As the US says there is "no confirmation" that American mercenaries are operating in Ukraine, Iraq war veteran Michael Prysner told RT that private US armies have been covertly operating globally wherever there is "dirty work" needs to be done.
Showing posts with label mercenaries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mercenaries. Show all posts
6 Oct 2012
Blackwater Founder’s Mercenary Army Abandoned in Somali Desert
Last year it was revealed that Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince had been put in charge of building a mercenary army in northern Somalia, with funding from the United Arab Emirates and a goal of attacking the various pirate factions along the Somali coast.
It apparently seemed like a good idea at the time, but the United Arab Emirates has gotten sick of throwing money at the operation and pulled the plug. Now, the hundreds of mercenaries are sitting on a secret desert base with potentially millions of dollars in heavy weapons illegally smuggled into Somalia and nothing to do.
The decision apparently came after an April incident when the fighters attacked and killed a South African trainer. The corporation put in charge of the mission, the shadowy Sterling Corporate Services, insisted at the time that it was an isolated incident, but quickly withdrew its trainers, leaving the recruits stranded on a base in the Puntland desert.
But they likely won’t stay on that base for long, as those familiar with the situation say that the fighters, who were not ideologically motivated to join the anti-piracy fight in the first place, are liable to take their weapons and head out looking for new employers, with pirates among the likely bidders.
5 Jul 2012
United Arab Emirates seeks to recruit 3000 Colombian soldiers
The United Arab Emirates is seeking to enlist 3,000 Colombian soldiers in the oil-rich Arab country's armed forces, weekly Semana reported Sunday. According to the weekly, 842 Colombian soldiers and retired soldiers have already joined the UAE army which is paying salaries up to ten times what the Colombian state pays the members of its armed forces.
The transfer of soldiers to the foreign army is causing unease among Colombia's military commanders because the military fears the higher salaries abroad are draining the army of its best men and women. "They have recruited soldiers with a lot of combat experience, valuable men with years of service in which the Army invested a lot in terms of training," an anonymous general told Semana. "Without a doubt, this is a loss for the army, but there isn't much we can do because it is by no means illegal," the military official added.
According to the weekly, the Colombians are making in between $2,800 and $18,000 in the UAE depending on the rank. In Colombia, a soldier earns $530 a month on average. The New York Times reported in May 2011 that the UAE hired Colombian soldiers as mercenaries through a company led by Erik Prince, the founder of controversial private security company Blackwater.
18 Oct 2011
U.S. Sending Mercenaries to Secure Libya’s Weapons
The State Department is sending dozens of American contractors to Libya to help that country’s fledgling efforts to track down and destroy heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles looted from government stockpiles that could be used against civilian airliners.
The contractors, weapons and explosives specialists, are part of a growing $30 million American program to secure Libya’s conventional weapons arsenal, which was ransacked during the fall of the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
American and other Western officials are especially concerned that as weapons slip from state custody, they can be easily sold through black markets to other countries, fuelling regional wars or arming terrorist groups. Analysts are particularly worried about the dispersal of the SA-7, an early-generation, shoulder-fired missile in the same family as the more widely known Stinger.
28 Sept 2011
‘Qaddafi protected by Tuareg’
Libya's new rulers believe Muammar Qaddafi may be hiding in the southern desert, possibly in a vast area near the Algerian border, under the protection of ethnic Tuareg fighters, an official said Wednesday.
Revolutionary forces gained control of Tripoli and much of the rest of the North African nation late last month, but the longtime leader fled and has been trying to rally supporters from hiding as fighting continues on three fronts. His sons also escaped and there have been several unconfirmed reports about their whereabouts. (CBS)
Rebel Touareg leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, rumoured to have acquired weapons from Libya and recruited some 20,000 al-Qaeda fighters in support of Moamer Kadhafi, died recently under suspicious circumstances. What implications does Bahanga’s death have on the stability of the Sahel region?
Zawaya Magharebia
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ethnic Tuaregs left Mali to fight for Muammar Qaddafi. Now, some are returning home to tell their story on The Atlantic
8 Mar 2011
Afghanistan lets Blackwater stay despite shakeup of security contractors
Blackwater looks set to survive an Afghan government clampdown on mercenaries after Hamid Karzai was forced by his western partners to abandon a complete disbandment of private security companies.
Under plans to be announced by the Afghan government this month many security contractors, whom Karzai regards as being little better than militias, will be allowed to continue operating for another year.
As part of a complex new transition strategy the government is giving them until 21 March 2012 before most security for development projects is taken over by the Afghan Public Protection Force. The APPF is a government security service intended to assume control over the country's hugely lucrative commercial security industry, which employs around 30,000 guards.
Western and Afghan officials say the draft plans drawn up by former Karzai opponent Ashraf Ghani will actually allow companies to keep supplying private guards and security services to development projects indefinitely. According to a list seen by The Guardian 11 companies operating in Afghanistan that have a good reputation with government officials will enjoy favoured status in taking over contracts.
Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, is included in that group despite being banned in Iraq and notorious for its activities in Afghanistan.
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