Week 10
Yesterday and today:
“soldiers-of-fortune”
What are “soldiers-of-fortune”?
Who do they fight for?
Why talk about them in a course on “old” and
“new” wars?
What are “soldiers-of-fortune”?
“Soldiers-of-fortune” are military personnel who
fight as individuals not as “regular soldiers”, i.e.,
they fight as mercenaries, members of private
armies, and/or employees of security companies;
they provide “security-for-money”, though the ones
who also serve some kind of cause may be called
state irregulars, or para-militaries; c.f. militia,
who are civilians and citizens who fight - without
pay - because of their loyalty to their country and
their desire to have it win
“… militia”
“Soldiers-of-fortune” are thus “soldiers-for-hire”;
they are known (negatively) as “dogs-of-war” who
perform strategic services for personal gain; to do
this they contract their military skills either
.. to part of a state’s armed forces
(specifically set up for them), or
.. to a private security company which then
uses these skills to promote its prospectus;
in this case …
… “soldiers-of-fortune” fight for companies like
1. Academi: founded in 1997, this was first
known as Blackwater; its name was changed
to Xe Services in 2009 and to Academi in 2011
. it has a 7,000 acre training facility in the U.S.
(the largest such facility in America)
. it has trained 50,000 military personnel, law
enforcement, and counter-terrorism agents, and
has a field force of 20,000 and
. it has been on missions in Afghanistan and Iraq
“…Academi ”
2. Defion Internacional: headquartered in Peru, this
organization has offices Dubai, Sri Lanka, the
Philippines and Iraq
. with another mercenary firm, Triple Canopy,
it was involved in recruiting and training
personnel for the Iraq War
. it supplied about 3,000 personnel for the Green
Zone in Baghdad
. it provides personal and “static” guards, drivers,
logistics supporters, and even English teachers
“… Defion Internacional” [spot the English teacher}
3. Aegis Defense Services: founded in 2002, this
British private military company has offices in
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal and the
U.S.; it has a staff of 5,000 and has taken part in
missions in 40 states for 20 governments, plus the
U.N. and companies in emerging markets; it does
. emergency response
. risk assessment, and
. work protecting oil supply services
It is infamous for a video from 2005 which shows
Aegis forces firing on Iraqi civilians
4. Triple Canopy, Inc. has a contract with the U.S.
government to supply Iraqi forces; founded in
2003 by U.S. Army Special Forces veterans,
it currently employs ex-Delta Forces personnel
plus 5,000 ex-Navy SEALs, Rangers, and those
who were once part of Army Special Operations
. it provides security services to “government
agencies, corporations and non-governmental
organizations across the globe” and its forces
are said to be “well trained [and] professional”
5. DynCorp: founded in 1946 as Land-Air, Inc. and
initially an air freight and aircraft maintenance
company, this firm has worked for the U.S.
. in Colombia, Bolivia, Somalia, Angola, Haiti,
Kosovo, Peru, Iraq and Kuwait
. as security for the president of Afghanistan, e.g.
