And the way to raise it is with former professional soldiers, argues tim collins |
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The charity War on Want published a damning report on the world of private military and security companies (PMSCs) last week. It calculated there were now 48,000 "mercenaries" working in Iraq and painted a hair-raising picture of the "threat" they pose.
But War on Want and the PMSCs are, by and large, in the same business - trying rapidly to relieve the burden on the world's poor, and attempting to make the Third World a better place to live.
The report failed to mention that PMSCs were in Iraq with the full co-operation of the Iraqi government, that a large proportion of the 48,000 are Iraqis and Afghans, and that one of their duties is liaison with local communities, carried out in a manner the Iraqi and coalition militaries are unable to follow.
In short, the report was a rather predictable
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| War on Want and the private military companies are, by and large, in the same business |
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'war is a bad scene, man' hand-wringing document that ignored the requirements of some of the world's poorest people. In the preface, Louise Richards, War on Want's chief executive, complimented her charity's partners in the conflict zones - "some of the world's bravest men and women in the frontline of the struggle for human rights" - without saying who those partners were.
The fact is, whether she likes it or not, and putting the commercial aspect aside, the companies she goes on to deal with in her report have more in common with her own outlook than she realises.
The manifestation of PMSCs in Iraq and Afghanistan is a result of the developed world's armed forces being required to take on far more than they are able to. The US has been way ahead of other nations in recognising that the investment in skills in their fighting men and women can be exploited after their retirement from the active list via private companies working economically and at short notice.
For example, experienced old soldiers 
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