To: Secret_Agent_Man who wrote (203831 ) 11/10/2002 9:04:31 PM From: Secret_Agent_Man Respond to You have no doubt heard of the US interventions into Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti and Kosovo, but not about Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone government had Nigerian troops assist them in their fight against rebels along with South African mercenaries and by a US company managed by Special Forces operatives called International Charter Inc. of Oregon. This is one of several companies that supplies mercenaries for foreign adventures sanctioned by the State Department, Defense and the CIA. These actions are part of a global trend of military outsourcing and foreign policy by proxy. There are 90 private military companies (PMCs) that have operated in 110 countries worldwide. Mercenaries are officially outlawed under Article 47 of the Geneva Convention. These mercenaries supposedly stay behind the scenes, but always end up in or close to combat. As we mentioned in an earlier article, since 1994 the US Defense Department has entered into 3,061 contracts with 12 US based PMCs. More than 2700 contracts were with Kellogg Brown and Root and Booz Allen Hamilton. We won’t go into all the other companies but they are all elitist owned and controlled. PMCs are potentially destabilizing forces. They have lack of transparency and public oversight, perform for profit rather than national interest, form a bridge between government and former employees, and present potential for conflicts of interest. Many are also working for foreign governments. We have extensive research on the subject but the bottom line is the US Government should not be using mercenary armies to work against perceived enemies. It undermines our constitution and American morality and it should be stopped.
