Finding a silver lining in an otherwise uncomfortable sense of detachment?

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was in Iraq the past weekend to announce the handing of control of Basra province to the Iraq government. Basra handover "in two weeks" – PM read the headline of the news release in the 10 Downing Street website. One wishes the headline message would have been handover after having had accomplished the planned mission, or something along those lines. For the message sold was ‘handover’ over ‘accomplishment’. The announcement was made while addressing servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq, some of whom one should add looked not entirely at ease, but not because of his visit. They are perfectly aware of irreversible defence cuts, problems equipping them adequately throughout the Iraq campaign, the downgrading of the Minister of Defence post to a part-time job, the lack of understanding of their role in Iraq (and Afghanistan) by the public, and so on. The Number 10 media machine sold the ‘Basra handover’ message alongside that stating Gordon Brown’s demand for the release of the five hostages, four security workers employed by GardaWorld and an IT specialist from BearingPoint, held by militias over the last six months. Because the current news traffic about the hostages is largely due to the release of a video demanding the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq by the kidnappers, the headline message sold by Number 10 was not carefully articulated, at best. Why to tie together the two messages (handover and release) all over the media? News about the hostages since the take-over on 29 May 2007 appear to have followed a pattern: deep concern expressed by the relatives, statements read by military spokespersons in Iraq, particularly American ones, followed by reactive media reports. When pressed for answers, British authorities have claimed that there has been intense work going on in the background aimed at the swift release of the hostages. However, it is only now that Gordon Brown has publicly replied to the hostages’relatives, who understandably are deeply concerned about their loved ones’ plight. This should have come earlier. It should have not been made to coincide explicitly with the handing over of control of Basra province to the Iraq government, in particular considering that withdrawal was the kidnappers demand. Clearly, Brown remarked, "The taking of hostages is completely unjustified, wholly unacceptable and we are making it clear they will not change our policy in any way”. He went on to say, "We will do everything in our power. The taking of hostages is completely unacceptable.” We will or we have been doing Prime Minister? Let’s hope the silver lining of this otherwise uncomfortable detachment of the Prime Minister’s office from the hostages’ plight until now will be the release of the Missing Five before Christmas, even if that comes at the cost of unnecessarily giving extremists grounds to claim exactly the opposite Brown stated, i.e. no change of policy in Iraq. Some of the young men and women who were listening to the Prime Minister’s announcements will work for the private security industry one day, probably sooner than later given solid military vocation but lack of sound governmental support for the forces. It would be interesting to hear their thoughts about an equally ambivalent approach towards civilians contributing to the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The day the GardaWorld and BearingPoint hostages were taken

They were not real policemen but gunmen in stolen uniforms in a stolen car. However, eyewitnesses say their disguise enabled them to enter the street, and walk straight past ministry guards. They got inside a room where staff were being trained by a BearingPoint computer expert, who was protected by a quartet of GardaWorld security guards.

read more | digg story | Do not forget the missing Five

Iraqi kidnappers threaten to kill British security workers

Kidnappers who have held five Britons since May have released a video threatening to kill one hostage in 10 days unless Britain pulls out of Iraq. The video shows a hostage sitting on the floor flanked by masked gunmen pointing rifles at him. The footage broadcast by an Arabic satellite station, was dated November 18, but does not make clear whether the deadline has now expired.

read more | digg story | Do not forget the missing Five

Christmas choices

Do not forget the Missing Five

This week marks six months five British hostages have been held in captivity in Iraq, possibly Iran.

At noon on 29 May 2007, five British security guards from GardaWorld, a Canadian-owned security company, and a computer specialist working for BearingPoint, the US-based management consultancy firm, were kidnapped at gunpoint in Iraq. The kidnap occurred in broad daylight in central Baghdad. Dozens of men in police uniform seized them from a Finance Ministry building off Palestine Street. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair then said, “We will do everything we possibly can to help.” A month later, there were signs of activity aimed at recovering the hostages. Subsequently news went cold. Early in September the story resurfaced, when on the eve of their 100^th day in captivity Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq, was quoted saying, “We track every day where we think they might be. We have reason to think they are still alive.” This was more of a reply to a join-plea by the families of the victims than a periodic update on their faith. ‘They are sons, fathers and brothers who were working to support us’, the families’ plea stated. The Foreign Office went on to remind the media ‘not to publish the names or personal details of those who have been kidnapped. The situation remains that all information can potentially be of use to their abductors and endanger the captives.’ The opposite, i.e. the lack of information, however, also works to the kidnapers’ advantage, as the hostages loose negotiation value. Upon the release of a video of the men a few days ago, the Foreign Office was reported noting that “although there is much going on behind the scenes, it is extremely sensitive and we can’t go into details about it.” For this reason, we shall say no more and hope that indeed, the British authorities are working frantically on a swift and positive outcome. When there is a political will, often there is a way. Their safe release will not turn around the approval ratings of Prime Minister Gordon Brown in areas of defense. It would neither be a story sexy enough to spin as yet another set of freshly released humanitarian tourists. However, it would give their life back to families paralyzed by the crisis, perhaps on time for Christmas. Please do not forget the Missing Five.

