Amid frustration with the progress of the Afghanistan war, President Donald Trump is increasingly intrigued by Blackwater founder Erik Prince's proposal to privatize the effort, which raises concerns among lawmakers and senior U.S. officials, according to NBC News.
"I know he's frustrated," Prince, a former Navy SEAL told NBC News. "He gave the Pentagon what they wanted . . . and they haven't delivered."
The Afghanistan war is known as the longest continuous operation in U.S. history and the president's disappointment with the status quo there has some lawmakers fearing the president will pull troops out.
Conversely, top U.S. military and national security officials fear Prince's proposal of using government contractors to engage in war is questionably unethical, if not merely dangerous to national security, according to the report.
Prince told NBC News "privatizing" is a "loaded term" used by his critics – who are painting "as rosy a picture as they can" to maintain the status quo – because there are currently more contractors working in Afghanistan (around 6,000) than U.S. soldiers (approximately 2,000).
Reducing the soldier count for contractors will cut the costs.
"The conventional plan just doesn't work," said Prince, who is the brother of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Prince's plan is roughly a $3.5 billion package, saving almost taxpayers almost $52 billion, he told NBC News.
"Enough is enough," he added. "The president's original instincts are correct."
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