Xe in Afghanistan
If a rose by any other name smells just as sweet, a company providing heavily armed mercenaries is just as deadly even though it changes its name.
The notorious US security company, Blackwater, whose men gunned down 17 innocent Iraqis in 2007 has renamed itself Xe. And it is now in trouble in Afghanistan.
Two of its men have been charged with double murder after they opened fire following a traffic accident in Kabul. Xe immediately dismissed the men on the grounds that they had not complied with the terms of their contract. It will be interesting to find out what, in Xe’s terms, the men had done wrong. A security company that sends civilians into a conflict zone to train local police or military or act as guards is likely to insist they be armed to the teeth. A nervous man with a gun, especially a man with little understanding of the country to which he has been posted, is likely to shoot first and ask questions later. This is what happened in Baghdad in 2007 when panicking Blackwater security men sprayed crowded Nisoor Square, killing 17 and seriously injuring dozens.
The root of the problem with Blackwater/Xe is conveyed in its description of itself in its publicity material. It boasts that it is “ the most comprehensive professional military company in the world.” This statement deserves deconstructing. “Military” and “company” simply do not go together. A “military” force is normally subject to a strict code of discipline and regular training. A “company” is a commercial organization whose function is to make money for its shareholders. What Blackwater/Xe clearly means is that the majority of its security personnel are ex-military. However the bald reality is that they are no longer subject to military discipline and training, regardless of how much they may crawl around in the dirt shooting at targets at the company’s headquarters on a large farm in North Carolina.
Any proper military formation is subject to political control. The only control for an international company providing mercenaries to ride shot-gun on “high value targets” — such as US diplomats — is simply the loss of its contract. While senior officers can, but do not always, face severe consequences for the wrongdoings of their men, the managers of trigger-happy guards have never yet been held responsible for the behavior of their employees. The whole ethos of a corporate security company cannot be as clear and focused as that of a military unit. It does not matter that the men involved were once poorly paid soldiers who are now receiving far higher salaries. They are no longer subject to the discipline and political control that should avoid criminal tragedies such as Nisoor Square and last week’s Kabul killings.
The message therefore is clear. The only people carrying guns in a conflict zone should be properly accountable and officered soldiers. There is no room for hired gun slingers. The Iraqi government quite rightly threw Blackwater/Xe out of Iraq. The Karzai government should now do the same in Afghanistan.
Comments
SALEEMDURRANI
Mar 9, 2010 13:24
Report abuseSaleem Durrani
MUKHTAR NISAR SHEIKH
Mar 9, 2010 13:34
Report abuseMUHANDIRAM IMSID
Mar 9, 2010 15:33
Report abuseThe West has taken for granted key countries in the Muslim world. The West and the Muslim countries aligning with the West will do well to reflect on the saying, "The man who kicks while being worshipped is as much a fool as the man who worships while being being kicked."