MetaFilter posts tagged with mercenaries

Iron Man,Wild Goose! Sounds like a finger up a tin man's backside,doesn't it?

KokuRyu — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:44:31 -0800

Simon Mann, freed dog of war, is demanding justice. After more than five years in jail, the British mercenary is seeking vengeance on others he says were part of the failed 'Wonga Coup' – including Mark Thatcher. [previously] The plot itself is well documented – how in March 2004 Mann, Nick du Toit and three other South African mercenaries with wealthy international backers and the tacit approval of at least three governments, most notably the Spanish, attempted a coup which involved flying into the former Spanish colony in a plane loaded with arms and more than 50 black "Buffalo soldiers" – former members of the now disbanded South African defence forces' elite 32 battalion– to replace Obiang with an exiled opposition activist called Severo Moto. The prize was vast, untapped reserves of oil and natural gas that an American company had recently discovered in the tiny nation. In March 2004 the plane was intercepted by the Zimbabweans at Harare airport and a jubilant President Robert Mugabe threw Mann and his fellow conspirators into jail before handing them over to Equatorial Guinea where a court sentenced the Eton-educated mercenary to 34 years in jail. [Mann and others imprisoned for five years in Equatorial Guinea] are "furious" at yesterday's indications by Scotland Yard that there is insufficiently strong evidence to further pursue Thatcher or Calil and at the lack of international political will. Equatorial Guinea, a small central African country and former colony of Spain, has a bloody post-colonial history. One dictator, Francisco Macías Nguema, transformed Equatorial Guinea into the "Dachau of Africa," and either drove out or killed two-thirds of the population, becoming known as one of the worst African dictators of all time. Equatorial Guinea's Bioko Island, besides serving as an isolated offshore hub for the country's oil industry, is also famous as a refuge for the endangered baboon-like drill.

"Me not being part of the equation reduces the 'X' on the thing."

grounded — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:22:43 -0800

Two weeks after re-christening his mercenary outfit with the inscrutable moniker Xe, Erik Prince steps down as CEO. This news amid layoffs, multiple lawsuits, criminal charges, a helicopter crash, contract losses and outright banishment. Meanwhile, Xe reaches out to new target markets. Nostalgic for the old days? The Blackwater Pro Shop still has gear!

License to Murder

Mr_Zero — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:47:01 -0800

The State Department has promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in last month's murder of 17 Iraqi civilians. Richard J. Griffin, the head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security which granted the immunity, announced his resignation effective last Thursday.

Dictators, mercenaries, coups, paranoia and oil

Skeptic — Sun, 01 May 2005 03:07:00 -0800

Mysterious Mr. Moto. Severo Moto Nsa, Equatorial Guinea's exiled opposition leader reappeared in Madrid yesterday, after a strange episode in which he first was presumed abducted (or worse), and then, from an undisclosed location in Croatia, had accused the Spanish government of trying to kill him. He already made international headlines last year, with the most bizarre, incompetent coup attempt in a while. Not that the dictator he's trying to topple is a nice character (even if his predecessor and uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, was even worse). And, of course, there's oil involved. Lots of it.

The Wild Geese Fly Again?

Leege — Tue, 11 Jan 2005 21:05:45 -0800

Red, White and Blue Dogs of War Just found this story in The Nation about a decision by the Bush administration to hire Aegis Defense Services to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The trouble is, its boss, ex-British Lt. Col. Tim Spicer, who is responsible for actually starting a coup in Papua New Guinea in 1996, among other things. Perhaps Bush, the free market disciple, is beginning to think that he needs to hire some mercs to make up for all the reserve and Guard guys quitting. If the Army needs more help and advice, they could hire this or that homegrown "consulting firm."

Oh, and don't pack your camera.

moonbird — Fri, 07 May 2004 10:35:42 -0800

You too can apply to become a private interrogater in Baghdad! [Via Randi Rhodes on Air America]

Assists the interrogation support program team lead to increase the effectiveness of dealing with Detainees, Persons of Interest, and Prisoners of War (POWs) that are in the custody of US/Coalition Forces...

Outsourcing Iraq

rks404 — Thu, 29 Apr 2004 21:46:21 -0800

Indian mercenaries serving in Iraq. Can you really outsource a foreign occupation?

Ignatius J. Reilly — Sat, 03 Apr 2004 22:01:26 -0800

Modern Mercenaries on the Iraqi Frontier In his own way, Stevie is a modern soldier-of-fortune, paid by a private security firm to lead a 44-man unit that is protecting American officials in charge of rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq. He left his native Glasgow, Scotland, to join the British army at 16, served for 24 years in conflicts around the globe, about half that time as a member of the special forces. In the shadowy tradition of his trade, he asked that only his first name be used and declined to say much about the wars he has fought. "That is one topic I'd rather not talk about," he said in his rich brogue, speaking by phone from the Baghdad villa run by Kroll Inc., the company that employs him. Some bloggers have gotten in trouble of late for using the M-word, but now a wider conversation on Kroll, Blackwater, and friends seems to be emerging. Is the presence of mercenaries --both nationals of coalition countries and foreign nationals-- in Iraq part of Rumsfeld's broader transformation policy? Is their presence in Iraq even legal in the first place?

US Now Relying on Mercenaries in Afghanistan

Coop — Wed, 20 Nov 2002 09:37:01 -0800

Can Mercenaries Protect Hamid Karzai? The US govt is hiring private mercenaries to do it's dirty work overseas. In short, by hiring private military contractors such as DynCorp, the U.S. government has found an effective way to conduct foreign policy by proxy and in secret. These proxies cannot be monitored, are effectively immune from all criminal sanctions, and are dangerously hard to control since they answer to corporate bosses, not military brass. (easy registration required)

badstone — Mon, 06 May 2002 10:13:15 -0800

One of science fiction's favorite dark futures is pretty well along now. Until he quit to be Vice President in 2000, Dick Cheney ran a company called Halliburton. A Halliburton subsidiary, Kellog Brown and Root, is a private corporation that performs missions for the US military. Their employess are out there, performing missions in places like the Balkans, wearing US Army uniforms and carrying US Army issued guns.

riley370 — Wed, 13 Jun 2001 13:30:27 -0800

Customer-specific solutions
"When the Department of State (or other public sector entities) needs personnel to reconstitute, establish and maintain rule of law in emerging democracies, they come to DynCorp. " Found thru Washington's secret forces in Latin America