The morality of using mercenaries

[Siege]

Why can't the UN hire a merc outfit, like, let say, Executive Outcomes, to take care of Lybia?
It would be cheaper, and it would not cost in western lives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Outcomes

[MadBurgerMaker]

Executive Outcomes has been gone for a while, I thought.  The best mercenary type groups seem to be made up of former members of western armies.

[Siege]

Executive Outcomes has been gone for a while, I thought.  The best mercenary type groups seem to be made up of former members of western armies.

Sure.
The point is, EO remains the classic tale of unreasonable hatred of mercs getting in the way of killing rebels.

[Zanza]

Something that just came to my mind: are white South-Africans "Western"? They share culture, language, heritage, economic system with us. The only thing that used to set them apart was their open racism, but then Slargos is "Western" too.

[Admiral Yi]

For one thing Seeb, the UN is only supposed to be in the peace-keeping business, not the peace-making business.

[The Brain]

Because according to current western thought mercenaries are pure evil and must never be employed, no matter what.

[Viking]

Wild geese tend to be westerners as well. Mercs have the bad reputation in the west because they are considered unreliable, i.e. never willing to fight to the death. They have a bad reputation in the south because they constantly are used to overthrow governments.

As far as I'm concerned that unless we expect the personnel to fight to the death to overthrow Ghaddafi etc. I have no issue with mercs since they obviously have the skills (Mark Thatcher's escapades not withstanding) if Mercs operate in a clear chain of command with the same rights and obligations as regular soldiers and command and control is transparent.

[Martinus]

I don't think it is immoral or illegal to use mercenaries per se, but I'm pretty sure Western democratic governments have laws against outsourcing government functions and services to people with a criminal record or who committed crimes - and a strong presumption for any established mercenary band is that they did commit crimes in the past (e.g. when serving dictators and the like).

[Martinus]

Mercs have the bad reputation in the west because they are considered unreliable, i.e. never willing to fight to the death.

I don't think many professional soldiers in Western armies are willing to fight to the death either.

[Tonitrus]

Mercenaries?  We don't need that scum.

[Eddie Teach]

Mercs have the bad reputation in the west because they are considered unreliable, i.e. never willing to fight to the death.

I don't think many professional soldiers in Western armies are willing to fight to the death either.

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his. - Patton

[Razgovory]

For one thing Seeb, the UN is only supposed to be in the peace-keeping business, not the peace-making business.

This is a big thing.  For one thing, nobody is really interested in granting that kind of power to the UN.  Second you'd get the shrieks of "colonialism!!!!!11oneeleven", from the usual suspects.

[Siege]

For one thing Seeb, the UN is only supposed to be in the peace-keeping business, not the peace-making business.

There can only be peace defeating either Kaddafi or the rebels.
What is the UN trying to do in Lybia? Keeping the current frontlines fixed?
If the goal is to take out Kaddafi, and since none of the countries involved are willing to employ their own ground forces, why not outsource the campaign?

I guaranty you it would be cheaper and quicker.

[Siege]

Mercs have the bad reputation in the west because they are considered unreliable, i.e. never willing to fight to the death.

I don't think many professional soldiers in Western armies are willing to fight to the death either.

Define "western armies".
All infantrymen I have served with have always been aware that the might come a day when you have to fight to the bitter end.
The "fight to the death" is not a choice you make, but a choice that is forced on you.
It is ussually a combination of the enemy being more resorceful than ussual and your chain of command understimating the enemy capabilities and concentration of force and materiel.

And then, surrendering to the kind of foes we are fighting these days is not really an option.
You are dead either way, so better to go down fighting than being beheaded on Al-Jazeera.

[Slargos]

You gotta be considering your career after you're done with the line infantry, Siege.

Siegeline International?