Are mercenaries any different than Mafia hitmen?

[ButterflyBlood]

seriously, what's the difference?

[saigon68]

1. The FBI doesn't chase them

[gottaB]

2. exactly

n/t

[tom_paine]

Well, they ARE both employed by the Bush Family

[rjbcar27]

3. What's your definition of a mercenary?

[madrchsod]

4. zero difference

[NightTrain]

5. Mercenaries are in it strictly for the money.

As far as I know, the Mafia still believes in all that "respect" and "honor" shit. :shrug:

[fryguy]

6. Léon says:

No women, no kids, that's the rules....

Mercenaries don't have rules.....

[placton]

7. Someone should cue up

"Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," by the late great Warren Zevon, as we discuss this issue.

Mercs have a long history of selling their swords and guns. Some, like the Irish "Wild Geese" did it (somewhat) out of a sense of patriotism.

Others are simply boys who like to shoot others, preferably of a different race.

[PragMantisT]

8. Sure

Mobsters dress better and only kill those who deserve it.

[PATRICK]

9. British Empire in reverse

First send in the army, then replace them with the private armies of the East India company. You can predict this will be an abject and absurd failure simply by looking at how the British government opportunely took over India AFTER the dirty work was done. Our neocon idiots want government actually to hand over the world to their private governments. It cannot possibly "work" but you can get an awful lot of senseless deaths in the process if that is to your taste.

Without getting into specifics this is definitely topsy turvy absurdism that makes the Vietnam operation look a model of brilliant planning.

[TexasProgresive]

10. A rose by anyother name....

A hired gun is a hired gun. I wouldn't trust them to guard the latrine. They will turn to the highest Euro.

[bobthedrummer]

11. Mafia has a code of "honor"-they pretty much keep it all in "the family"

Mercenaries are worse as they will do anything for money for anyone anywhere.
They both use some of the same tactics, both are organized criminals-but mercenaries usually don't get prosecuted for their butchery, slavery, drug dealing, arms trading, kidnapping, sexual assaults, robbery, torture, etc.

In fact, some idiots even wrap them up in various national flags and call them patriots:puke::grr:

[maggrwaggr]

12. no the question is how is a mercenary different from a regular soldier?

if both are fighting for their home countries?

Seriously, what difference does it make if a marine, who is a trained killer, is working for the US, or if one of these "former marines" who is a trained killer, is working for the US?

There's no difference except in pay.