If you live in the UK, contact your MP and express your concern about the faith of the Missing Five British contractors. Members of parliament are bound to be aware of the sensitivity of public information concerning this issue as well as the confidentiality of your personal communications. If in doubt, raise the issue and note that you do not want to endanger their life by registering your concern for their plight: click here

If you live in Canada, contact your MP and express your concern about five missing British workers employed by a Canadian-owned firm. Same observations as above apply: click here

If you live in the US, contact your Congressperson and express your concern about five missing British contractors who were assisting in the reconstruction of Iraq. Same observations as above apply: click here

174th day in captivity today, UK hostages in Iraq to be ‘held for years’

The men, an IT consultant and four GardaWorld bodyguards who were kidnapped from the finance ministry, have recorded messages for their families in a video passed to officials in Iraq. The kidnappers have said they could be held for years if demands for the release of an Iranian-backed militia leader are not met.

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Blackwater Withdrawal Abruptly Ends Peace Operations Association Inquiry

Blackwater USA has ended an inquiry into the private security contractor's performance by withdrawing from an industry group that initiated the review after the company's guards were accused of killing 17 Iraqis in Baghdad last month. All member companies are required to follow the group's conduct code.

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The Blackwater Bandwagon

Blackwater USA, the private security firm that has been publicly castigated without the benefit of a completed investigation regarding the Sept. 16 shooting incident in Iraq is responsible for safely moving diplomats, visiting government officials, members of Congress, and others through the dangerous streets of Baghdad and beyond.

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Some insights into the Blackwater hearings by IPOA

Left out was the fact that the overwhelming number of contractors in Iraq are Iraqis - the people who one would hope would be doing the security and reconstruction of their country. In fact, as many as 100,000 Iraqis have jobs with private sector companies supporting U.S. policies, it may be the single greatest factor countering the insurgency.

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Blackwater gets a united defense

Top State Department officials and the head of their beleaguered private security firm, Blackwater USA, put forth a unified defense Tuesday against an onslaught of congressional criticism over the company's violent encounters with Iraqis. DOS and security officials attempted to portray Blackwater's armed guards as highly trained professionals.

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Kabul army bus suicide attack kills 30

A suicide bomber wearing an army uniform blew up an Afghan military bus in Kabul Saturday, killing around 30 people and wounding many more in one of the deadliest attacks of the Taliban's insurgency. The attacker detonated his explosives at the entrance of the bus as it picked up army personnel going to work.

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USPI security officers, civilians dead in new Afghan attacks

Taliban militants active in the south of the country ambushed a fuel convoy on a key road in Farah province, police said. The attack sparked an hour of heavy fighting between the Afghan security guards escorting the convoy and the rebels. Three of the guards, from the US-based USPI company, were killed, three captured, and five wounded.

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Another summer in Afghanistan’s Helmand province

Upon reflecting on another summer of ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, Christina Lamb wrote that “during the four months that the British media has been consumed by the disappearance of a blonde four-year-old girl from a holiday apartment in the Algarve, 26 British families have lost sons as young as 18 on the dusty fields of Afghanistan, but barely a word has been written. Death in Helmand province is now so common that it warrants no more than a down-page brief.” It appears that the attention the conflict in Afghanistan has been subject to by the public is fast waning. One thing will not change, however, the conflict in Afghanistan will continue and probably worsen before it improves. More worryingly, ordinary folk seems to be increasingly more concerned about unfortunate accidents of war and the enemy’s losses than the soldiers who have suffered the misfortune to die or be maimed by foes. It is not right. Not surprisingly General Sir Richard Dannatt, the current head of the British Army, recently noted that he is becoming increasingly concerned about "the growing gulf between the Army and the nation". Up until now, a total of 81 British Forces personnel or civilians attached to the Ministry of Defence have died while serving in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November 2001 – the US has had 441 casualties, Canada 70, Germany 25, Spain 21, the Netherlands 11, and so on. At the same time, there have been thousands wounded. Yet the scale of the loss seems to go unnoticed. These fallen soldiers are the forgotten ‘public’ heroes, missed family men and women. On the other hand, the private military personnel who have perished or being maimed in the conflict are the ‘nonexistent’ casualties. These men were engaged in the same conflict and the same cause. They were largely former soldiers who had paid their duty to the state but moved on to serve the public interest in an alternative way. Nevertheless, their loss is hardly ever recorded in the cemetery of war. Do not be wrong, they deserve the same attention and respect as servicemen. Whereas we need to honour our soldiers, we need to at least acknowledge in the light they deserve our private military personnel. If you are bewildered by these lines, be grateful. Your loved ones probably would have been called for service if it was not for them!

