Scahill says "Domestic opposition to wars of aggression results in fewer people volunteering to serve in the armed forces, which historically deflates the war drive or forces a military draft. At the same time, international opposition has made it harder for Washington to persuade other governments to support its wars and occupations. But with private mercenary companies, these dynamics change dramatically, as the pool of potential soldiers available to an aggressive administration is limited only by the number of men across the globe willing to kill for money. With the aid of mercenaries, you don't need a draft or even the support of your own public to wage wars of aggression, nor do you need a coalition of ˜willing nations to aid you. If Washington cannot staff an occupation or invasion with its national forces, the mercenary firms offer a privatized alternative---including Blackwater's 21,000-man contractor database".If foreign governments are not on board, foreign soldiers can still be bought.
In Jan., 2008, the UN working group on mercenaries found an emerging trend in Latin America of "situations of private security companies protecting transnational extractive corporations whose employees are often involved in suppressing the legitimate social protest of communities and human rights and environmental organizations of the areas where these corporations operate. And South Africa's Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, termed mercenaries "the scourge of poor areas of the world, especially Africa. These are killers for hire. They rent out their skills to the highest bidder. Anybody that has money can hire these human beings and turn them into killing machines or cannon fodder.
Mincing no words, Ratner warns, "These kinds of military groups bring to mind Nazi Party brownshirts, functioning as an extrajudicial enforcement mechanism that can and does operate outside the law.
Of course, contract warrior firm officials see themselves in a nobler light. Blackwater's Vice-Chairman Cofer Black in one speech compared his company to King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, asserting they "Focus on morals and ethics and integrity. This is important. We are not fly-by-night. We are not tricksters. We believe in these things. For all such claims, the final judgment on the performance of contract military firms must come from the people these noble knights purport to serve. And if Blackwater is any example, they are hated.
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(Sherwood Ross has worked for major dailies and wire services and served in an executive capacity in the U.S. civil rights movement. He currently is active in the anti-war movement and operates a public relations firm for good causes. Reach him at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com).
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