as instructors for his guards and police force
. it receives 96% of its $3bn. annual income from
the U.S. federal government and is currently
looking to become a partner with the defense
contractor Raytheon
6. G4S has 657,000 employees and operates in 125
countries; it is the third-largest private employer
in the world after Wal-Mart Stores and Foxconn;
founded in Denmark in 1901, the present company
was formed in 2004 out of Securicor and Group 4
Falck; it provides
. security forces for private clients and
government agencies
. intelligence, and
. land-mine clearance and training
Other well-known companies include
. the Unity Resources Group (Australian-owned),
which operates throughout Africa, the Americas,
Central Asia and Europe
. Erinys, which provides security for iron ore, oil,
and gas projects in Africa and also followed U.S
contracts into Iraq
. the Asia Security Group, which protects supply
convoys in Afghanistan and recruits personnel
for DynCorp
Over the last 10 years renting soldiers-of-fortune
has gone from a niche industry to a global one
worth (the U.N. estimates) $100bn., i.e., the market
is large and still growing; it is mostly paid for by
Western governments that want to limit the cost of
their conventional forces (this is the politicoeconomic dimension of this issue)
. n.b. the firms involved today are also looking
for new business, e.g. private corporations
going into insecure, unstable areas; these are
clearly potential customers
One firm in particular is preparing for new business;
it is the example given at the beginning, namely,
Academi, which has more than 90% of its current
contracts with governments but in the future
envisages half of its customers being corporations,
e.g., energy firms and hotel chains; to meet this
demand it is planning a new training facility in east
Africa
. n.b., how as the market grows non-Western
firms also want a share, e.g. …
… when Chinese road workers were kidnapped in
South Sudan in January, 2012, Chinese armed
guards helped to get them released
. one firm based in Beijing (the Shandong Huawei
Security Group) says it has already supplied
guards for overseas work
. it is now looking for jobs in
.. Iraq, and
.. Angola
where a quarter of a million Chinese work
International security firms that deploy “soldiersof-fortune” create smaller, local firms; when they
enter new areas and employ locals as subcontractors, these often start up on their own renting
out experienced mercenaries
. in June, 2012, for example, a U.N. monitoring
group found private, anti-piracy personnel in
Somalia to be the best-equipped locals available
. it so happens they were trained by the former
head of Blackwater (now Academi)
These small, local groups work for the highest
bidder, whether this be an oil firm or a dictator, e.g.,
. Colonel Qaddafi was hiring mercenaries before
the Libyan revolution finally killed him (in
October 2011)
. he paid these “soldiers” up to US$1000 a day
“… $1000 a day”
This raises the issue of how such a fragmented industry
can be regulated, since it is unlikely to regulate itself
. it is, after all, a fiercely competitive one
At the same time
. the world’s standing armies are shrinking, and
. the nature of war is changing
.. low-intensity conflicts are replacing large ones
.. armed forces are becoming just one weapon
available, while
.. the range of advanced weapons is increasing
“… advanced weapons [e.g. drones]”
- maintaining these systems is a serious
problem; soldiers have to spend more time
learning how to operate and monitor them;
armies can have trouble keeping up so they
employ private contractors to help them do so
(this is the issue’s politico-strategic dimension)
= the number of private military companies
is growing rapidly in response to this demand
= they provide “soldiers-of-fortune” able to
perform vital non-combat roles, though
they do more than maintain “drones” …
… e.g., Sandline International subcontracted
Executive Outcomes to end a rebellion at the
Panguna copper mine on Bougainville island in
the South Pacific
- Executive Outcomes (EO) was founded in
1989 by a former lieutenant-colonel in the
South African Defense Force, Eeben Barlow;
it provided military personnel, training, and
logistical support to officially recognized
governments; he did give help to firms
but only with government approval
- Executive Outcomes employed exclusively
South African personnel; despite the PNG
disaster (see later), it preferred to fight in
Africa, e.g., on behalf of the Angolan
government against the National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which
was the opposition party
= this particular campaign began as a
protection job; …
… in 1993 an oil company contracted EO to
provide security for its staff while they
recovered drilling equipment stranded at the
UNITA-held port of Soyo; together with the
Angolan Army, it captured Soyo; EO
retrained the Angolan Army and captured
Cafunfu - the diamond area that was being used
to fund UNITA’s war effort; the UN and the
“blood diamond” lobby forced EO to withdraw;
the UN had then to spend billions restoring the
