How many coalition soldiers are mercenaries?

[gulliver]

This is one I haven't seen discussed anywhere. I heard a radio interview with someone from a South or Central American country in the "coalition of the willing."

The guy said he was proud that his poor country (Nicaragua?) could send troops to help in Iraq. The interviewer asked who was paying for the troops. The guy said "That is a diplomatic secret."

I saw on Hardball that 19 countries are sending 13,000 troops. My question is: How many of those are U.S. paid?

[IndianaGreen]

1. One is either a soldier or a mercenary, they are mutually exclusive

Mercenaries are not protected under international law, therefore you can summarily execute any mercenary that gets caught. Soldiers are to be treated under the Geneva Convention.

There is a debate as to whether bringing mercenaries under international law it would prevent their excesses, but I don't think that this is a view that is shared by many of the UN member nations, particularly those that have been victimized by Western mercenaries.

On edit:

More info here:

http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/0/647811bc19797fdfc125641f002d2c7e?OpenDocument

[gulliver]

2. Thanks for the info.

My understanding of mercenaries is somewhat dated. I'm thinking more of the "Hessian" variety where a foreign state is paid for the services of its troops. I wonder what the ramifications are if we paid for the troops from some countries. Would they be mercenaries under the terms you describe?

[IndianaGreen]

3. The troops are not getting paid by the US, their leaders are

Profit is what motivates mercenaries.

[tom_paine]

4. No surprise that King George is bringing in Hessians

Funny how history repeats itself.

[ps1074]

5. Here - our brave bulgarian troops

Our brave bulgarian troops in Iraq are 400. There are ongoing negotiations for 400 more. All of our troops are paid by US taxpayers dollars.

The US government paid our government 10 million dollars and promised more soon. 'Send your troops over there and we will pay' - they say. This 10 mill is for sallaries, logistics and other operations in Iraq. Our troops are in the Polish Zone near Karbala.

[DUreader]

6. The numbers of 'military contractors' is proprietary information

trade secrets are leaked even less often than 'top secrets'

There were some articles a while back (maybe summer?) speculating

on the numbers of Dyncorp et al mercenaries in Iraq

[Paschall]

7. Here's a story on this from last June

These deals, which by one estimate could cost $US250 million ($A375 million) over the next year, will enable the US to relieve some of its overworked troops and give a more international face to the American-led undertaking. But they may also draw criticism that the US partners in the reshaping of Iraq are those whose support can be bought; the "coalition of the billing", as some wags have put it.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/23/1056220539895.html