Blackwater USA Denies Smuggling Allegations

Blackwater USA denied Saturday any involvement in illegal weapons smuggling, responding to reports the private security contractor is a target of federal prosecutors. "Allegations that Blackwater was in any way associated or complicit in unlawful arms activities are baseless," the company said in a statement. "The company has no knowledge"

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UK Army chief wants respect for troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan

General Richard Dannatt said on Friday the conflicts Iraq and Afghanistan were winnable and the troops fighting there deserved more respect. Describing the war in Iraq as "clearly unpopular" at home, and the conflict in Afghanistan as misunderstood, he lamented the fact the British public showed far less for their armed forces than Americans do.

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Why ignoring the private security option in Darfur is a mistake.

Saving hundreds of thousands of lives in Darfur doesn’t require protests or divestment or U.S. troops. It requires only that we recognize that there is a commercial value to humanitarian security, and then pay to deploy private forces to the region. But the activist campaigns to “save Darfur” don’t seem to be ready to take this immediate step.

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Holiday notice:

17 August - 17 September 2007: Someone's got to have it!

Meet with the Iraq Government at the world's leading energy summit for Iraq

At the energy summit for Iraq on 2-4 Sep the best-in-breed operators and companies will be represented at board level in order to build the relationships that will be crucial to the future of the Iraqi energy sector and include the likes of Aegis, ArmorGroup, Janussian, Control Risks Group, Unity, Hart, Olive Security, GardaWorld and Triple Canopy.

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Over 1,000 civilian contractors have been killed in Iraq so far

In response to a request from Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., the Labor Department revealed that 1,001 civilian contractors had died in Iraq as of June 30, including 84 during the second quarter of the year. Those contractor fatalities are in addition to the 3,668 military personnel the Defense Department had confirmed dead in Iraq so far,

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House passes Defense bill

The House early Sunday approved a $460B defense spending bill that includes measures aimed at helping the department improve the way it contracts for goods and services. It also would withhold award fees payments to contractors who fail to abide by their contract terms and it would create minimum training requirements for security contractors.

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Transition assistance programs: incorporating the private military industry into the equation

In a June post, ‘Supporting Britain’s Public and Private Security Personnel’, I commented on a British initiative aimed at encouraging business leaders to support the reserve forces: Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers (SaBRE). I noted that SaBRE implicitly highlights the fact that a number of the people involved in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are not regular soldiers, but private personnel. While SaBRE is tailored for reservists and not private security personnel, it touches on the sensitive need to inform and educate the public and private employers about the growing role civilians play in arenas of conflict. It is a revolving door, not only between the military and the private sector, but also between military-oriented tasks and Civvy Street. There is the need to grease the wheels of this door in order to make sure transitions are smooth and there is a gracious exit to Civvy Street, hence initiatives such as SaBRE in the UK and the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) in the US are being enhanced.

TAP recently launched a new website to assist US veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq: TurboTAP. The website addresses what is becoming a problem, namely facilitating transitions for those who face difficulties in returning to old jobs or finding new ones. TurboTAP dresses in the now familiar structure of employment websites, providing general guidelines and offering a one-stop meeting point for candidates and employers. Yet an issue of concern is precisely that TurboTAP fails to set itself apart from other recruitment websites targeting the same audience. It is no a surprise therefore that the service goes under the ‘official transition assistance website’ banner. For once, it fails to provide guidelines to the public about the personal, practical, and professional challenges veterans returning to civilian life might face. Let us not forget that in the general public we find not only potential employers, but also people who are critical of the role played by many civilians in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Inevitably, to facilitate transitions they need to be informed. Wider access to authoritative material originating in the Department of Defense could throw new light on the issues at hand to critics as well as potential yet non-corporate employers. This broader focus would also work in setting TurboTAP apart from other employment websites.

Perhaps a good strategy is for the US to examine and amalgamate into TurboTAP SaBRE’s experience, and all the way round. The result could be a more robust service that is informative and useful to both returning veterans and the communities they are rejoining. Another issue that needs to be addressed is that some veterans might find themselves more at ease following a career that builds up from their recently acquired military experience. The private military and private security industries offer that alternative. These industries are perfectly aware and value the field experience of former military personnel and reservists. On the other hand, former military personnel and reservists already possess levels of security clearance that are necessary to undertake defence, military, and intelligence tasks outsourced by governments. At a time when a proven military background and a trustworthy service trajectory are increasingly in demand, it is time to bring vetted Private Military Companies and Private Security Companies into to the Transition Assistance equation. Inasmuch as the volatile times we are living call for it, the strategy could assist in alleviating an unfolding transition problem brought about by longer than expected campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

BAE backlash against axing of British export agency

Mike Turner, the chief executive of BAE Systems, has demanded a meeting with the Prime Minister after the responsibilities of the Defence Export Services Organisation (Deso) were transferred to the Trade and Industry department, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

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Read the letter (pdf) from Mike Turner, the chief executive of BAE Systems, to Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister: click here

BAE Systems Test Crisis Command Systems During ’Terrorist Attack’

BAE Systems successfully tested a mobile ground station for use by emergency services at a simulated crisis exercise in Valencia, Spain. The ground station is a key element of MARIUS — the Mobile Autonomous Reactive Information System for Urgency Situations — a technology project funded by the European Commission.

