****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
The world has changed in many ways since 9/11, and Robert Young Pelton's "Licensed to Kill" provides a good background on the history,current practices and a possible future direction for the Private Security forces which blossomed in response to those attacks. First off, the book is a very enjoyable read; much of it moves like a military thriller novel, as Mr. Pelton keeps the reader's interest piqued throughout. Lots of irony and some pretty humorous observations, too. From a U.S. perspective, the history of private contractors-for-hire goes back to to the Vietnam War, and characters such as the legendary Billy Waugh are covered in great detail. As someone who has been interested in macro-scale military and intelligence matters - how pieces are moved around the global chessboard - I came away with a much better understanding of the circumstances drives companies such as Triple Canopy, Hart, Executive Outcomes and, of course, Blackwater.And that understanding is precisely which disturbs me. We all know the way the world works - large corporations and sovereign governments push towards their objectives, often bumping up against, or even crossing the line of legality. Quite often, it is with the best of intentions that a Private Security Force is employed, but the murky rules which govern these quasi-official fighting forces are often not applied and things can go sideways. One such incident involving Equatorial Guinea, is covered in great detail towards the end of the book.It's a fact that a for-profit company is more agile and efficient than a large government. Companies such as those I've listed above provide critical support and logistical services for our armed forces. But, it's evident in the book that people such as Erik Prince - the owner of Blackwater - begin to engage in mission-creep. And that's what frightens me. Read the book to learn the details, but it's evident that these for-hire security forces can be used to destabilize or topple weak governments. I can envision a time where one security force could engage in conflict with another. If dictatorial governments, or well-funded resistance movements/governments-in-exile can go shopping for an army (albeit a small army), the stability of a country or a region is threatened, and that instability could be at odds with official US policy. I do not trust Mr Prince and his connections to the Trump administration concern me; his sister is Betsy DeVos, the current Secretary of Education and advocate for the betterment of our children - Not!I understand that Special Forces members are highly-skilled in practices which do them absolutely no good in the civilian world, and, to remain gainfully employed, they frequently choose the career-path of enlisting in a (dare I say it) mercenary force. The work pays pretty well, but I worry about these men and women. Are Blackwater, Hart, et al providing psychological counseling to their employees (aka, independent contractors)? They are not. In fact, all these companies do provide is basic life insurance coverage. What happens to these contractors after they get too old (if they survive at all) to stay in the game? And what happens to their families? And, something just feels wrong about U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for the expensive training that SFOs receive, only to have those very skills sold back to the taxpayers for a 5-or-10-fold increase in cost? It's really no different than ex-Navy Seal Ryan Zinke serving on the board of an oil-pipeline company and then moving on to become Secretary of the Interior. So, from a philosophical perspective, I am somewhat opposed to the idea of Private Security forces, but I understand that they fill a need. I'm conflicted because their purpose can morph from defense, escort and security duties to become an offensive force.In reading Licensed to Kill, I am somewhat reminded of William Gibson's earlier speculative fiction, in which large multi-national corporations, known as zaibatsu, jockeyed for dominance using their own cyber- and police-forces. In this world, it seemed like governments weren't really in charge anymore, and that corporate hegemony was the new norm. By simple extrapolation, just how far are we from this happening in the real world? And what would stop a rogue President from employing such a security force to achieve a goal which might not be possible to achieve under normal circumstances?I highly recommend listening to Mr. Pelton on various podcasts, Coast to Coast AM among them; his is a unique global perspective which can inform and educate a largely insular American culture. And I highly recommend that you read, "Licensed to Kill. "
