The Modern Mercenary in Combat

With the horror of 9/11 behind us, a new strategic equation tends to dominate world issues. These days, when the natives of some wayward African backwater become restless, or a South American warlord fosters insurrection, the big powers are inclined to look the other way. Thus the possibility of the Pentagon dispatching anything to assist a government in trouble – like the amphibious assault ship USS Saipan that went to Liberia with the 22^nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in Aug. 1990, or Britain sending HMS Ocean to Sierra Leone to quell insurrection – is unlikely. Similarly, the way things are, Somalia won’t get a sideways glance from any Western force. So another solution must be sought. Since it was the dogs of war that cleared the bramble patch in the old days, it will probably be so again.

By proposing to license Private Military Companies in early 2002, Britain now follows the American lead of companies like the Vinnell Corporation or Washington’s MPRI in giving tacit support to what is regarded, by many military specialists, as the most logical option. While the concept of hiring freelance military professionals has some powerful detractors, the actions of these freebooters in recent years have shown that they are both efficient and cost effective.

War Dog deals with mercenary activity in a score of wars: Angola, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, the DRC, Ethiopia, Lebanon and others. As one of a handful of correspondents who saw action with the South African ‘guns for hire’ group, Executive Outcomes, Al Venter reveals all about this organization as well as what has been going on in the Congo. While the major powers grapple with more serious international issues, dogs of war might very well be the answer for some of the brush fire wars that continue to plague the developing world.

Al J Venter, author of 20 books, has for the past quarter century been Africa and Middle East correspondent for Jane’s International Defence Review, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Jane’s Terrorism and Security Monitor and Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst. He has made a career of covering other people’s wars and his reports over the past 30 years have spanned 4 continents. Among conflicts covered are several in which mercenaries have been involved: Angola, the Congo, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, Rhodesia, Uganda, and others. To get his story he even joined the Angolan Chipa Esquadrao rebel group headed by the maverick guerrilla Daniel Chipenda. The African Connection and African Killing Fields are among his many TV documentaries.