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In the news: BAE Systems

BAE Systems has a proud heritage of ground breaking inventions including Concorde, Radio communication, and the Harrier Jump Jet. In the changing world of defence and homeland security, technology and innovation are still at the heart of our business.

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BAE EIS Sending Its CREW to the Front Lines

BAE Systems' Information & Electronic Warfare Systems group in Nashua, NH produces electronic IED jammers that disrupt the remote signals (often cell phones) used to set off land mines in Iraq, Afghanistan, et. al. They're referred to as "Dismounted Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (CREW) systems".

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2 British Firms Are Finalists for U.S. Job in Iraq

In what has become a contentious competition, Aegis Defence Services and ArmorGroup International are considered top contenders for a contract worth up to $475 million to provide intelligence services to the U.S. Army and security for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on reconstruction work in Iraq. Aegis won the initial contract in 2004.

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In the news: Aegis Defence Services

AEGIS specialises in the identification, analysis and mitigation of risk, providing a commercially focused and innovative approach to security and risk management through three distinct but complementary divisions: Research and Intelligence, Security Operations and Technical Services.

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Scahill’s take on security contractors: ‘killer bees’ for the Google generation

Peter Singer’s ‘Corporate Warriors. The Rise of the Privatized Military’ Industry was published in 2003. The timing was excellent, as that was the year the Iraq war started. I do not need to elaborate on the visible role Private Military Companies (PMCs) and Private Security Companies (PSCs), the focus of Dr. Singer’s book, have played in the conflict. Off course Singer or Cornell University Press, the respectable publishing house behind the book, did not plan the release date to coincide with the onset of the war. Yet that is what happened. Singer’s book symbolically marked a decade since the PMC/PSC subject has been the focus of dedicated study. This is what we otherwise may refer to as scholarship, i.e. systematic work aimed at a contribution to knowledge. Moreover, either because of the timing of the book or that the study of this subject was due to explode into mainstream debate, Singer succeeded in transcending the expert community and introducing the subject to a broader audience. There are disagreements about Singer’s various arguments and conclusions. However, for a subject so pivotally important yet complex and polarizing, this was a genuine achievement. In 2005, Deborah Avant published ‘The Market for Force. The Consequences of Privatizing Security’, a compelling contribution to knowledge. By the time Singer published Corporate Warriors, Professor Avant had been already working on her elegant argument about the ‘control of force’ for a few years. For it takes painstaking work and time for serious research and scholarship to be produced. In this light, the air miles that Robert Young Pelton put while researching ‘Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror’, which spans four continents and three years, made the troposphere his natural habitat as much as the many war zones he visited. In the words of Singer, Pelton’s book is ‘always interesting [and] truly captures the cast of characters that make up our new ‘coalition of the billing’ in the War on Terror’. Other equally relevant titles have been published on the topic, including ‘Private Military and Security Companies: Chances, Problems, Pitfalls and Prospects’, an anthology covering the work of 34 authors. Some of them will be revised in future posts.

A different type of work altogether is ‘Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army’, put together by Jeremy Scahill and aggressively promoted by its publisher, the Nation Books. It is difficult not to discern that the book was crafted to cash on some of the unease and ill feelings that the Iraq conflict have engendered in a large proportion of the public, particularly in light of the coming US presidential election. Nonetheless, because someone touches those concerns, the empirical evidence underpinning them does not necessarily need to ring valid or accurate. Take for example the figures often quoted by the author in his many public appearances: the firm in question appears to employ 100,000 men for $1000 a day each. Even the most bizarre understanding of capitalism and conspiracy theories one could entertain would render the 36.5B a year cost of employing this ‘army’ farfetched. As for its ‘mercenary’ nature, a large proportion of these employees are in fact Iraqis and many of them work in tasks that have nothing to do with the military. Mr. Scahill chooses vignettes of evidence that suit his investigative-journalism style and is an able speaker who knows how to work his audience. After his presentation of 4 May 2007 at Sacramento City College, a student was reported to say she ‘felt both inspired and horrified from what she learned’. While inspiration is a good quality that encourages learning and understanding, it is important not to allow oneself to engage in a suspension-of-disbelief trance when dealing with such a sensitive topic. This is not a defense of the firm in question, but an invitation to anyone who believes has learned about PMCs/PSCs solely from this book to broaden his/her horizons and examine the vast scholarship available on the topic before reaching ‘horrifying’ conclusions. Many honest folks who make a living in the private military and security sectors, feed their families, pay their bills and mortgages, save money for their children’s education, and can only dream about the possibility of a $1000 a day job, deserve the effort.

Three companies should prove to be better than one in supporting U.S. troop

the Pentagon has decided to inject some competition into its long-term troop support arrangement, the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, better known as LOGCAP IV. Three companies, KBR of Houston, DynCorp International of Fort Worth and Fluor Intercontinental of Greenville, S.C., will compete for projects in the Middle East worth up to $150 B.

