An Argument Against The Use Of Pmscs In Peacekeeping

Throughout the Middle East, the use of private military contractors has significantly heightened, due to the call of attacks in these countries. PMC’s take up much cost for a country to fund, and the increasing rates are bringing drawbacks onto working citizens. However, there PMC’s are also vital in order for a country to maintain its armed security forces. On the other hand, mercenaries are people who take part in armed conflicts. The PMC’s hire these mercenaries to work under them in helping take part in hostilities, but receive benefits for their own gains. Recently, the United Nations Mercenary Convention (UNMC) has placed restrictions upon PMC’s in the use of mercenaries, in order to create specifications between commercial and government uses of these protection services. Sweden has very little support and funds for the use of these PMC’s, due to the lack of high military activity.

a state outsources military functions. The public does not equate the death of contractor with that of a national soldier, as contractors are not directly associated with the state’s military (O’Keefe 2009:5). The use of PMCs in the Iraq War allows the state to avoid what is known as the “body-bag syndrome”, where governments are increasingly pressured by domestic constituents as death tolls mount (Kinsey 2006: 96). In addition to the ability of states to avoid the body-bag syndrome, the way in which media report on the involvement of contracted troops further benefits the state as the public disassociates contractors with soldiers. When the media reports of fallen private soldiers, they are often referred to as contractors, which generates another response of the public than to the death of a national soldier (O’Keefe 2009: 6). The next quotation from Thomas Pogue, a former Navy SEAL, who has worked for Blackwater illustrates this point; “These forces can be employed without a lot of publicity—and that’s a very

While the term “lawfare” can be defined as the use of the laws governing an enemy to provide yourself with an advantage over them, much like the Taliban did with NATO by immersing themselves in the civilian population, it can also refer to the use of law to achieve military objectives. Worldwide, NGOs and states alike have pursued lawfare as an alternative to traditional warfare, with varying degrees of success: however, the United States government continues to lag behind competitors like China and even far weaker actors like the Palestinian Authority in some ways. Kittrie issues a “call to arms” to the United States government, showing that the U.S. can and should pursue lawfare as a more effective and less costly alternative to war. Should they listen, the U.S. has the capability to emerge as the world’s preeminent lawfare

Military Professional Resources Inc. is a military consultant firm. This firm and other like I help unstable governments, revolutionary forces, or oil and mining companies working in hostile areas by providing former service members from the U.S, Britain, or South Africa to offer protection. These firms train the local police and military to fight their own conflicts. Fraud and waste by private contractors in the Middle East continue to be a problem. In Iraq, alone 14 major contractors were given minimal or no competition according to a report issued by the General Accounting Office. These contractors cost the taxpayer

Private Military and Security Companies (PMCs) have been in the international interest for the last few years. Their most famously known actions are the actions of the PMC Blackwater (now renamed Xe Services) in Iraq. There are many thoughts regarding each nation about PMCs. Some say that they are a “good thing” and that they help countries to save economic resources. Others argue about the lack of regulation and about the fact that in some occasions they kill innocent people.

The on-going war in Iraq has been a war that has changed the tactics in which war is fought. The war in Iraq has been fought mainly through the use of aerial missiles and by surprise, a large number of women. This current war has demonstrated the change of times and the rise of the information age. But the most surprising aspect of the war in Iraq is the large sum of private security forces patrolling Iraq. These private security forces have amassed to around 20,000 soldiers so far in the Iraqi region and growing. Their role according to a New York Times article, is in addition to guarding innumerable reconstruction projects, private companies are being asked to provide security for the chief of the

Andrew Alexandra, Deane-Peter Baker, Marina Caparini; Private Military and Security Companies: Ethics, Policies and Civil-Military Relations (Cass Military Studies); Hardcover

Security Council should have the right to authorize the use of military force to protect innocent people from genocide and other massive abuses, even against the will of their own government” (Lobe). Even with the support of the majority of world, the U.N. still does not have the authority to forcefully protect innocent people from cruelty.

