Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

PCM (Private Contract Military) and sometimes PMC (Private Military Company), are extremely effective. The US has used them MANY times for many reasons. Blackwater is simply a group with a catchy name. They're not the most effective nor the most controversial PCM out there.

On 5 December 2005, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld held a lecture dubbed "The Future of Iraq" at Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. During a Q&A session afterwards he was asked a question by graduate student Kate Bateman regarding PMCs

Bateman: "There are currently thousands of private military contractors in Iraq and you were just speaking of rules of engagement in regards to Iraqi personnel and US personnel. Could you speak to, since the private contractors are operating outside the Uniform Code of Military Justice, could you speak to what law or rules of engagement do govern their behaviour and whether there has been any study showing that it is cost-effective to have them in Iraq rather than US military personnel. Thank you."

Rumsfeld: "Thank you. It is clearly cost-effective to have contractors for a variety of things that military people need not do and that for whatever reason other civilian government people cannot be deployed to do. There are a lot of contractors. A growing number. They come from our country - but they come from all countries; and indeed sometimes the contracts are from our country, or another country, and they employ people from totally different countries; including Iraqis and people from neighbouring nations. And there are a lot of them and it's a growing number. And of course we've got to begin with the fact that, as you point out, they're not subject to the uniform code of military justice; we understand that. There are laws that govern the behaviour of Americans in that country - the Department of Justice oversees that. The [long hesitation] there is an issue that is current as to the extent to which they can or cannot carry weapons and that's an issue. It's also an issue of course with the Iraqis but, if you think about it, Iraq is a sovereign country, they have their laws and they're going to govern. The UN resolution and the Iraqi laws, as well as US procedures and laws, govern behaviour in that country depending on who the individual is and what he's doing, but I'm personally of the view that there are a lot of things that can be done on a short time basis by contractors that advantage the United States, and advantage other countries who also hire contractors. Any idea that we shouldn't have them I think would be unwise."

One of the "nice" things about PCMs is that the UCMJ didn't apply to them since they are not technically military. They are a enterprise for profit, a company that makes money for a service. Typically they don't do high impact fighting (post 2005), but rather train others to fight (like Green Berets), and bolster security. Sometimes they act as body guards to anyone who hires them.

• In 1999, an episode with DynCorp in Bosnia was particularly embarrassing for the U.S. military. A Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit was filed against DynCorp employees stationed in Bosnia, which found: "employees and supervisors from DynCorp were engaging in perverse, illegal and inhumane behavior and were purchasing illegal weapons, women, forged passports and participating in other immoral acts."
• Employees of private military company CACI were involved in the Iraq Abu Ghraib prison scandal in 2003, and 2004.
• On March 31, 2004, four American private contractors belonging to the company Blackwater USA were ambushed and killed by guerrillas as they drove through Fallujah. They were dragged from their car in one of the most violent attacks on U.S. citizens in the conflict. Following the attack, an angry mob mutilated and burned the bodies, dragging them through the streets before they were hung on a bridge.
• On April 5, 2005, Jamie Smith, CEO of SCG International Risk announced the expansion of services from the traditional roles of PMC's of protection and intelligence to military aviation support. SCG International Air would provide air support, medevac (medical evacuation), rotary and fixed-wing transportation, heavy-lift cargo, armed escort and executive air travel to "any location on earth." This marks a unique addition and expansion of services to rival the capabilities of some country's armies and air forces.
• On March 28, 2005, 16 American contractors and three Iraqi aides from Zapata Engineering, under contract to the US Army Corps of Engineers to manage an ammunition storage depot, were detained following two incidents in which they allegedly fired upon U.S. Marine checkpoint. While later released, the civilian contractors have levied complaints of mistreatment against the Marines who detained them.
• On October 27, 2005, a "trophy" video, complete with post-production Elvis music, appearing to show private military contractors in Baghdad shooting Iraqi civilians sparked two investigations after it was posted on the Internet. The video has been linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services. The man who is seen shooting vehicles on this video in Iraq was a South African employee of Aegis Victory team named Danny Heydenreycher. He served in the British military for 6 years. After the incident the regional director for Victory ROC tried to fire Heydenreycher, but the team threatened to resign if he did. As of December 2005, Aegis is conducting a formal inquiry into the issue, although some concerns on its impartiality have been raised.
• On March 27, 2006, J. Cofer Black, vice chairman of Blackwater USA announced to attendees of a special operations exhibition in Jordan that his company could now provide a brigade-size force for low intensity conflicts. According to Black, "There is clear potential to conduct security operations at a fraction of the cost of NATO operations.
• In mid-May 2006, the Congolese police arrested 32 alleged mercenaries of different nationalities; 19 South Africans, 10 Nigerians and three Americans. Half of them work for a South African company named Omega Security Solutions and the Americans for AQMI Strategy Corp. The men were accused of plotting to overthrow the government but charges weren't pressed. The men were deported to their home countries.

In light of this, no indication is given or at least that I can find says that PCMs regularly scoff at rules. These are isolated incidents that are recent, but it also doesn't discredit the possibility that PCMs COULDNT be regularly running their own show by their own rules. A new law has been implemented regarding actions during time of war (or at least a rewrite), to encompass PCM actions.

According to the FY2007 Defense Budget appropriation bill, the text of the UCMJ has been amended to allow for prosecution of military contractors who are deployed in a "declared war or a contingency operation."

"SEC. 552. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE DURING A TIME OF WAR. Paragraph (10) of section 802(a) of title 10, United States Code (article 2(a) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by striking `war' and inserting `declared war or a contingency operation'."

This actually subverts what was written about PCMs in the Geneva convention:

Private military companies are sometimes grouped into the general category of defense contractors. However, most defense contractors supply specialized hardware and perhaps also personnel to support and service that hardware, whereas PMCs supply personnel with specialized operational and tactical skills, which often include combat experience.

The 1949, Third Geneva Convention (GCIII) does not recognize the difference between defense contractors and PMCs; it defines a category called supply contractors. If the supply contractor has been issued with a valid identity card from the armed forces which they accompany, they are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war upon capture (GCIII Article 4.1.4). If, however, the contractor engages in combat, he/she can be classified as a mercenary by the captors under the 1997 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) Article 47.c, unless falling under an exemption to this clause in Article 47. If captured contractors are found to be mercenaries, they are an unlawful combatant and lose the right to prisoner of war status.

So if a PCM is captured, they aren't POWs and therefore - we ain't going in after 'em. They won't be "remembered" and they aren't going to be used as a negotiation tool if caught. However, since they aren't technically military, they are listed as civillian and CAN be reported as a civillian death. They might be armed, but then so are some of the Iraqi "civillians".

All quotes from the same source

Except warlord armies are typically not engaged in travel far outside their own regions or countries, and do no usually subject themselves for hire from other governments or private agencies.

Usually is the operative word. I do agree with you with the possible exception of those who are receiving ( aid ) from other nations with an ax to grind. I can even remember a few that the U.S. has sponsored clandestinely for one reason or the other over the years.

no but I will watch it now.

People think there are only a few PMCs around the globe. Instead there is a huge number of them, everybody makes a star in the media out of the PMCs in the middle-east, but they have been in Africa for a very long-time.

What about ex-Soviet Russia?

There are a lot of PMCs out there on the planet, and not enough is being done about.

The worst is when we create PMCs, i.e. those inside Iraq.

No doubt this will distract people from war crimes committed by our own "boys"?

Maybe, Tom....but even if those charged fall from the headlines, the justice system won't forget about them (after all, most often they've been placed their as fall guys for more senior officers -- and most of them will be looking out for their careers for a long time yet).