No international laws exist to regulate the mercenary industry. What w — Mercenary

"Most of those fighting for the United States abroad aren’t even Americans. Private military companies are multinational corporations that recruit globally. When I worked in the industry, my colleagues came from almost every continent. According to a recent Pentagon report, just over 33 percent of private military contractors in Afghanistan are U.S. citizens."

"To others in the business of "hired guns," the cause is irrelevant. For most of these professionals, its a question of money. Like it or not, the concept of being paid to fight is almost as old as civilization itself. Let us not forget that being a mercenary is the worlds second oldest profession, which could be why it attracts all types: the sad, the bad, the dangerous and the mad. The majority of todays freelance fighters are none of these: they are professionals and, in the main, they are not particularly unhappy with what they do. In fact, speak to a few of them and likely as not youll find that apart from long periods away from home, most prefer the job to anything else on offer. It is worth noting that, in 2005, the U.S. Army offered bonuses of $150,000 to experienced men who signed on again, which says something about the attractions of freelance contract work: it is attracting a lot of professional soldiers."

"The idea of the mercenary springs from the same mentality as the one expressed by the two Chinese watching a couple of Europeans playing tennis under the hot sun of Shanghai. As they seemed rather exhausted, one of the sons of the Celestial Empire remarked to the other: "Its odd. This club has only well-to-do members. They easily could afford coolies to play in their stead." Yet the institution of mercenary armies still did not mark the nadir of war methods in Europe. It was at least not a return to the laws of the jungle, of primitive tribes, where every male capable of bearing arms has to join in. The officers had still the background of warriors; they were frequently second or third sons of noble families out for adventures, but nevertheless educated in the habits of chivalry. The average mercenary, on the other hand, was usually a neer-do-well, maybe the son of the henchman; he belonged to the scum of the cities or the village and he was often nothing else than a courageous jailbird."

"Thats one definition of a modern merc. But as we have seen, there are other wars where the great military establishments of the West- supported by the limited largesse of their governments- fail to engage. Though the Mideast has become a newly fertile playing field for PMCs, there have been, and always will be, many battles where freelance fighting companies will need to effect decisions by themselves. Whether this means operating a lone gunship against homicidal rebel hordes, stalking through the deepest jungles to root out ambush positions, or defending crucial resources in the savannah, the only alternative to success for these professionals will frequently be death, and in the event of their failure the deaths of countless civilians. In those future conflicts in which the great powers of the West decline to become involved, others will from necessity look to the "war dogs"- that most inscrutable, and to many, admirable- breed of men."

"The oppressed were organized in Liberation Movements which started guerilla warfare against their oppressors. Though poorly equipped, their determination and commitment led to unexpected success. To combat the national liberation movements, the imperialists could no longer come out in the open and expose themselves. This would make them lose face. All they wanted was to "invisibly" control these countries. It is in this context that the modem mercenary has become an important tool of imperialism. Mercenarism as a form of soldiering is used as a vehicle for fighting the liberation movements and independent developing countries."

"Today, more contractors are killed in combat than soldiers—a stunning turnaround from the start of the wars Iraq and Afghanistan, when fewer than 10 percent of casualties were contractors. By 2010, more contractors were dying than troops. However, the real number of contractor deaths —versus the “official” tally—remains unknown."