order EO had established for $35m
- in 1995, EO was contracted to fight rebels then
marching on Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown;
EO defeated the rebels with 200 troops; free and
fair elections followed, however, pressure once
again forced EO to withdraw; the UN sent
in 18,000 soldiers at the cost of $1bn. a year;
the rebels regrouped, often taking UN troops
hostage, and the country sank back (EO says)
“into an orgy of cannibalism and limb chopping”
- as Barlow says: “EO operated primarily in
Africa helping African governments that
had been abandoned by the West and were
facing threats from insurgencies, terrorism and
organized crime … I believe that only Africans
(Black and White) can truly solve Africa’s
problems”
- EO later became part of a South African-based
company, the Strategic Resource Corporation
- in 1997 Barlow left
- in 1998 EO was disbanded …
… because South Africa made it illegal for its
nationals to become mercenaries; there was also
the Papua New Guinea disaster when the
commander of PNG’s defense forces withdrew
support for the Bougainville contract and
ordered all mercenaries to be held on arrival;
EO’s men were disarmed and then deported,
the PNG prime minister was forced to resign,
and the country came close to a military coup
“… Panguna copper mine on Bougainville”
… Sandline International itself was founded in 1994
by Tim Spicer and Simon Mann
- Mann went to Eton College and Sandhurst
- he then joined the Scots Guards and later the
Special Air Service (the SAS)
- he served in Cyprus, Germany, Norway and
Northern Ireland before leaving the army
- he was recalled to fight in the Gulf War, however
- in March 2004, he and 69 others were arrested
in Zimbabwe on their way to attempt a coup in
Equatorial Guinea (funded by Sir Mark Thatcher)
- at stake was EG’s vast oil and gas reserves
- Sir Timothy Spicer was also ex-Sandhurst, the
Scots Guards and Northern Ireland (though he
served in the Falkland Islands as well)
- he tried to join the SAS but failed to meet the
entry standards
- as Sandline he was involved in importing
weapons into Sierra Leone, despite a UN arms
embargo; he was part of the PNG disaster too
- in 1999 he left to launch another private firm,
Crisis and Risk Management
- he changed the name to Strategic Consulting
International and set up a partner company that
specialized in anti-piracy consulting
- in 2002 he set up Aegis Defense Services, which
in October 2004 won a $293m. 3-year contract in
Iraq to gather intelligence for the US army
(Spicer was replaced as chief executive in 2010)
= n.b. by 2004 Spicer headed the second largest
military force in Iraq, i.e., 20,000 rent-soldiers
= in December 2005 Senator Obama wanted the
contract cancelled for human rights reasons
In total “soldiers-or-fortune” constitute a military
force today larger than that at the command of the
U.S.; this is not a familiar fact but it is not new, e.g.,
. in 401BC, Cyrus the Younger, a Persian prince,
hired an army of Greek mercenaries (the “Ten
Thousand”) to help him take the throne from his
brother, Artaxerxes II; Cyrus won but he was
killed, as were many of the Greek soldiers;
Xenophon persuaded the rest to retreat to the
Black Sea (see his account in the Anabasis)
Even earlier, in the 13th century BC, the Pharaoh
Ramesses II is said to have used 11,000 mercenaries
as
. scouts and light infantry: these were recruited
from Nubia
. heavy duty troops: these were recruited from
Libya, Syria and Canaan
. personal body-guards: these (the “Sherdens”)
were recruited from Sardinia; they were notable
for their horned helmets
“… Ramesses II … [and] the Sherdens of Sardinia”
In the 1st century BC the Greek rulers of Ptolemaic
Egypt used Celtic mercenaries from Galatia
. the Celts were a group of tribes from Central
Europe
. they spread over much of the rest of Europe
from 500-200BC and were fierce warriors
. the Ptolemaic Egyptians were wealthy and
could afford to employ them
“… Celtic mercenaries from Galatia”
In the “Warring States” period in ancient China
(481-403BC) mercenaries were regularly used
by the emperors trying to unify the country, e.g.,
. the Qin and Han emperors used paid recruits
that included nomadic horse-archers from the
Northern steppes, and soldiers from the Yue
kingdoms in the South
. in the 7th century the Tang emperors hired
Tibetan and Uyghur soldiers to use against
invaders like the Gokturks
“… archers from the Northern steppes”
In the late 4th century BC the Roman Empire found
it increasingly difficult to raise military units from
its own citizens because of lack of
. manpower
. time available for training, and
. materials
Bands of barbarians were often contracted, either
for use within legions or as independent fighters
The Byzantine emperors followed the Romans,
e.g., the Varangian (Viking) Guard
“… the Varangian (Viking) Guard”
From August 1570 to August 1580 the Saika
mercenaries of the Kii province in Japan played
an important role in the siege of Ishiyama
Hongan-ji
. the Saikashuu were famous for supporting
the Ikko Buddhist sect
Also famous as mercenaries were the ninja, i.e.
