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Child Soldiers Reloaded: The Privatisation of War
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2017/04/child-soldiers-reloaded-privatisation-war-170424204852514.htmlDate Written: 2017-05-01 Publisher: Al Jazeera Year Published: 2017 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX22674 A look at private military companies, a multibillion-dollar industry, and how they recruit former child soldiers for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Includes a link to the film by Mads Ellesoe. Abstract: -- Excerpt: "They [the companies] hire and they sometimes create what they call 'subs', subcontractors. There's been commanders in Afghanistan who just simply say, 'We don't know who the subs of the subs of the subs are.' So you've all these, like, layers of a contract. "It's the complete opposite of the private military world. You look at the budget first," says McFate. "Company self-interest is different than national self-interest. Companies are profit-maximisers, that's what they do, that's natural." As the military trade grows and private military companies try to find the cheapest available soldiers around the world, who are the mercenaries? And what are the consequences of the privatisation of war? |