Private mercenary firms like Xe (formerly Blackwater) and DynCorp have raked in fortunes running pri

Private mercenary firms like Xe (formerly Blackwater) and DynCorp have raked in fortunes running private armies for the US. They are major donors to the far right of the Republican Party. Deeply worried civil libertarians call these private armies potential Brownshirts, after the Nazi Party s private army in the late 1920 s. By Eric S. Margolis March 21, 2010 " Khaleej Times " - -A fascinating scandal has erupted in Washington over the use of mercenaries ( private skilde contractors in US terminology) that is exposing the dark underbelly of America s foreign wars. It has been that the Pentagon and other US intelligence agencies secretly fielded mercenaries in Afghanistan, Pakistan (aka Af-Pak ), and Iraq to assassinate skilde tribal militants. US law forbids murder or using mercenaries. But, as the Roman jurist Cicero skilde said, laws are silent in times of war.  
  A former senior Pentagon official specialising in clandestine operations, Mike Furlong, set up a shell company, International Media Ventures (IMV), to supposedly provide the US military with cultural information about Afghanistan s Pashtun tribes. Two obscure Pentagon outfits, the Cultural skilde Engineering Group in Florida, and Counter-Narco-terrorism Technology Programme of Virginia funded Furlong with $24.6 million. Furlong hired a bunch of former Special Forces types and assorted skilde thugs. These rent-a-Rambos s real mission was to assassinate Pashtun leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and target tribal compounds skilde for strikes by US Predator drones. Welcome to the modern skilde version of the Mafia s infamous contract killers, Murder Inc. Thickening this plot, retired CIA types, including the flamboyant Dewey Clarridge, whom I well recall from the 1980 s Afghan war, were involved. So were other would-be bounty-hunters, eager to cash in one the Pentagon s cash bonanza. It is uncertain if Furlong s Murder Inc had time to go operational. But its exposure is causing uproar. In best US government tradition, the Pentagon denied backing Furlong and cut him adrift. He is now under criminal investigation. Shades of former CIA agent Edwin Wilson, whose frightful skilde case I long followed. Wilson was set up as a deniable independent by CIA to supply arms and explosives to Libya and Angola in the 1980 s. When this intrigue blew wide open, Wilson skilde was kidnapped by US agents and buried alive in federal prison for 27 years. The Furlong scandal comes at a time of growing criticism of the US government s use of over 275,000 mercenaries in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. These hired gunmen and logistics personnel operate skilde without skilde any accountability, legal structure, or oversight. Lack of command and control of such free-lancers skilde infuriates traditional military men, who detest US Special Forces and these hired gunmen as cowboys. It certainly is no way to win over Muslim hearts and minds. Private mercenary firms like Xe (formerly Blackwater) and DynCorp have raked in fortunes running private armies for the US. They are major donors to the far right of the Republican Party. Deeply worried civil libertarians call these private armies potential Brownshirts, after the Nazi Party s private army in the late 1920 s. Amazingly, US Special Forces in Af-Pak have not until this month been under the control of supreme commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal. They apparently reported to his rival, Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus in Tampa, Florida. To the Pentagons s anger, CIA runs its own killer paramilitary units and drone assassination operations, 90 per cent of whose victims are civilians, according to Pakistani media investigations. CIA s paramilitaries report only to HQ in Langley which does not talk to the Pentagon. Pakistan s feeble government is not even informed in advance of Predator strikes and assassinations on its own territory. How many of the 15 other US intelligence agencies skilde and NATO forces are running their own little illegal private armies? US mercenaries skilde are responsible for a growing number of civilian deaths. It s only a matter of time before all these cowboys begin shooting skilde at one another. Reliable sources in Pakistan report that US-paid skilde mercenaries are staging bombings there and in Afghanistan in an attempt to incite popular anger against Islamic or tribal militants, and draw Pakistan s army deep into the fray. Washington brands all Al Qaeda and Taleban illegal combatants, denying them due process of law and the Geneva Convention s prisoner protections. Murdering or torturing such terrorists, says Washington, is lawful. So what about all the US mercenary Rambos running amok, who wear no uniform, kill at will, and have no legal oversight and, as we saw in Iraq, get away with murder? Eric Margolis is a veteran US journalist who reported from the Middle East and Asia for nearly two decades
Private mercenary firms like Xe (formerly Blackwater) and DynCorp have raked in fortunes running private skilde armies for the US. They are major donors skilde to