Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Location Location
Posts: 26420

Violence breaks out in a small African state. The local government collapses and reports emerge that civilians are being massacred by the tens of thousands. Refugees stream out in pitiable columns. As scenes reminiscent of the Rwanda genocide are played out on the world's television screens once again, pressure mounts to do something. The U.N.'s calls for action fall on deaf ears. In the U.S., the leadership remains busy with the war on terrorism and Iraq and decides that the political risks of doing nothing are far lower than the risks of losing any American soldiers' lives in what is essentially a mission of charity. Other nations follow its lead, and none are willing to risk their own troops. As the international community dithers, innocent men, women, and children die by the hour.

It is at this point that a private company steps forward with a novel offer. Using its own hired troops, the firm will establish protected safe havens where civilians can take refuge and receive assistance from international aid agencies. Thousands of lives might be saved. All the company asks is a check for $150 million.


An interesting report from the Brookings Institute on the notion of privatizing military forces. Mercenaries, if you like. They've been playing a bigger role in international crisises in the last decade, and it's become a real growth industry worldwide.

The question isn't "is it a good idea", but rather, "how good an idea IS it?" It's already in use, current peacekeeping institutions are already proving themselves to be pretty inadequate in addressing some of the worst hotspots on earth (but not strategic hotspots), so, the idea is, what if we just start writing checks and letting mercs deal with the shit on the ground?

Read it. Interesting article.

http://www.brookings.edu/views/arti...ger20030601.htm

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Registered: Nov 2003
Location: North Myrtle Beach SC
Posts: 3353

about our lack of action


this exposes the UNs view of us , they want us to be nothing more their military, the UN peace keeping military , when we use our militay to protect our interest we are " unilateralist:" " ( traslation not under our control ) , but they expect us to send our troops to Africa or Haiti evey time a villiger gets chopped up with a machette , just because they say so .


i trust North Korea more than the UN

private armies, could end up being a very bad thing , and would not be needed , if the world would deal with the few thugs who instigate these problems , like in Somalia , it was groups of gansters basically starving people to death , yet the UN and American liberals are so afraid a tyrant , terrorist or machette weilding thugs rights will be violated , that we allow them to kill innocent people , how enlightened of us .

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35656

I think that with Somalia, the American people were so bothered by bodybags, that US withdrawal followed.

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Registered: Nov 2003
Location: North Myrtle Beach SC
Posts: 3353

the Taliban and Saddam thought we where bothered by bodybags too , they bet we would not fight a ground war , neither have countries any more .

the problem was with sheepish leadership , trying to use a military force as international cops , and fight a war without killing anyone .

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35656

I wasn't in the US at the time, but I do seem to recall that the effect on US opinion of the relatively small number of US soldiers that died in Somalia was rather disproportionate.

I would say that the US is still bothered by bodybags, although perhaps not as much as Saddam had hoped. But you do hear people going on about the 'over 500 of our troops dead', which puzzles me, given that they are a volunteer military and the US can certainly afford to lose 500 of them.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

I read a similar article by Kaplan in Atlantic Monthly. I'll see if I can track it down.

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Registered: Apr 2003
Location: I cant say I buy this completely,
Posts: 2539

Africa is a stinking shithole. Private armies are a bad idea.

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