Servants of War: Private Military Corporations and the Profit of Conflict

by Rolf Uesseler, Jefferson Chase (Translator)

Overview

Private military firms are making a killing. They operate on all continents throughout the world—commissioned by governments, intelligence agencies, private industries, warlords, drug cartels, and rebel groups to support their military and safety interests. Here in the U.S., as the massively expensive war in Iraq shows no signs of ending, our forces grow more and more dependent on the assistance of military contractors. Beyond Iraq, engagements of mercenary firms in foreign countries are multiplying, whether to protect oil investments in the Nigerian delta or for humanitarian reasons in Darfur. In this far-reaching exposé, Rolf Uesseler reveals how these mercenary firms profit from conflict: As they operate in a legal twilight zone, the private nature of their work frequently makes them legally impermeable and financially profitable. Uesseler details the many ways in which employment of for-profit fighters compromises justice, jeopardizes international peace and stability, and manages to escape public scrutiny, explaining exactly what happens when military operations are shielded from democratic processes, and when the concern for justice and security is overshadowed by the desire for financial gain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781593762025
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	12/16/2008
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Rolf Uesseler was a German journalist and the author of Servants of War: Private Military Corporations and the Profit of Conflict. He died in 2012.

Jefferson Chase is a writer and journalist based in Berlin. He has translated more than a dozen German texts into English, among them works by Thomas Mann, Wolfgang Schivelbusch and Götz Aly.

Table of Contents

1 The Business of War 1

The New Mercenaries: On the Job Around the World 1

The Death of an Antiterror Specialist 2

A Military Pilot on Various Continents 4

The Inventor of the PMC 6

A Special Kind of Arms Dealer 9

A Soldier on a Humanitarian Mission 14

Recruitment of a Private Soldier 17

2 Private Military Companies: The New Service Industry 19

The Broad Spectrum of Services 21

Practical Realization 27

Attempts At Categorization 29

Size and Orientation 31

PMCs and the Abu Ghraib Scandal 37

Personnel and Cost Structure 39

3 The Clients: "Strong States, Corporate Masters, and Rebels" 45

Strong States: The United States and Germany 46

The Interests of the Private Sector 56

"Weak States" with Security Gaps 60

Rebel Groups and Freedom Fighters 62

The Security Dilemma of International Organizations 63

Private Individuals and Security 67

4 Global Markets for Armed Force: Four Private Military Companies in Action 69

Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI) 70

Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) 75

Executive Outcomes (EO) 80

Blackwater Worldwide 84

5 Globalization and "New Wars": A Short History of the Private War Economy 91

Biblical Bandits and Greek Hoplites 92

Rome's Popular Army versus Carthage's Mercenary Forces 95

Mercenary Bands in the Middle Ages 97

Companies, "Free Lances," and Condottieri 98

Swiss Guards and German Lansquenets 100

The Ascendancy of the National Standing Army 102

The East India Company 103

The French Revolution and the Decline of the Mercenaries 105

6 The End of the Cold War: Different Conditions for Military Services 111

The End of The Cold War and Globalization 113

NewConflicts in the Third World 116

The New National Energy Policy 118

The Technology and Electronic Revolution 121

Radical Changes in Intelligence Services 123

7 Clientele Systems and Shadow Economics: The Development of New Security Needs 129

The Rise of Markets For Violence 130

Problems with the Clientele System 132

The Rise of Particular Communities 134

The Illegal Global Network 138

Shadow Economies: The Link Between Legal and Illegal Moneymaking 139

8 Dangerous Consequences: Militant Cooperation-Business and Private Military Firms 145

Intervention in the Andes 148

The Security Strategy of Transnational Concerns 151

Unscrupulous Multinational Oil Companies 153

9 Out of Control: The Questionable Legality of the Privatization of Force in the West 159

Private Soldiers in Iraq 160

Secret Contracts, Legal Chaos 161

Lack of Oversight and Accountability 164

Legal Immunity and Ambiguity for New Mercenaries 168

The Conflict Between Democracy and Privatization: A State Within a State 172

10 Deceptive Security: National Betrayal in the "Weak States" 179

Dysfunctional Relationship Among Military, State, and Civil Societies 181

The Quick Fix: Buying Security 184

The Loss of the Monopoly on the Legitimate Use of Force 186

Plundering of Natural Resources 188

11 Aid Organizations: In the Military Slipstream 193

Endangered Neutrality 194

Military Firms as Security Risks 196

The Need for New Protection Concepts 199

12 Conflict Resolution without Private Military Companies? Markets for Violence versus State Monopolies 203

Violating the Democracy Imperative 206

Jeopardizing the State's Monopoly on Force 209

The Politics of Peace in the Military Slipstream 213

Crisis Management and PMCs 215

13 Preventing Crisis and Securing Peace 217

"Peace from Above" versus "Peace from Below" 218

The German Plan of Action 222

Criticism from NGOs 225

Conflict Resolution as a Concrete Challenge 227

Conclusion 231

Editorial Reviews

Even in tragic times, someone always profits; in this exposé from author, scientist and anti-organized crime activist Uesseler, he looks at the private military firms that benefit quite directly from war-the messier, the better. The author ably details the ways these companies seek out business, such as the way Lockheed Martin subsidiary MPRI benefits from its parent company's close ties with the Pentagon: "Although the industry enjoyed near-total employment thanks to the 'war on terror'... companies themselves began looking for new threats to U.S. interests." With help from lobbyists and a number of interests lining up for their share-arms manufacturers, technology developers-private militias and their partners have manufactured Pentagon dependence on their equipment and expertise: "The arms industry had pushed these developments to the point where no weapons other than light arms could be used without the industry's proprietary electronic systems and IT networks." Uesseler effectively shows how these companies have solidified their grip on profits, using war as their business model. Unfortunately, Uesseler's style is textbook-dry, but his reporting is compelling and sure.
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