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Isenberg Video
- Here and There with Dave Marash, February 3, 2015
- Sep. 2, 2014 Al Jazeera English segment on Blackwater trial - Comment by David Isenberg
- Jan 2, 2010, Al Jazzeera (English), re Judge Urbina’s dismissal of charges against Blackwater contractors
- June 28, 2010. heard in “Controversy over CIA Blackwater contract,” The World
- August 17, 2010, on C-Span III, speaks on private military contracting
- Examining the role of the military contractor
- Has the Privatization of National Security Gone Too Far? The Future of Military Contracting, November 14, 2008, 9:30-11:00am, New America Foundation
- David Isenberg on PressTV - US contractor with poor ratings hired again
- Outsourcing War and Peace – Video
Recent Comments
- Joseph Burwell on Former student blasts military school for private defense contractors
- Gomes Castro on Families of slain and injured sue Ericsson over claims it funded Middle East terror
- A United States in Perpetual War Should Consider a Foreign Legion as a Pragmatic Solution | NextBigFuture.com on LEGITIMIZING A DE FACTO U.S. FOREIGN LEGION IN AFGHANISTAN: TRANSFER OF MISSION CRITICAL SECURITY OPERATIONS FROM PRIVATE CONTRACTORS TO U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL
- Resource curse alive and well in Afghanistan - Antony Loewenstein on $488 Million Investment in Afghanistan’s Oil, Mining & Gas Industry at Risk
- Il Boom dei contractors in Africa – SURIYA HABIBATI on Mozambique: Hydrocarbon companies deny security deal with Erik Prince – AIM
Author Archives: David Isenberg
THE LONG SHADOW OF THE SWORD-FOR-HIRE
“Ramesses II fought the Battle of Kadesh with Sherden mercenaries in his personal guard — men recruited, by most reconstructions, from what’s now the eastern Mediterranean, fighting for Egypt’s pharaoh for pay, not for pharaoh’s gods. The distinction matters. A conscript fights because the state compels him. A mercenary fights because the state — or a fragment of one — writes a check.” Continue reading
Posted in David Isenberg, Fiction, Outsourcing/Privatization
Tagged David Isenberg, Fiction, Outsourcing/Privatization
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JOVANA JEZDIMIROVIC RANITO
Dr. Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito is a Serbian-born scholar of international security and the private use of force who occupies an unusual dual position: a tenured-track academic post at the University of Twente’s honours college, University College Twente (UCT/ATLAS), and, concurrently, one of the most consequential international human-rights mandates dealing with privatized force — Chairperson-Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries. Continue reading
Ghana seeks to stop Russia from recruiting its citizens as mercenaries as Ukraine war death toll hits 62
Ghana says Russia has agreed to end the “illegal recruitment” of its citizens to fight in the war in Ukraine, as the number of Ghanaians killed while serving with Russian forces has risen to 62, with another 15 still missing. Continue reading
Ghana asks Moscow to stop recruiting its citizens for war in Ukraine
According to Ablakwa, 62 of his country’s citizens have been killed in Ukraine, and 15 remain missing. Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Casualties, Ghana, Russia, Ukraine
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‘Air thick with flies’: UAE’s Colombian mercenaries recount horrors of Sudan siege
The air was thick with flies, drawn by both the dead bodies and the heaps of trash. There were bodies that had already turned purple from being exposed to the sun for so long . . . it was awful having those flies buzzing around you while you ate. Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Colombia, Mercenaries, UAE
Tagged Africa, Colombia, Mercenaries, Sudan, United Arab Emirates
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Cops move to prevent recruitment of possible mercenaries
THE National Police (PNP) has intensified efforts to prevent Filipino jobseekers from being lured into joining armed conflicts abroad Continue reading
Wagner Fighters Run Massive Opioid Ring in the CAR
“In battlefield contexts, tramadol is being taken in massive doses,” Nathalia Dukhan, a researcher with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) think tank, told The Wall Street Journal. “Fear vanishes and agitation surges as combatants enter a pharmacological trance.” Continue reading
Routes and Ramifications: Tracking Russian Military Flights to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger
Russian state-aligned military forces maintain opaque, interconnected aviation logistics networks to supply their deployments across the central Sahel, particularly in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where growing Russian presence has likely contributed to a deteriorating security situation and mounting humanitarian concerns. Continue reading
Why doesn’t it work? US Regulatory Challenges in Outsourcing Private Use of Violence in Stability Operations
Why doesn’t it work? US Regulatory Challenges in Outsourcing Private Use of Violence in Stability Operations Jovana Jedeimirovic Ranito Dissertation May 2016 You must be logged in to view this content. Click here to subscribe
Posted in Academic, Control, Outsourcing/Privatization
Tagged Academic, Control, Outsourcing/Privatization
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Russia brands foreign mercenaries with numbers – Ukraine intel
Russia brands foreign mercenaries serving in its army to tighten control and strip them of their identity. These “inventory numbers” are applied to equipment or directly to the skin, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) reported on Aug. 17, publishing accompanying photos. Continue reading