Shown in the above picture is one US soldier accompanied by four hired mercenaries. Now, before I go any further on a rant about mercenaries, let me get a few things cleared up. Some people have been sued over the past couple of years for calling these "security contractors" mercenaries.
Meriam Webster dictionary defines mercenary as
–adjective
–noun
This being said, the forces in Iraq under the euphemism of "security contractor" are most definetly mercenary forces. This is a long and complicated subject, so I will be breaking it down into several posts for the sake of an easier read. There is also some good info on current private military companies (PMC) on wikipedia under mercenary. In this section I will cover the basics.
There are many mercenary companies working for us abroad, the most visable being over in Iraq. I have read estimates that place numbers as being as much as 120,000 privately owned soldiers running security on the ground over there. The pay for these soldiers ranges between $500 a day to as much as $4000 a day. They also reported recieve nearly 100 days off a year.
The main companies that I will cover in these articles are Blackwater and Aegis. They hire the "best of the best" from around the world. Forces made of Chilean commandos, African aparheid soldiers, former Navy Seal commandos, Gurkas from Nepal, and several other elite forces from across the globe. They own their own private helicopters and APCs as well as unmanned recon drones.
These are private armies for profit with sketchy makeups, sketchy backgrounds, and zero accountability and oversight for their actions. They are making the large corporations and defence contractors further dependent on maintaining a constant state of war. There can be no peace when people with lots of money are invested in maintaining a state of war and are not afraid to lobby to hardliners and extremists to keep business good.
Raenette Taljaard, a member of the South African Parliament,
describes the ubiquitous reach of this "booming cottage industry" of private security companies:
"In addition to becoming an integral part of the machinery of war, they are emerging as cogs in the infrastructure of peace. US-allied military officials and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan are quickly becoming familiar with the 'brand services' provided by companies."
Is war something that we should begin to establish brand familiarity with corporations? Not to mention that when you are running a business for profit, the lives of those that you hire for your mercenaries do not weigh as heavily as the bottom line.
One security company, the Steele Foundation, recently turned down an $18 million contract for a corporation that wanted a security force deployed within only a few days; Steele said it simply could not find enough qualified guards so quickly. Another company promptly jumped at the contract. ''They just throw bodies at it,'' said Kenn Kurtz, Steele's chief executive officer.
The current mercenary companies have, over the span of the war, increased their numbers so exponentially that they rival the professional militaries of many countries. How long before someone with enough money decides he wants his own country and takes it?
And how onminous is it that the war drums are already sounding for military action against Iran. A use of force agreement (euphemism for declaring war without having to actually declare war) against Iran was introduced today into congress by Arizona's very own John Kyl as well as that fucking turncoat Lieberman. Luckily they were called on it for what it was and got owned right there on the senate floor. If we were to have conflict with Iran with the current state of the military, I could guarantee you would be seeing even more mercenaries being employed by the US.
Welcome to corporate armies of America. Would you like your war supersized? Would you like fucking fries with that? Thank you, drive through.
Meriam Webster dictionary defines mercenary as
–adjective
| 1. | working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal. |
| 2. | hired to serve in a foreign army, guerrilla organization, etc. |
| 3. | a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army. |
| 4. | any hireling. |
This being said, the forces in Iraq under the euphemism of "security contractor" are most definetly mercenary forces. This is a long and complicated subject, so I will be breaking it down into several posts for the sake of an easier read. There is also some good info on current private military companies (PMC) on wikipedia under mercenary. In this section I will cover the basics.
There are many mercenary companies working for us abroad, the most visable being over in Iraq. I have read estimates that place numbers as being as much as 120,000 privately owned soldiers running security on the ground over there. The pay for these soldiers ranges between $500 a day to as much as $4000 a day. They also reported recieve nearly 100 days off a year.
The main companies that I will cover in these articles are Blackwater and Aegis. They hire the "best of the best" from around the world. Forces made of Chilean commandos, African aparheid soldiers, former Navy Seal commandos, Gurkas from Nepal, and several other elite forces from across the globe. They own their own private helicopters and APCs as well as unmanned recon drones.
These are private armies for profit with sketchy makeups, sketchy backgrounds, and zero accountability and oversight for their actions. They are making the large corporations and defence contractors further dependent on maintaining a constant state of war. There can be no peace when people with lots of money are invested in maintaining a state of war and are not afraid to lobby to hardliners and extremists to keep business good.
Raenette Taljaard, a member of the South African Parliament,
describes the ubiquitous reach of this "booming cottage industry" of private security companies:
"In addition to becoming an integral part of the machinery of war, they are emerging as cogs in the infrastructure of peace. US-allied military officials and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan are quickly becoming familiar with the 'brand services' provided by companies."
Is war something that we should begin to establish brand familiarity with corporations? Not to mention that when you are running a business for profit, the lives of those that you hire for your mercenaries do not weigh as heavily as the bottom line.
One security company, the Steele Foundation, recently turned down an $18 million contract for a corporation that wanted a security force deployed within only a few days; Steele said it simply could not find enough qualified guards so quickly. Another company promptly jumped at the contract. ''They just throw bodies at it,'' said Kenn Kurtz, Steele's chief executive officer.
The current mercenary companies have, over the span of the war, increased their numbers so exponentially that they rival the professional militaries of many countries. How long before someone with enough money decides he wants his own country and takes it?
And how onminous is it that the war drums are already sounding for military action against Iran. A use of force agreement (euphemism for declaring war without having to actually declare war) against Iran was introduced today into congress by Arizona's very own John Kyl as well as that fucking turncoat Lieberman. Luckily they were called on it for what it was and got owned right there on the senate floor. If we were to have conflict with Iran with the current state of the military, I could guarantee you would be seeing even more mercenaries being employed by the US.
Welcome to corporate armies of America. Would you like your war supersized? Would you like fucking fries with that? Thank you, drive through.
No comments:
Post a Comment