UNAMID is also unique in that its core mission is the protection of civilians, a goal in which it seems to have failed. The concept of civilian protection factors in strongly at every level, from the drafting of resolutions, to the deployment in the field. In operational terms UNAMID interpreted the three tiers of Protection of Civilians – protection through the political process, protection from physical violence (prevention/ response) and protection through a protective environment (facilitation of humanitarian aid and legal protection) – as meaning protection from imminent threat, preventive measures and the strengthening of host state

for the purposes of this study, is broadly defined, so it may encompass not only the UN, but also other relevant organizations to the peacekeeping mission, including the soldier’s home state’s military. Peacekeepers may find actions prohibited by the UN as sexual misconduct are culturally acceptable in his or her home state. Cultural beliefs are considered the compendium of acts that are considered acceptable by a group of people on which an individual bases his or her actions. The gendered understanding of sexual misconduct as a value reflects the UN’s official view on sexual relations between peacekeepers and the local population. These relationships reflect a distorted power dynamic that can be damaging to the organization, the victim,

Most people view mercenaries as brutish thugs who only fight for money and have no honor. When Bill O’Reilly lauded the use of a mercenary army against ISIS Stephen Colbert responded with;” “You know these mercenaries will be good guys because only the best people kill whoever you want for cash. Its quality folks, is what I’m saying — unlike those suckers who do it for love of country.” While there have been some bad eggs in the history of privatized military forces, there have been examples of mercenary forces actually doing some good, where legitimate militaries had failed. One of the best examples of this is the civil war in Sierra Leone, in which a small Mercenary company called Executive Outcomes (EO) over took the superior forces of the brutal rebels known as the Revolutionary United Front(RUF). Where a UN peacekeeping mission failed, it only took a year for these mercenaries to do some serious damage to the RUF and force them to the negotiating table. But according to Francisco Aguilar, that was a

Though conventional and irregular warfare (IW) are both forms of warfare with the desired objective of affecting the opposition’s government, the means by which they achieve that objective differ greatly. A major war against a near-peer competitor would likely place the Marine Corps against another military superpower. Preparation for such a conflict would ideally focus on tactics suited for a conventional military. Meanwhile, preparing for success against an irregular threat would conversely focus on non-traditional and indirect means and skills intended to earn or degrade trust and support from the target population. As state and non-state actors place more emphasis on IW, preparation for success against irregular threats increases rather than undermines the Marine Corps’ ability to fight and win a major war against near-peer competitors.

In chapter 35, The main topic was about Robust peacekeeping. Robust peace when UN peacekeepers would only interfere when there was political and operational means to implement. When reading that I pictured just a bunch of wars and fights going on without and enforcement to stop because it didn't seem like a “Big” enough reason. I'm not sure if that is inherently correct description of the reading but if so that seems like a big issue. I think about high school and all the useless drama if no teacher never interfered than major issues would occur. I believe the easiest way to solve a issue is facing the issue as soon as possible. The idea of Robust peacekeeping has been going on for years. Honestly, I’ve never in my life really heard of this.

SSR’s theme of state centered security encapsulates the Military and paramilitary, Police, Border Guards, Intelligence, Judicial and penal, Civil Society Organizations, and Media. And although SSR is part of the International agenda, it is also important to understand that successful implementation of the Eurocentric SSR must be contextually applied to Africa as it is inextricably linked to the political will of each African

Mercenaries need to be stopped being used because they allow governments to do whatever they please without getting caught. Gilsinan argues, "both [drones and private military companies] should be part of the same category, because they allow national governments to get involved in fighting without actually having citizens do it. And that creates moral hazard for policymakers, because it lowers the barriers of entry into conflict"(Gilsinan). When Private military contractors are used they break any established laws to complete their mission. Governments use these contractors because they realize that they can get away with breaking international laws by having the mercenaries break them. This is atrocious because if the United States decides to keep using contractors and these private contractors continue to break laws then conflict will appear. When other governments begin to see hired contractors doing what they please they will begin consulting with mercenaries as well. Borger analyzes, "When the United States started to rely on private military companies, it unleashed this new globalized industry of mercenaries. That’s why we’ve seen a resurgence of them"(Linehan). Mercenaries make war extremely easy because they can do what they want. When other countries begin to see that the United States relies on mercenaries, they will commence to hire them as