Posted on 12/31/2004 2:10:30 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
BOGOTA - The offers come via e-mail, anonymous newspaper ads and word of mouth. And the temptation -- which includes making as much as 20 times their yearly salary -- has been strong enough to lure dozens of Colombians to Iraq to do some of the most dangerous work on the planet.
''If I spoke English, I would have gone,'' said one retired army major who specialized in intelligence gathering.
The retired officer, who didn't want to give his name, received an e-mail about a year ago promising upward of $7,000 per month if he'd join one of the 60-odd private contracting outfits that guard company installations and oil pipelines, drive trucks and serve food in military mess halls. He says some of his colleagues went and are among what he estimates are about 50 Colombians who have gone to the Middle East from their own war-torn nation.
Yet Colombia is but one stop in Latin America for contractors. Dozens of Salvadorans have also been recruited to work in Iraq, and private security firms there told The Washington Post recently that they intend to comb the region for fresh recruits.
Most contractor workers, say Doug Brooks of the International Peace Operations Association , a Washington, D.C.-based organization that tracks the industry, make $1,200-$2,400 per month.
From a political perspective, it makes sense as well. Analysts estimate that there are about 6,000 contract workers in Iraq, and their presence goes largely unnoticed, even when they die.
''This is a trend that is not slowing. It's gaining speed,'' said Ken Silverstein, author of Private Warriors. ``It's a question of a general trend toward privatization: the fact that the U.S. military has been downsized so dramatically in terms of personnel it no longer can do the things that it used to do. To a certain extent, it allows for the government to operate with a little more discretion than otherwise.''
LOWER PROFILE
While in El Salvador companies advertise their presence openly, in Colombia the process has been more discreet. One unnamed ''American Company,'' for example, posted an ad in Colombia's leading newspaper, El Tiempo, seeking ''officers and enlisted men of the army, marines, and air force.'' The ad left no phone number, just a post office box.
Other recruits go to secretly organized meetings, the retired major said.
Colombian soldiers have been recruited for wars abroad before. During the Korean War, Colombia fought alongside the United States.
For four decades, Colombia has been embroiled in a civil war involving left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and the government. There are as many as 4,000 war-related deaths per year.
Some Colombians are troubled that the offers of work in the Middle East will take valuable talent away from the job market at home. Others worry that their countrymen are being used as cannon fodder.
'[These] are truly `garbage' warriors,'' El Tiempo said in an anti-recruitment editorial. ``They don't even know who's giving the orders.''
For their part, human-rights observers wonder who is vetting the recruits. Colombia's military has one of the worst-human rights records in the hemisphere. ''You're drawing from this problematic pool of Colombian military,'' said Robin Kirk, the author of More Terrible Than Death and a researcher for Human Rights Watch for 10 years. ``And you do have this figure of the retired military officer who has been in command of paramilitary troops for a long time. The fact that they were in these paramilitary groups is not necessarily going to show up because we only know them by their nicknames.''
QUESTION OF CONTROL
Contractors found themselves under scrutiny when a British mercenary famous for his exploits in fomenting coups in Sierra Leone and Papua New Guinea recently opened up his own shop in Iraq and received a lucrative contract to coordinate security companies there.
There is little official oversight of these companies, but Brooks of the International Peace Operations Association says the contractors want this to change.
''The reality is that it's not going to be a perfect system,'' he said. ``Whether you're wearing camouflage or blue jeans, you have to be held accountable for what's going on.''
Earth to You! This is not news. Contract mercenaries are being used on both sides. Ex: IRA snipers working for Palestine, So American Army vets working for Coalition Contract firms.
Don't take my word. Google it. Why not reveal the bigger story?
I read the story with interest.
If it isn't news to you bart, maybe you should just keep that to yourself. And learn some manners.
Well, Ted Kennedy is a flaming LIBERAL but it keeps making headlines.
I hope our mercenaries are badder than theirs.
Only one possible ending to the story.
Victory for the USA.
Bump!
This is a good idea. They have lots of experience dealing with oil pipeline saboteurs, and are certainly brave in fighting terrorists. The techniques used by FARC are very similar to those used by the AQ/Baathist terrorists in Iraq.
Actually, now that agressive work by the Colombian govt, with the support of the US under Bush, has knocked back FARC terrorism, the Colombian economy is picking up. Colombia also has a "re-entry" program for people who have been part of paramilitary or guerrilla groups, and they can receive training for peacetime jobs in a normal economy.
Exactly!
You have not earned the right to reply to this particular person in the manner you have. So rephrase politely and keep your opinions about what is and is not news, to your newby young self, or depart hence.
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