. peasant farmers who had learned how to fight
the samurai
. from the 14th to the mid 18th century they were
also used as hired assassins
“… the Saika mercenaries … [and a] ninja”
In the 14th century the almogavares were used as
mercenaries in Italy and the Levant; they came
originally from the Pyrenees and as frontiersmen
they wore no armor
. they originally fought (for money, of course)
for Catalonia and Aragon
. they later fought for the Byzantine emperor,
turning on him after defeating the Turks
. they were disciplined, fierce and earned a
long-lasting reputation for cruelty
During the late Middle Ages there were mercenary
“free companies”
. regimes that did not have the money to maintain
standing armies often hired them
. veteran soldiers looking for employment often
joined them
.. they were specialized in the forms of fighting
that required longer training-times than
militia, for example, ever received
. in the 14th century, the White Company was the
best known English case of such a company
“… the White Company [led by Sir John Hawkwood]”
. Great Britain hired German mercenaries to
fight against the American colonists in the
Revolutionary War; e.g. there were 30,000
Hessian soldiers that made up a quarter of the
British force
.. the Continental Army under George
Washington also employed mercenaries
.. they fought alongside the colonial militia
and the soldiers in his regular army
“… 30,000 Hessian [mercenary] soldiers”
“… the Continental Army … also employed
mercenaries”
Individual “soldiers-of-fortune” have often become
very famous; before Simon Mann and Tim Spicer,
for example, there was Thomas “Mad Mike” Hoare,
best known for his mercenary activities in Africa
(e.g. the Congo) and his attempt to stage a coup
d’etat in the Seychelles
. born in India he served in North Africa and Italy
during WWII
. after the war he emigrated to South Africa and
began free-lancing in various African states
What legal standing do “soldiers-of-fortune” have?
According to the Geneva Conventions “lawful
combatants” are those who belong to the armed
forces of a state, can legally participate in hostilities
against other states, and merit prisoner-of-war status
if captured; by contrast
. one of the three amendments to the Geneva
Conventions - the First Protocol of 1977 (Art.47)
- says a “soldier-of-fortune” is a soldier who …
…
is “specially recruited” to take part in any
conflict, i.e., is not a member of the armed
forces of the state doing the recruiting
. takes a “direct part in hostilities” for
“private gain” (usually being paid a lot
more than “ordinary” soldiers)
. is neither a “national of” nor a “resident
of” the states involved in the conflict, and
. has not been sent by some other state, i.e.,
someone not part of the conflict concerned
In other words: “soldiers-of-fortune” of any kind
are not - according to the Geneva Conventions lawful combatants; they have no protection under
these Conventions which means they can be
executed or charged with murder if they kill a
“regular” soldier or an ordinary civilian
. in 1989 the U.N.G.A. passed a resolution outlawing their use, though only 33 states have so
far ratified it (the U.S. is not likely to do so since
“soldiers-of-fortune” are too useful)
. The International Convention against the
Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of
Mercenaries entered into force in 2001
.. Art. 1 defines “soldiers-of-fortune” like Art. 47
of the Geneva Convention, Protocol 1 does, but
.. Art. 1.2 broadens the definition to include nonnationals recruited to overthrow a government
or otherwise undermine the constitutional order
or territorial integrity of the state; it also says
.. a person does not have to directly participate in a
planned coup to be seen as a “soldier-of-fortune”
The situation during the Iraq War, and the
continuing occupation of Iraq after the hand-over
of power to an Iraqi government, shows how hard
it can be to define a “soldier-of-fortune”
. when the U.S. governed Iraq, U.S. armed guards
were not deemed to be “soldiers-of-fortune”
because they were Americans and the U.S. was
part of the conflict
. after the hand-over, the same guards became
soldiers sent by a state not a party to the conflict
. unless lawfully certified residents of Iraq, i.e.,
citizens of Iraq, they became “soldiers-of-fortune”
. if they then became involved in a fire-fight they
did so as illegal and irregular forces, not legal
