Where do you see these video's?

http://www.militaryvideos.net/

Blackwater is the Merc vids. There are like 3 of them.

-S

They are mercs. Brinks and Wells Fargo don't operate in war zones or draw their paychecks from whichever side of the conflict that funds them. Further, as they are in a combat zone where they are not bound by the ROE that the U.S. Military is yet are paid by the same U.S. Government (through contracts with Blackwater etc) and U.S. Corporations, they have a lot more latitude in how they can behave than the grunts or any Brinks guard who is bound by both the rules of his employer, but more importantly by domestic U.S. criminal and civil laws.

By definition, you would be correct!

A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations.

1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war. 2. A mercenary is any person who: (a) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict; (b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities; (c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party; (d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict; (e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and (f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.


Take #1 up there and apply that to captured forces from other countries - seems to me that Guantanamo guys don't even get the rights of enemy combatant status!

What I'm seeing is a bunch of defensive actions as in providing security under Blackwater Security Inc..
These guys aren't used in offensive actions like assualts, raids, movements to contact, ambushes etc. They are used to provide security to CPA facilities. They stay in static positions. I'd call that armed security/guard and I'm not even saying that in a belittleing way. These guys are ex SF and Seals and can kick ass but they are still armed security/guards and not mercenaries (in my view).
Some word games can be played with that definition so I guess it just how one interprets it.

What rights?

Perfect! I still don't know why we don't follow the Geneva convention which I think demands they be put in front of a firing squad and shot? Problem solved.

-S

:roll:

They stay in static positions? Is that why they have pickups?

These guys are trigger-happy mercs. Do I need to show you the video where they shoot up innocent civilians just because they don't see a sign which says "STAY BACK 100 METRES"...which can't be read over distance of more then 20 metres even with perfect vision and is written in English which most Iraqis cannot read?

Oh yeah....and those kick arse Seals and SF had thair arse handed to them on more then one occassion. Don't make me post the "Camel" video....you forget that what makes the SF so special is also the support they get...you know, minibird, AC130 Spectre etc. These guys only have a Toyota HiLux as back up. :roll:

They are mercs...they leave the service and join these dubious companies cos they pay more.

That Geneva convention sh*t is based off a RECOGNIZABLE UNIFORM. The requirement was intended to make guerrila warfare much less attractive.

Amazingly enough (to me, anyway), throwing on a pair of black pajamas with some kind of rank insignia and carrying an AK-47 is enough to validate this requirement. And when the Russians went through Berlin, they shot non-uniformed bastards on sight; they were fortunate enough to have that luxury, however, since they had very little use for intelligence (pun intended). It's too bad we need intelligence as much as we need dead jihadists. C'est la vie.

It also occurs to me that people are confusing "freelance mercs" with "nationalist mercs". American mercenaries are nationalists -- they intend to return to America and live in America. They sign contracts which, along with an NDA and a form of the UCMJ, includes a non-competitive clause. Meaning that unless they become freelance mercs (and consequentially be hunted across the "western world"), they have to abide by that contract.

Freelance mercenaries are the ones that go for the most cash. Blackwater does not employ freelancers. The CIA and NSA probably do on a routine basis.


Oil. It all comes right back to oil. And general anti-Americanism, which is based off the need for oil and fear of a fatwa on you.

Do you think any American really gives a **** about what some whackjob Islamic cleric says? All we see is a nutjob in a black turbin spouting alot of bull****. And the instant kneejerk reaction to any threats that they make, is the overwhelming desire to kick their asses.. I don't know what it is, but its just something about us as a people. Fear and intimidation tactics will almost always do nothing but make us very aggressive.

errhh... sorry for the hijack.

Now back to merc debates. :roll:

Well a merc is a merc...whatever you call it..."nationalist" or otherwise. The end of the day, if the US cannot provide security in Iraq through their military and have to use mercs...than that to me is wrong. But then again...the wars all about making money for Rumsfeld. :yep:

All you need is an insignia - the point is, some way to recognize the bad guy to keep from killing civillians - and to prevent spies - the two very things this writting is written so strong for. Fail to have a simple insignia, regardless if you are wearing some stealth uniform, even if its black pajamas ninja style, violates this simple law of warfare. The terrorists claimed war on America and the rest of the world, so if its war they want, then they must abide by this, or suffer its consequences. Just my 2 cents.

-S

If you are referring to the above photo's
They're doing a job guarding convoys. Troops can't do it nor can they use military equipment. They probably work for the same company that operates the convoy. Calling them mercs is a long stretch. They are armed guards nothing more, nothing less.

What does the video have to do about being mercenary or not?

Don't know anything about a "Camel" video. Who hasn't had their asses handed to them in war before? Look at that SAS team from Gulf 1 that got captured. A shepard boy done them in. S#!t happens. It's how they are used that makes the difference. Their skills are keener than the average soldier and they are more motivated. It doesn't make them bulletproof.
If you were some muckidy muck who would you rather have guarding you? Average Joe Smuck or a highly motivated and skilled special operations type?

Well your last question is obvious. Though they aren't all ex-SF. A lot of these guys are South Africans and Australians...with dubious past military experience, I'd bet.

The "camel" video I was talking about is this one:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=n-fjrRB7W...ctor%20%20iraq

Don't bother watching if you don't like this sort of thing...no gore...but one guy dies...his name was "camel".

By the way..ignore the comments...whoever wrote that doesn;t have a clue. The camera is mounted on the car dashboard...there is no "camera-man". One fatality...Camel was shot in the head (he's the one with the Australian accent who says "ahh...f*ck, I'm hit bad!). There was no road block. The commander ordered them to wait there. They were ambushed on the "Highway of Death"....the one that goes to the airport, I believe. For some reason they were just sitting there...like dead ducks. Nobody knows why.