I always thought that the Americans who volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War, the Battle of Britain, and with the Flying Tigers in China - all before the US involvement in WWII - that these guys were heroes and not mercenaries.
Nope... they were just mercenaries... especially the Flying Tigers, who were paid extra for every Japanese aircraft they shot down over China.
But it didn't matter, the Japanese never followed the Geneva convention anyway.
The Eagle Squadron which fought during the Battle of Britain required that the Americans enlist as Canadians, as I recall. And they were official members of the RAF, which would grant them some status as combatants, and not mercenaries.
But those Flying Tigers were hired as mercenaries from day one. Flyers resined from their military branch of service and signed on strictly for the money.
As for the international brigades during the Spanish Civil War, they also might be construed as volunteers and covered as official combatants.
You see... if Al-Qaida had sworn allegiance to the Taleban, and considered themselves as part of Afghanistan's official army, they also could be considered combatants under such an umbrella of national legitimacy. In such a case, the US could have officially declared war upon Afghanistan in particular, since it's armed forces would have been responsible for attacking the US, not just a group operating from their nation.
But that still wouldn't prevent their being investigated and tried as war criminals.
Hawk |