and regular ones, and could be charged with
murder
. once the U.S. became party to the conflict again,
however, the same guards ceased to be “soldiersof-fortune” and became regular armed personnel
protected by the law
By the way: if you want to join one, private security
contractors recruit world-wide or from the region
where they are based; remember though that
. those accepted have usually had a previous
career in the military or law enforcement, and
. contractors have clear preferences, e.g., British
firms like to hire ex-members of the Special Air
Services (the SAS) - a special forces regiment
within the British army; other contractors (like
the U.S. ones) are the same
“… Special Air Services”
As an employee you can also be sent anywhere on
any security-related task, e.g.,
. training guards how to stop poachers who
threaten endangered wildlife like the black rhino
. providing site security and planning and training
for corporations like BP, Exxon, and DeBeers
. guarding senior civil servants and other officials
. protecting oil installations, and
. conducting anti-drug operations
“… guard[ing] officials [the British Council in
Kabul, when it was attacked and defended]”
The pay is certainly high since you can earn, as noted
earlier, up to US$1,000 a day, but you will
. receive no benefits and have to pay your own
taxes
. have to fight even though you will be less likely
to be killed than regular soldiers since your work
will usually be less “offensive”
. play a combat role that will never be clear and
will always, therefore, be rather controversial
I noted at the start: state militaries do set up divisions
that use “soldiers-of-fortune”; you can join, e.g.,
i) the French Foreign Legion - founded 1831 by the
French king, who recruited soldiers from disbanded
Swiss and German mercenary regiments into his
regular army - but not ii) the British Gurkhas
. the Legion is unique because it is made up of
foreigners who fight outside France for money
(though the officers are French and so are 25%
of the soldiers; the rest - for 3 years - are not)
“… the Gurkhas”
The FFL was originally organized by nation - Swiss,
Polish, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch/Belgian
. they were first sent to Algeria; this became
their base for 130 years
. they subsequently served in Spain, Crimea, Italy,
Mexico, Tonkin, Formosa, Dahomey [Benin],
Niger, and Madagascar; in WWI [on the western
front]; in WWII [against each other]; Indochina,
Algeria, Chad, the Congo, Rwanda, the Ivory
Coast and Iraq
“… French Foreign Legion”
There are only about 8,000 Legionnaires but they
come from 136 different countries
. the first test is one for “fitness and motivation”
. the second is a 15 week training program (after
signing a 5-year contract)
. the third is serving beside regular French
military forces and police, and soldiers from
other states, e.g., as peacekeepers in Kosovo,
Rwanda, Cambodia and Afghanistan
N.b., since 1831, 35,000 have been killed in battle
“ … [in] Afghanistan”
And the state’s perspective? “Soldiers-of-fortune”
can be an advantage but they can also be a liability
. they may not save a government much money
since hiring high-quality soldiers is expensive
. they may also resign because of an employer’s
unwillingness or inability to pay them
. they may even turn on their employer and revolt
(n.b. Niccolo Machiavelli argued against them
for this very reason in The Prince [1532]; also as
fighters-for-pay they usually don’t like to die)
Finally, are they an “old” or “new” war resource?
. states are “privatizing” their conflicts and using
more non-state actors, i.e., “security services”
. these are paid for using tax monies in the same
way regular soldiers are, but mercenaries are
on contracts that may be outside defense budgets
. they are also used for many other purposes than
fighting over territory, e.g., guarding embassies
and oil installations; “state dis-mantling”; mine
clearance; and protecting corporate personnel
What do you think? Are “soldiers-of-fortune”
evidence of a change from “old” to “new” war?
. are they part of globalization as Kaldor sees it?
. do they tell us something about armies fighting
battles over territory while spending tax monies
and observing the laws of war?
. do they tell us about regular and irregular
forces using displacement to affirm identity
while engaging in predatory financing and
ignoring the laws of war? Meanwhile …
… and I hope to see you next week