“Russia’s version of the American thugs who worked for the company formerly known as Blackwater”
This says a lot about how the author allows his personal feelings cloud his judgement and analysis.
You and I are of the same mind. That sentence jumped out at me as well.
Many Blackwater employees were former SF guys who were not thugs at all. Bad wording on his part.
Ralph Peters is a warmonger’s warmonger.
He’s essentially Slim Pickens riding that bomb down in Dr. Strangelove.