According to a United Nations report published recently, the number of mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan has been increasing steadily and now comprises the second largest military force in the region. One third of the “Coalition of the Willing” are mercenaries.
This is an old world practice that is quickly proliferating in an age that is marked by an indefinite “War on Terror.” The United States government, in the absence of a draft during a long and drawn out war, is resorting to private “contracting” firms for help.
American, British, and other security companies are supplying the private armies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe. The Center for Public Integrity publishes a list of all the firms that are currently operating in the Middle East. Mercenaries come from different backgrounds: ex Special Forces and other military from places like the United States, Britain, Jordan, the Philippines, and even from within Iraq, or world citizens who are looking for a quick way to get rich and see some action. All have one thing in common: their role is not well-defined and, although technically they fall under the jurisdiction of the occupying armies, they have engaged in questionable and criminal behavior without proper oversight. At the same time, they also have been subject to extremely dangerous and unpredictable events. In fact, the time is coming when such mercenaries will be entitled to "labor rights" like any immigrant laborer holding a work visa. Apparently, Filipino recruits, like many of their counterparts in other areas of the world, are being rushed through their training and lack the necessary skills for the military jobs they are expected to do.
According to Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper, many of these mercenaries have no clear mission and lack an understanding of their exact role in the war zone. Their only direct order is to shoot at anyone who "appears" hostile towards the Occupation Forces.
It is worth noting that mercenary activity is prohibited by the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights.
Article 2 of the United Nations International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries (ratified in 1989 and went into effect in 2001) states "Any person who recruits, uses, finances or trains mercenaries, as defined in article 1 of the present Convention, commits an offence for the purposes of the Convention."
However, many of those recruits are in legal limbo because they do not fall under the technical definition of "mercenary" (see Article 1 of the above Convention). They are hired as "security" personnel to protect officials and the offices of international organizations.
Many mercenaries have been engaged in acts of torture, murder, theft and destruction of property. The pay for such lawless activity?
Mercenaries from poorer countries, $4,000 a month.
U.S. and other posh ex Special Forces: up to $1,500 a day.
Where else can tough guys relive their old and gone days of glory while fattening their bank accounts and posing for their trophy pictures to brag about back home?
ISN'T WAR GREAT!
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