the personnel, the processes at a professional, affordable level."
By Aghakazim Guliyev
