WASHINGTON, October 28, 2002 — At least 90 companies that provide services normally performed by national military forces but without the same degree of public oversight have operated in 110 countries worldwide, providing everything from military training, logistics, and even engaging in armed combat. Amid the global military downsizing and the increasing number of small conflicts that followed the end of the Cold War, governments have turned increasingly to these private military companies to intervene on their behalf around the globe, a new investigation by the Center for Public Integrity's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found.
Arms dealers have profited from a massive unregulated sell off of low price surplus armaments into the most fragile, conflict-ridden states and failed states. The weapons, mostly from state-owned Eastern European factories, have found their way to Angola, Sudan, Ethiopia, Colombia, Congo-Brazzaville, Sri Lanka, Burundi and Afghanistan where conflicts have led to the deaths of up to 10 million people during the past decade.
Drawing on classified intelligence files, government reports, court records and public documents, the investigation identifies the non-state actors in this growth industry and explains how they often influence the turn of world events. The nearly two-year investigation, conducted by 35 writers, researchers and editors working on four continents, will be published in 11 installments:
Today: Making a Killing: The Business of War An overview of privatization of combat since the end of the Cold War;
Today: Privatizing Combat, the New World Order A look at the world of private military companies, and the issues raised by the trend of outsourcing war;
Wednesday: Marketing the New Dogs of War How mercenaries, with the aid of public relations professionals, rebranded themselves as private military companies;
Nov. 4: Greasing the Skids of Corruption A case study of how the pursuit of oil in the third world fuels corruption and war;
Nov. 6: The Curious Bonds of Oil Production The U.S. government and a private military company court an oil rich state whose government has been accused of serious human rights violations;
Nov. 8: Conflict Diamonds are Forever Poor controls in the international diamond industry even in South Africa are undercutting attempts to clamp down on conflict diamonds that fuel wars in Africa and, possibly, fund terrorists;
Nov. 11: The Adventure Capitalist While Africa's wars have brought untold misery to millions, some have seen conflict in the region as a business opportunity;
Nov. 13: The Influence Peddlers An entrepreneur with global ties to arms smuggling, resource exploitation and private military companies epitomizes the business of war;
Nov. 15: The Field Marshal An arms trader who admitted to breaking a U.N. arms embargo also claimed ties to French intelligence, the Iranian government, and the since bought out oil company, Elf Aquitaine;
Nov. 18: Drugs, Diamonds and Deadly Cargoes When he was arrested on a drug charge in Milan, Leonid Minin, an arms trader under investigation across Europe, had his business records with him, providing a detailed look into the world of war commerce;
Nov. 20: The Merchant of Death Victor Bout, who has been accused of fueling Africa's bloodiest conflicts, ran a global transportation network with bases and front companies in Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, and even the United States.
The Center is also providing access to ICIJ's searchable database that chronicles the global operations of the private military companies. Most of the PMCs, as they are known, are based in the United States, Britain and South Africa, but the vast bulk of their services are performed in conflict-ridden areas of Africa, South America and Asia.
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http://www.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?aid=177&sid=100
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