What he describes as "deregulation of national security after 9/11" has created a "gold rush" by mercenaries and others to perpetuate war against terrorists in the Middle East, says New York Times reporter James Risen.
Risen, who could be facing jail time for refusing to give up his sources for his story that the National Security Agency was spying on Americans, has written a new book,
"Pay Any Price," in which he describes the private security groups that moved in to help in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"We've been at war for 13 years now, and that's the longest period of continuous war in American history," Risen said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's
"On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."
"And I think a lot of people have learned that this is the new gold rush, the counterterrorism where hundreds of billions of dollars were being poured into it, and so it attracted a whole new cadre of people, mercenaries and other hustlers, who wanted to make a killing in the war on terror."
Risen admitted there are real threats, but said they have been overhyped, resulting in restrictions on civil liberties and freedom.
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