“Let there not be so many crimes and abuses with impunity, and, even though they may wear military uniforms, they must face justice and give an accounting for what they have done and receive appropriate punishment if it has to do with common crimes.”
-- Archbishop Oscar A. Romero, Feb. 18, 1979 (from Through the Year with Oscar Romero, translated to the English by Irene B. Hogdson. St. Anthony Messenger Press.)
-- Archbishop Oscar A. Romero, Feb. 18, 1979 (from Through the Year with Oscar Romero, translated to the English by Irene B. Hogdson. St. Anthony Messenger Press.)
The future of military intervention, at least in part, is going to come in the form of independent contractors, civilians dressed in non-descript clothing and bearing the latest arms in the military marketplace provided by weapons providers from the United States, France, Germany and other “first-world” manufacturers. Dan Kenney, a presenter at the School of the Americas Watch/Latin American Solidarity conference at the American University over the weekend, underscored time and again the changing landscape of military intervention, predicting a sea-change in how military actions are carried out in the future. These interventions will look much like the shadow war that has been raged in Iraq and Afghanistan the past decade, in which groups like Blackwater and Triple Canopy Security will take on much of the role that uniformed military has held in the past. Lately warfare has taken on a new, more sinister form in Predator unmanned aircraft that are operated by Air Force pilots flying these drones from the deserts of Nevada, bombing targets in Pakistan, Afghanistan and wherever else our so-called enemies lurk. High tech gadgets being developed for communications also are being used for new surveillance purposes. A dangerous world is getting even more dangerous, and the culprit is us.
The growth of this phenomenon of mercenaries as soldiers isn’t a surprise for those of us who watched the administration of George W. Bush privatize as much of the government as it could, sending high-paying contracts to the likes of Haliburton and KBR to carry out combat support services so that American troops could be free to pull the trigger in combat situations. But while that was happening, the Blackwaters of the country also bubbled up on the scene. They provided security services to the State Department, and in many cases were able to move about without any accountability for the actions of their personnel, largely former U.S. military men and women who were doubling or tripling their former Army paychecks. Blackwater was punished for some if its impunity, but the mercs returned to work under a different name.
One of the clear dangers of opening the door to these military contracts is the economic growth engine it can provide to countries like El Salvador, where security firms represent somewhere around 10 percent of the jobs there. One gets a sense of the impact the gun-for-hire business has in the capital, where at every pharmacy or restaurant or grocery store has at least one guard toting a sawed-off shotgun and a nondescript number where a nametag should go (to preserve the safety of the guard, we’re told).
Something I worry about is less evident, though. When firms like Blackwater (now known as Xe, under new ownership), become acceptable by ordinary folks in the U.S. (hey, they’re just doing their job, aren’t they?), then the situation worsens for people in El Salvador and other countries that have had a history of non-uniformed militia engaging in counter-insurgency, black ops and assassinations. They have been there before; why can’t they re-emerge under the aegis of some future, conservative government?
Whether dressed in uniform or not, if the work of these contractors is inherently evil, if they are committing crimes, then these people and organizations must be made to account for their actions. The message from Msgr. Romero rings true again, now 30 years later, long after peace accords have been signed and everyone has “moved on” with their lives. The lesson, again, is that we must remain vigilant about all forms of militarism, especially the camouflaged warriors dressed to hide their real intent.
(CRISPAZ Executive Director Dennis O’Connor is blogging from the School of the Americas Watch/Latin American Solidarity Conference on anti-militarism in Washington, D.C.)
The growth of this phenomenon of mercenaries as soldiers isn’t a surprise for those of us who watched the administration of George W. Bush privatize as much of the government as it could, sending high-paying contracts to the likes of Haliburton and KBR to carry out combat support services so that American troops could be free to pull the trigger in combat situations. But while that was happening, the Blackwaters of the country also bubbled up on the scene. They provided security services to the State Department, and in many cases were able to move about without any accountability for the actions of their personnel, largely former U.S. military men and women who were doubling or tripling their former Army paychecks. Blackwater was punished for some if its impunity, but the mercs returned to work under a different name.
One of the clear dangers of opening the door to these military contracts is the economic growth engine it can provide to countries like El Salvador, where security firms represent somewhere around 10 percent of the jobs there. One gets a sense of the impact the gun-for-hire business has in the capital, where at every pharmacy or restaurant or grocery store has at least one guard toting a sawed-off shotgun and a nondescript number where a nametag should go (to preserve the safety of the guard, we’re told).
Something I worry about is less evident, though. When firms like Blackwater (now known as Xe, under new ownership), become acceptable by ordinary folks in the U.S. (hey, they’re just doing their job, aren’t they?), then the situation worsens for people in El Salvador and other countries that have had a history of non-uniformed militia engaging in counter-insurgency, black ops and assassinations. They have been there before; why can’t they re-emerge under the aegis of some future, conservative government?
Whether dressed in uniform or not, if the work of these contractors is inherently evil, if they are committing crimes, then these people and organizations must be made to account for their actions. The message from Msgr. Romero rings true again, now 30 years later, long after peace accords have been signed and everyone has “moved on” with their lives. The lesson, again, is that we must remain vigilant about all forms of militarism, especially the camouflaged warriors dressed to hide their real intent.
(CRISPAZ Executive Director Dennis O’Connor is blogging from the School of the Americas Watch/Latin American Solidarity Conference on anti-militarism in Washington, D.C.)
No comments:
Post a Comment