Category: Mercenaries
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The mercenaries looking to gain from the Blackwater scandal
R.J. Hillhouse points us to an important but neglected feature of the Blackwater scandal: The Blackwater shooting incident has provided the Pentagon an opening in the turf wars because the CIA’s paramilitary arm, the Special Activities Division is heavily outsourced, particularly in Iraq. If all security contractors fell under the DoD, the Pentagon could not…
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From Bengal to Baghdad: Three Centuries of Corporate Warriors
Picture the scene: The head of a private military company is appearing before the legislature. For years, his firm has prospered from the occupation of a resource-rich Asian country, protected by its shareholders’ powerful political connections. Only now are years of long-ignored abuses coming to light. The setting is not Washington 2007, but London 1787.…
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McBride family criticise Spicer website comments
The mother of a north Belfast teenager shot dead by Scots Guards 16 years ago has hit out after one of Iraq’s biggest defence contractors claimed the troops were "wrongly convicted" of murder. Aegis Specialist Risk Management – run by the soldiers’ former CO,…
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Iraqis give Blackwater six months
It seems that the Iraqi Government is not giving up in its efforts to get rid of Blackwater. It will be interesting to see how this plays on Capitol Hill, given the way Henry Waxman’s committee has targeted this issue: Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA…
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Congolese fear Heritage mercenary connection
The Monitor of Kampala has a piece today on the border tensions between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo that points up once again the links between Heritage Oil and private armies: Kinshasa remains suspicious of Kampala, while according to a UN official who spoke to Sunday Monitor on condition of anonymity, the DR…
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Mercenaries and the decline of the state II: Aegis
Part One Ironically, the comparison with the East India Company was made by Tim Spicer, the head of Aegis, which holds the largest private military contract in Iraq, in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute. (audio link) Just as the East India Company had its roots in the decline of the Mughal Empire,…
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Mercenaries and the decline of the state I: Blackwater
The US Congress this week held hearings on Blackwater, the private military company whose involvement in a massacre in Baghdad has roused the anger of the Iraqi Government, and prompted renewed scrutiny of US use of mercenaries in Iraq.
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US responds to Iraqi contractor legislation
It seems there is a genuine power-struggle developing over security contractors in Iraq in the wake of the Blackwater shootings: A draft law that would place American private security companies under government supervision and make their personnel accountable for their actions has been submitted to a state legal committee for review, an Iraqi Interior Ministry…
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Jean Mc Bride calls for Iraq to ban Aegis
The Iraqi Government has announced a review of all private military companies operating in the country in the wake of Sunday’s Blackwater shootings. The Pat Finucane Centre has issued the following statement. Belfast mother appeals to Iraqi Government Following the decision of the Iraqi government to expel private security company Blackwater from the country Belfast…
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Iraqis order Blackwater out
Will this decision stand, I wonder? The Iraqi government has ordered the American private security contractor Blackwater, which provides protection for US officials in the country, to shut down its operations after its guards were accused of killing 10 civilians and injuring 13 others in Baghdad. Employees of…