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Securing a niche among Quebec's business elite: Stéphan Crétier

Stéphan Crétier, once a guard at The Bay, now heads one the world's largest security firms. The hard-driving Crétier, who is CEO and chairman of Garda, at 43 sits atop one of the Canada's fastest-growing companies, which expects to rake in $1.4 billion in revenues next year, started with four employees and a cramped, ramshackle office in 1996.



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Private Military Contractors Count On Crowell Partner

When the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on what it calls "War Profiteering and Other Contractor Crimes Committed Overseas", David Hammond, the lead partner handling Iraq liability issues at Crowell & Moring, was there. He represents top military contractors operating in Iraq such as Blackwater USA, Triple Canopy, DynCorp International, and Erinys.



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MoD shunned chance to hire more helicopters

The desperate lack of air transport in Afghanistan could have been resolved if ministers had agreed last year to an offer from Security Support Solutions Ltd to provide four Mi17 Hip helicopters and an Mi26 Halo transporter, capable of carrying 20 tons. But the deal foundered because the MoD was reluctant to fly troops in Soviet era helicopters.



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In the news: Security Support Solutions

The current ground-based threats and the uncertain nature of world events have led many Governments, NGOs, corporate clients and individuals to seek effective helicopter solutions for secure travel arrangements. Helicopters provide a bespoke, cost-efficient, fast, safe form of travel.

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Army surgeon tells of delay in flying wounded to hospital

A senior army surgeon has said that British troops injured in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan faced delays of up to seven hours before reaching a field hospital, more than the time it took US soldiers in Vietnam to be evacuated 40 years ago. He made his comments in an article for the Royal Army Medical Corps Journal after a tour of duty.



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SUDAN: Call for urgent deployment of hybrid Darfur force

The UN Security Council should ensure that the Sudanese government's acceptance of a hybrid force consisting of UN and African Union (AU) troops for Darfur is matched by immediate action to protect civilians and end abuses, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.



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Supporting Britain’s Public and Private Security Personnel

Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT Group until September 2007, and Patrick Snowball, head of Norwich Union until the end June, although not strange to boardroom and outdoor pursuits found themselves in strange surroundings and heading unusual gatherings on 4-5 July. They were visiting Basra, in south-east Iraq, while helping to launch a campaign to encourage business leaders to support the reserve forces on behalf of SaBRE: Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers.

There are about 41,000 registered reservists, comprising members of the Territorial Army, the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Marines Reserve, and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Since early 2003, over 13,000 reservists have been called up for full-time service in either Iraq or Afghanistan, leaving jobs and family behind for six-month stints in addition to pre-training and post-operational leaves of absence. Insecurities inherent in a highly competitive business environment add up to the dangers of field work in Iraq and Afghanistan to make this campaign noteworthy and highlight the bravery of the reservists –six of whom have been killed so far. As of the end of May 2007, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) reports 5,500 military personnel deployed in Iraq. Mr. Snowball noted that “It’s absolutely vital if you look at the fact that currently six percent of the troops in theatre are reservists”.

Established in October 2002, SaBRE is an MOD marketing and communications campaign aimed at gaining and maintaining the support of employers for reservists. If an employer, be that a public or private company, understands that field work enhances personal attributes and further results in the development of new skills by reservists, the support for the reserve forces might be greater at a time when they are systematically needed but their number has stalled. Over 100 of UK’s top employers have signed up the SaBRE initiative, including Asda, Barclays, Jaguar, Marks & Spencer, Motorola, and Stagecoach. Firms such as Network Rail, Iceland, Travelodge, and 02, on the other hand, have failed to endorse a formal commitment.

Indirectly, SaBRE highlights the fact that a number of the people involved in the support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are not regular soldiers, but private personnel. For it is important to realize that war efforts henceforward involve an amalgamation of formal and informal public and private partnerships. In these partnerships, private security companies (PSCs) play an important role, one as commendable as that played by the reservists. A not minuscule number of PSC employees have died in Iraq and Afghanistan while serving for the same cause. Indeed, the time might come when there is a Supporting Britain’s Private Security Personnel and Employers campaign.

In the news: SaBRE

Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers (SaBRE) is a Ministry of Defence (MOD) campaign. For employers, it is a one-stop source of advice and information on the benefits and practicalities of employing Reservists.

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DynCorp Dynamite On New High

hile greed may be good, war is better. Security contractors have benefited from a dangerous world: one with non-stop news coverage of military campaigns and casualties. One company that has done especially well is DynCorp, which turned in financial results Thursday morning that blew by Wall Street expectations.



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Big names back our reserve forces

BT's chairman is in Basra this week to underline the commitment of British firms to support employees with a vital second role. As the only remaining FTSE 100 chairman to have done National Service, Sir Christopher Bland seems fairly well qualified to put his name to a campaign for business to support Britain's Reserve Forces.



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We’re here to make a difference, say contractors who risk life in Baghdad.

