Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Wages Of A Mercenary Are . . . Who Cares?

The United States government has disclosed that the "diplomat" whose release from a Pakistani prison it has demanded is a CIA "security" employee.

And a former mercenary.

The United States government is probably right to worry that a former mercenary -- who shot two Pakistani civilians to death, after which a third Pakistani civilian was run over and killed by Americans speeding to the death scene to recover the trigger-happy (at least 10 bullets) shooter -- might be in jeopardy while in Pakistani custody (right). Some locals find it difficult to accept that the lawless mercenaries shooting up their streets (and, often, their family members and friends) should be greeted as liberators.

The United States government is probably wrong, however, if it expects reasonable people to worry much about its former mercenary, or to credit claims of "diplomatic immunity." For a mercenary, the plus side includes adventure, great pay and the opportunity to shoot civilians without consequences. The negative side is winding up in one of the prisons in which your amoral colleagues once tortured the locals.

Infinonytune: Rock The Casbah, The Clash

4 comments:

JenEngland said...

But it's just like a Moooo-veee!

Anonymous said...

You are a traitor. Robert Davis, former special forces is fighting for the U.S.A. to keep you safe, you piss all over him. People like you don't deserve freedom, but you get it anyway because you are lucky brave men are willing to go into combat even for piss ants like you.

Maggot.

Vannevar said...

I'd like to respectfully rebuke Anon@6.36pm.

This man was fighting for the USA when he was in the service (he's not in the service anymore).

If he's a CIA agent, that's one thing. If he's a mercenary/ contractor, that's a whole different thing.

There are major issues with the use of mercenaries and contractors (vs. actual US personnel) to fight our battles.

I'm not convinced that CIA activity in Pakistan is keeping me safe. They may be creating more enemies than they take out.

(Witness the current situation.)

We don't know if this man was acting under orders or was a loose cannon. We don't know if he's US personnel or a mercenary contractor. We do know that it doesn't seem to be working too well.

We used to be able to ask these questions without having our patriotism questioned.

I just don't believe that everything done in the fog of war (by profiteers, no less) is by definition above review or reproach.

Among other things, the American way is about freedom of speech.

The fast dodge into a personal attack suggests to me that Anon doesn't have any better answers, but I am wrong a lot.

Infinonymous said...

It appears Vannevar has our back more than some cowboy who ventures overseas in sketchy circumstances, shoots ten bullets into a couple of civilians, and expects a free pass out of Pakistan.