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The Forum > Article Comments > Markets in everything - the new mercenaries > Comments

Markets in everything - the new mercenaries : Comments

By Jeremy Ballenger, published 15/9/2006

What is to stop al-Qaida or similar organisations approaching private security companies for help?

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Good article on a very underreported issue.

I see the use of Mercanaries (because that IS what they are) as just another way of Governments avoiding accountability.
Posted by Carl, Friday, 15 September 2006 9:35:45 AM
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A good article - if you're interested in more on this, there are some great articles at www.corpwatch.org including a great piece on the upcoming privatisation of the US border control at Mexico.

While I'm definitely much more in favour of capitalism than the alternatives, I think the fear of communism and socialism (promoted by those at the top of the capitalist ladder) is preventing any proper discussion of the flaws of capitalism. Despite the cold war being well and truly over, those who criticise capitalism are still stigmatized.

The reason why I say this, is that we are entering a new era of capitalism - an extreme kind that has never been seen before.
More and more industries that used to be the core province of government are becoming privatised. Water. Electricity. Even defence.

This last one is particularly scary. As the author points out, hired guns are just that. And while I don't think any large scale military outfits are going to join terrorists any time soon, the smaller players may be tempted.

Consider this - with the privatisation of these core industries, what roles will our governments play?
A large part of that, will be choosing which contractors get the tax dollars. Instead of administering these industries, the government will pick and choose.

Inevitably, they will pick and choose the larger contractors. The ones with the large PR budgets, and the ones that can frame the best proposals.

Where does this leave the smaller operators? either swallowed up by the bigger ones, or looking for other customers. And in an increasingly globalised world which sees conflict viewed from only two sides, in the major conflicts, there will be only one other customer.

I can see people scoffing that the mercenaries wouldn't join terrorists. But with a fifth of the world's population being muslim, there is plenty of scope for mercenaries with sympathies for militant groups, who may not otherwise be inclined to violence.
Posted by TurnRightThenLeft, Friday, 15 September 2006 9:44:58 AM
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What were those comments after Croatia was sent packing from the World Cup soccer competition - "The Croation fans are now getting behind Australia" and the reason given - "Well most of the other countries remaining in the draw have been at war with Croatia in it's history". Point one - History can be a bugger when it is used ingrain ethnic and religious hatred. Lucky we don't have too much complicated history in Australia.

But..., 20 years ago I stood in a State Forest North of Melbourne at the site of a clandestine training camp, which by the way flies in the face of reports by the Federal Police report approximately 2 years ago that no such training camps existed in Australia otherwise they would have known about it. We were training on their turf to take them on and they were training so they could go and liberate their land in Europe when the Soviet empire was starting to loose influence on the former Yugslavia. And when the wall came down a lot didn't go back for the liberation as they had become "Australianised". Point two - Although from a different European culture, Our culture had helped disengage some of these young men from being soldiers of fortune.

In 1983 an ex US Army Intelligence Analyst with Vietnam experience was turned around at Melbourne Airport. He had already been paid $100,000 to come to Australia and teach some aspiring soldiers of fortune techniques in Counter Intelligence and miss information. Point three - well I guess show anybody enough money and you will get some takers. Just remember that top tax rate
Posted by merv, Friday, 15 September 2006 10:28:42 AM
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Flippant rubbish.

al Qaeda (and other Muslim terror networks) consider Private military companies (PMCs) as one of the worst manifestations of the "infidel, Crusader" threat.

al Qaeda recognises PMC's are staffed by former Western intelligence and special forces types. The CEOs and PMC staff in general rely on continuing ties with their old government employers to gain new contracts, knowledge, liaison procedures and recruits.

PMC's largest customers are Western countries. It makes no market sense to put those contracts at risk be dealing with "the enemy".

All this suggests al Qaeda would consider use of PMC's as an extremely insecure way to run terrorist operations.

Its far more likely al Qaeda (and JI etc) would turn to former/current military and intelligence personnel of Muslim nations for training, expertise and physical support. This support is much more secure if it relies on the overt or covert Muslim jihadist leanings of the military/intelligence personnel.

As examples of likely support - the observation of pro Osama bin Laden screensavers on the computers of officers at the headquarters of Saudi intelligence. Many officers in Pakistan's intelligence body (ISI) have long been seen as aiding and abetting al Qaeda and the Taliban.

So basically Ballenger's market model is unconvincing because it disregards the key elements essential to Muslim terror organisations, that is organisational secuity and religious affiliation and bonding.

Pete
http://spyingbadthings.blogspot.com
Posted by plantagenet, Friday, 15 September 2006 11:12:33 AM
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Mercenaries - Footsoldiers for the War For Profit Gang (Part 1)

"It must be remembered that elite ex-military personnel are trained in infrastructure protection, so it's hardly a quantum leap in thinking for them to turn what they've learned around, moving from defence to offence."

Quite so Jeremy.

There is ample evidence for this in the first 5 minutes of this video compilation of the London bombings:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3770877779111334563&q=london+bombing

Peter Power - was he genuinely surprised or just covering his arse?

Likewise the astronomical coincidences which converged on 9-11:

1. Several war games, some "live" taking place on that morning, depicting elements of the "real" scenario. Condi lies, "We didn't imagine...".

2. Missing $ Trillions from the defense budget, admitted the previous day by Rumsfeld, forgotten the following day.

3. Silverstein buys WTC 1 & 2 seven weeks before 9-11 (with only $14 Million of his own money), then insures it against terrorist attacks. He is awarded $50 Billion payout.

4. WTC 1 & 2 were condemned because of electrolysis problems between the outer steel verticals and the aluminium cladding. The buildings were lousy with asbestos, requiring careful deconstruction at a cost exceeding $10 Billion.
Posted by Chris Shaw, Carisbrook 3464, Friday, 15 September 2006 11:50:18 AM
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Footsoldiers for the War For Profit Gang (Part 2)

5. Mayor Giuliani, the "hero" of 9-11 was well aware of the WTC status. His office and records were handily destroyed in the demolition of WTC3. Giuliani went "free enterprise" with his own security company and enough insider knowlege to guarantee success.

6. Handily, crucial evidence from the Enron / Arthur Anderson fiasco was destroyed, along with several FBI investigations of money laundering by major banks.

7. The FBI assign CONVAR (Germany) the task of recovering data from WTC hard drives, but CONVAR is quickly bought out by private spy agency Kroll Inc, a subsidiary of Maurice Greenberg's AIG. The money launderers win the day and Wall Street breathes a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile in La La land, we are presented with blurry videos of the late Tim Osman (Osama), depicted by a variety of bad mummers. All we get is WMD, war on terror and a variety of other drivel. The fact that we swallow this unedifying and barely believable muck is a matter of extreme embarrassment to me.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when sock-puppet Bush took sock-puppet Howard for a wide on Airforce 1. I wonder what passed between them on the big aiwy pwane?
Posted by Chris Shaw, Carisbrook 3464, Friday, 15 September 2006 11:52:05 AM
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