Mortar bombs, rockets and the threat of kidnapping are daily risks faced by hundreds of Western consultants in Baghdad who offer advice and expertise to the fledgling Iraqi Government. Far from the promise of a fat pay cheque, many of these people say they choose to do the job because they believe their input can make a difference.

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Snatched without a shot: seized in a secure government building in Baghdad

War is the hardest place to make judgments. Last Tuesday morning four armed British security guards protecting a British computer expert, who had the misfortune to be working inside the finance ministry building in one of the most dangerous parts of Baghdad, had to make a snap judgment: whether to shoot first or to surrender.

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In the news: GardaWorld

We are proud to be a part of the Garda family of companies, which offers clients a comprehensive suite of consulting and investigation, physical security, cash logistics, and background screening services. Garda employs 50,000 professionals and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

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The UN is in need of a Private Military Company footprint

At the UN headquarters in New York and in peacekeeping missions throughout the world, the fifth International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is celebrated today. This solemn occasion is a timely reminder of the invaluable and risky work UN peacekeeper undertake in attempting to bring peace to conflict regions. In the background of the occasion, however, the blue helmets find themselves overstretched with demand for them at an all-time high and likely to remain at that level in the near future.

In order to meet this growing demand and in light of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki moon’s timely call for the restructuring of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), perhaps it is time to consider the positive impact adequately vetted Private Military Companies can have in the emerging equation.

As of April 2007, there were more than 83,000 uniformed personnel (troops, police, and military observers) from about 115 countries serving in 18 operations supported by DPKO. Approved resources for the period 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 stand at $5.48B, representing about 11% of an estimated aggregated total of $47.22B since 1948. Total number of documented fatalities in the service of peace since 1948 is 2,355, more than 100 of them last year. While ongoing commitments would at least require maintaining these robust figures, meeting international clamour for intervention in escalating conflicts in Africa and the Middle East makes indispensable more uniformed personnel and resources.

In addition, the overhaul of DPKO will require accommodations within the UN organization and across the international community of states that in the short term might constrain effective peacekeeping response to new conflicts. In the longer term, although both traditional donors and Non-Aligned Movement countries support for Ki moon’s call for reform, it remains to be seen if consensus holds when specific requirements are addressed and offices dispensed.

At the same time, our shrinking world continues to turn into a dangerous place with virulent hotspots spreading and intractable grievances penetrating communities in a global scale. It is not an optimistic outlook that requires fresh input and innovative solutions at all levels of the process if we are going to make it into the second half of the 21^st century with only minor bruises to show.

Contrary to popular belief, Private Military Companies (PMCs) have been assisting the missions that the UN and the humanitarian community at large maintain in conflict-torn societies. They facilitate and secure the transport of personnel and goods, provide logistic and risk-mitigation assistance, render many specialized services such as mine clearance and the disposal of unexploded ordnance (UXO), as well as offer training in all these critical areas. These PMCs are well-established firms of international reputation and not some of the unsavoury contractors that you might have read about in the press. Indeed, they are for-profit enterprises, yet hardly the development bandits some might like to entertain. Far from that, their personnel risk their lives supporting peace missions and are aware of the importance of their work for the success of humanitarian and reconstruction undertakings. At a time of DPKO reform and the need for fresh ideas to revamp international peacekeeping, it is time to bring formally PMCs into the process and allow their expert input to strengthen peacekeeping.

The private military alternative has proven to be cost-effective, to be flexible and swift when called to service, and willing to take on broader and more challenging roles. There is not need for politically contentious international tendering mechanisms at this stage. Vetted companies could provide key personnel on retainers for the UN to deploy swiftly and on demand. That way, UNPK can guarantee the unity of command, the promotion of integration efforts, and the enhancement of operational capacities it endeavours in its reform plans. Yet this highly-trained composite of PMC personnel can act as a much needed force and technological enhancer when amalgamated with blue helmets properly. Give the PMC alternative their due role in international peacekeeping through this ‘trial’ scheme and take it from there. You are not likely to be disappointed. In return, you will be giving peace a better chance.

In the news: South Africa

A leading supplier of private military and private security personnel, South Africa has stirred passions since early drafts of the Prohibition of Mercenary Activity and Prohibition and Regulation of Certain Activities in an Area of Armed Conflict Bill started to circulate a year ago.

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UK move on mercenaries

The UK is pressing South Africa to soften the impact of a controversial anti-mercenary bill that could stop South Africans serving in the British Army and prevent them from working for private security companies worldwide. South Africa’s parliament passed the bill last year after international criticism of the role of South African mercenaries in events such as the high-profile alleged plot in 2004 to stage a coup in the oil-rich western African nation of Equatorial Guinea.

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Meet the first lady of the defence industry

As the British Airways flight from Washington to London touched down at 10.30am at Heathrow last Monday, the most powerful woman in the American defence industry was nervously checking her Blackberry. Linda Hudson, president of Land & Armaments at BAE Systems, was flying in to host a leadership conference for top company managers but her plans were derailed when an e-mail pinged up just hours later confirming she had clinched the $4.1 billion (£2.1 billion) takeover of America’s Armor Holdings – the biggest acquisition in BAE’s history.

