Private military companies provide a service that no other business can. They provide security, stability, and in some cases, a fighting force.
PMCs provide security and stability solutions to fragile, at-risk nations, private people and governments. Many times these states otherwise can’t defend themselves or, as it is in some cases, nobody will come to their aid.
In Sierra Leone, which group was it that stopped the murder and terror campaigns of the Revolutionary Front? If you guessed the United Nations, that is incorrect. It was a South African PMC, Executive Outcomes, that forced the Revolutionary Front to the negotiating table and reclaimed land for the government and the people.
Nations like Azerbaijan have also benefited from PMCs. Their naval commandos have been taught the latest techniques in drug interdiction to help keep their country stable. In New Orleans in 2005, one of the first groups into the city were scores of PMCs that went into the lawless and violent neighborhoods and brought the chaos to a stop.
The law enforcement groups in your areas have been trained by PMCs to help protect you in better ways as well. PMCs simply extend that model to a global framework and help entire nations.
PMCs also provide protection to individuals in foreign lands. Is a businessman wrong for wanting to protect himself? He can’t just go and ask the Marines to rent a platoon out to him for a few months. Without the PMCs the ability for foreign investment in certain nations would be impossible due to instability.
Aside from the private sector, many diplomats use the services offered as well. The Secretary of State needs to be protected and using the military for it is not a good idea. How would it look if she had 500 soldiers defending her when she is on the territory of a foreign nation?
In the past, America and other nations like her used their armies to wage wars and occupy lands. Privatization of some military aspects is just another step in the evolutionary scheme of warfare. Groups are not able to respond in mere hours without dealing with bureaucratic red tape or political bickering.
The concerns of an army that could grow beyond governmental control have been around for ages. How radical did the idea of a large standing army seem to the American people when it was first fielded?
As with any business or government there is always the possibility for opportunist imperialism and resource grabbing. Many claim the actions of the US fall into this category as well as the actions of countries through out time.
Along with this is the fact that some PMCs have been implicated in various crimes. These allegations need to be considered when looking at the big picture.
One needs to keep in mind that there are over 100,000 professional contractors in Iraq right now. With any group of 100,000 people, some will try and break the law for personal gain. Look at the armed forces. They have a few people that decide to break the law, yet we do not condemn them all for the actions of a few.
Also, these groups are not immune to laws. The US Congress and many nations regulate and oversee the operation conducted by PMCs and when they do step out of line, the government reacts. Throughout the 1990s, many nations banned PMCs or forced many others to go out of business.
Like any business, they do make a profit, and in their case a big one. But once again you need to consider that they do: they do not greet people at Wal-Mart or deliver pizzas, they go to war.
They have skills few people possess and are in high demand.
Sure they make money off of war, but then so do the bomb factories, plane manufacturers and the shipyards. All of these groups easily make more than PMCs do, yet everyone tries to make them the bad guy for getting paid for their services.
Think about them the next time you swipe your debit card at the gas station. A PMC was more than likely getting paid to protect that oil and the facilities that refined it. They don’t sound so evil now, especially when you realize that you fund them.
Many of these men and women have fought for various Western militaries (US, UK, Germany, Canada, etc). These are the same people that are and were defending us as soldiers for an army.
How can they become untrustworthy because they made a good business decision? Since when is taking an opportunity to make twice their income and provide for their families an evil move?
What is wrong with wanting to get paid as much as possible for what you do? Isn’t that the reason that many of us go to college?