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In the news: Armor Holdings

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Armor Holdings operates with 25 facilities in nine countries, with revenue of $1.6 billion in 2005. Armor Holdings' products and systems are used domestically and internationally by military, law enforcement, security and corrections personnel, as well as governmental agencies, multinational corporations and individuals.

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Insuring the life of public and private soldiers

The re-invention of military forces into leaner and more specialised machineries through downsizing and contracting-out has engendered both opportunities and problems for authorities to consider. An issue of particular concern for governments has been that pay rises in the military have not kept pace with the private sector. Whilst authorities try to retain their most talented military personnel beyond the date they are eligible to apply for retirement, private sector opportunities continue to lure them out. Let me make clear that there is nothing wrong about former military personnel working in the private military industry. They earn that right through service. However, an interesting dynamic unfolds when the field is levelled between governments and the private sector for the retention of highly-skilled personnel. Therefore, it is interesting to examine the actions the governments of leading suppliers of private military companies and personnel, e.g. the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), undertake to pre-empt competition and motivate officers to remain on service beyond the retirement threshold. In this light, it is worth highlighting the launch by the British Ministry of Defence in association with Sterling Life Ltd of a new life insurance scheme tailored for the Armed Forces: the Service Life Insurance (SLI). The risks associated with service in Iraq and Afghanistan have noticeably increased over the last two years. However, insurance firms have not been innovative enough to address the realities of post-9/11 conflicts and develop products tailored for servicemen engaged in them. Far from that, boardroom solutions have focused on raising life insurance premiums to prohibitive levels or closing the doors to soldiers on route to Iraq and Afghanistan altogether. Private military personnel have encountered the same problem too. In addressing such a critical need, SLI thus offers an attractive and needed service to British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is hoped similar innovative solutions will be on offer for private military personnel too. For in the end both public and private soldiers often find themselves fighting for the same causes, in similar arenas of conflict, and inevitably exposed to similar levels of risk.

UK troops to get life insurance

About 300,000 armed forces personnel are to be offered life assurance under a Ministry of Defence (MOD) scheme. Until now, they had found it difficult and costly to get insurance, because insurers feared the costs of high casualties from a major war. The Service Life Insurance (SLI) will be offered by insurer Sterling Life, but major losses will be underwritten by the government. SLI will be available immediately to regular and reservist personnel.

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Armor Holdings Agrees to $3.37B Takeover

Armor Holdings Inc., maker of military vehicles and bulletproof vests, has agreed to a $3.37 billion takeover by global defense contractor BAE Systems Inc. The purchase price of $88 a share in cash represents a 7 percent premium to the closing price of Armor Holdings stock on Friday, 4 May 2007.

In the news: remembering Hurricane Katrina

On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina (a category 4 tropical storm) ravaged the coastal states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The immediate public response to the unfolding human disaster left behind by the storm did not match its scale, geometry, and deadly pace. Leaving the controversial involvement of some firms aside, however, private sector response alleviated some of the early shortcomings.

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Climate change and terrorism

In a recent report by the Center for Naval Analyses the argument was raised for linking climate change to terrorism. Admiral T. Joseph Lopez, former commander-in-chief US Naval Forces Europe and of Allied Forces Southern Europe, was quoted stating

"Climate change can provide the conditions that will extend the war on terror"

"Rising ocean water levels, droughts, violent weather, ruined national economies-those are the kinds of stresses we'll see more of under climate change"

"In the long term, we want to address the underlying conditions that terrorists seek to exploit," Admiral Lopez said. "But climate change will prolong those conditions. It makes them worse"

While these points outline an interesting research position, serious and undesirable implications would arise if the argument gradually becomes policy. At the outset, such action would over-politicize and polarize global opinion for an area in which international cooperation is mandatory. We have already witnessed the adverse outcome the blind adoption of the strategy engenders. The basic premise that adverse conditions, be them caused by any factor, in this case climate change, contributes to terrorism is both overarching and too basic to lead to productive strategies. In this light, it is no surprise that China and an alliance of developing countries attacked the right of the UN Security Council to debate climate change. China left aside, take a closer look at the countries leading the uproar and expect little or no cooperation at all if the problem is formally linked to terrorism – or articulated as a universal threat to peace, as proposed by the UK government. Global public opinion has finally galvanized in recognizing climate change as a problem that needs to be addressed. Why not take advantage of this rare opportunity and forget about the unnecessary link to the war on terror at this stage?

Are the World's Most-Secure Locations Safe?

Or maybe not. In the Post-9/11 World, Virtually Any Security System Can Be Breached. The bomb that rocked Iraq's parliament building Thursday and killed at least eight people was a reminder that even the most-guarded places on earth can be penetrated by deadly forces. James Schmitt, senior vice president of ArmorGroup, comments on the Iraq parliament bombing.

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In the news: ArmorGroup

Headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange, ArmorGroup has long term operations in 38 countries and has supported its clients in over 160 countries. ArmorGroup complies with the US Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act, 1997 and the UK Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, and has also been certified to ISO 9001:2000 and to ISO/IEC 27001:2005.

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The Greening of the Arms Industry?

It is interesting to see that the ‘green’ trend/agenda appears to be reaching the arms industry. This opening sentence might move the reader to think that I am about to discuss the development of biodegradable bullets, flora-friendly mines, or AK-47 recycle centers. However futuristic this might sound, I am sure there is someone out there seriously researching such possibilities. Far from that, I just wanted to draw attention to the brief article below. The article addresses a substantive attempt at the greening of arms and aerospace companies. Do not get over-optimistic, by greening I mean the business of establishing and selling the green credential of a particular company. With the politics agenda, spin and actual policy, and public concerns merging into a powerful trend for the greening of the environment, this business promises to be a profitable one. Evidently, how greenable (sic) arms firms are is altogether a different matter. Yet what really interests me is, when and in which form, the green agenda will intersect the private military company / private security company (PMC/PSC) debate. If there is a proposal in the air about defense companies being "compelled to invest back in the country they have sold arms", how long will it take for someone to propose the same for fully-fledged PSCs/PMCs such as Blackwater and Aegis. Indeed, this is the realm of speculations about alternative and surreal futures. However, are not we converging into that realm rapidly?

Helping arms and aerospace companies go green

Tchenguiz banks on green offset deals
The Sunday Times
1 April 2007
By Jenny Davey

THE wealthy entrepreneur Vincent Tchenguiz is planning to build a £5 billion business by helping arms and aerospace companies go green.
Tchenguiz has set up a new company called Co2 — Offset to Ozone, which aims to help defence manufacturers find investment opportunities in environmental, technology and healthcare companies under so-called "offset" arrangements.
Tchenguiz told The Sunday Times: "I can see the money. I will make a fortune."
Foreign defence and aerospace companies are compelled to invest back in the country they have sold arms or planes to. The investments in effect offset the trade imbalance caused by the funding of the arms deals.
Offset agreements vary from country to country, but many developing nations prefer defence companies to facilitate investment in companies or projects that create jobs and help tackle environmental problems, rather than ploughing money back into the arms industry. Offset requirements typically range from 10% of the purchase price to more than 100%.
Existing defence-related offset liabilities from defence companies are estimated to be worth $177 billion (£90.7 billion).
About $16 billion of new, defence-related offset liabilities will be created each year, as more countries introduce official offset policies.
Defence companies do not have to invest all the cash themselves in offset deals — they just have to prove they have caused the investment to happen.
Tchenguiz aims to cash in by co-investing alongside defence companies in offset projects. He also hopes to get fees from defence companies for helping them to find suitable offset investments.
The Iranian-born entrepreneur has already invested $500m for stakes in up to 1,000 companies working on technology and climate-change solutions. He has also taken a 6% stake in Imperial Innovations, the research and development arm of London’s Imperial College, and is talking to other universities, including Oxford, Reading and Columbia in New York. Universities are happy to work with him because he could help them sell their ideas about technology and climate change to as many as 30 different countries. Tchenguiz hopes the defence firms will invest in these businesses as part of their offset agreements, helping them to soar in value.
"This has been a very fragmented market and defence companies have been struggling to find investment projects," he said.
"By bringing scale and a balance sheet to it, and having a large portfolio of companies with projects, we can take some of the friction out of the process."
He has already struck his first deal with South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki — a 1 billion rand (£76.8m) environmental fund that will provide contractors with offset credits.
The fund will invest in a range of environmental companies and technologies in South Africa and other countries in the region.

Security Contractors 101 has moved

If you came here looking for Security Contractors 101, it has been moved to Live Journal: click here. Security Contractors 101 was an interactive feature introducing Private Military.org’s resources to a young audience. It was put together in order to show young men and women the vast amount of scholarship and resources that have been produced about the Private Military Company (PMC) and Private Security Company (PSC) over the last decade. Adopting a very colloquial tone, the aim was simply to expose them to the dedicated research published so far and encourage them to read more before jumping to fantastic conclusions at blog speed. In particular, due to the unfair manipulation they have been subject to recently in the blogsphere. The PMC and the PSC are critical to raising and maintaining levels of security in our unstable post-9/11 reality. Therefore, a little sobriety and pro-active understanding of the subject needs to be fostered in tomorrow’s active electorate, who inevitably will live in a world were public and private partnerships will be increasingly the norm in warfare, reconstruction, and peace-keeping endeavors. In its new home, Security Contractors 101 has been stripped off its interactive features due to persistent attacks. The live-quiz and multiple-choice applets might be reintroduced in the future, but not the ‘follow the rabbit’ game. To compensate, a few Gizmo clips were incorporated. As you might infer from this post, the tone and focus of the blog has changed. To facilitate the transition, previous posts were permanently deleted. If you like the new focus, stay with us!