Product Details

• Producers: Blue Field Entertainment
• Format: NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Studio: A&E Television Networks
• DVD Release Date: July 17, 2008
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B001CUB23Q
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,862 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Thought Provoking, April 16, 2011

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This review is from: History -- Soldiers For Hire (DVD)

The focus of this documentary was the current utilization of private military companies/corporations (PMCs) by nation-states in war fighting. Some historical background was given but served only to provide a foundational understanding and historical context for "mercenaries" and the origins of the negative connotation associated with the term. The most discussed PMC was Executive Outcomes. The events surrounding Executive Outcomes and its utilization by the national government of the sovereign nations of Angola and Sierra Leone, as well as the short- and long-term outcome of EO's campaigns in these nations are featured quite heavily, and justifiably so. What EO, a private firm, did regarding the nations it was employed by was essentially take the administration of a military campaign, which today is typically viewed as a function intrinsic to the government of a state. The negative media coverage resulting from smear campaigns by numerous journalistic agencies and periodicals resulted in the international community (UN, NATO, America) interfering directly in the business of Sierra Leone, pressuring the government to cancel their contract with EO due to the yet controversial nature of a private firm being utilized by a national government as a function of its defense policy.

The political, moral/philosophical and military aspects of the existence and utilization of PMCs are heavily discussed. The future regarding the various aspects of utilization of PMCs is touched on. The legality, in terms of legal controls and oversight, of PMCs are also discussed. The acceptability of employing PMCs as extensions of nations or organizations defense strategies/policies are debated. Not much is very conclusive. The nature, function, legality and political status of PMCs in today's world remain somewhat nebulous and unspecific.

My personal opinion is that the smear campaign journalists in Africa conducted against EO played a quite significant role in creating an extremely negative image of PMCs. This caused the international community to exert strong political pressure fairly universally against the utilization of PMCs. This, in turn, resulted in the destabilization, or reinforced the current (at the time) instability of various areas of contention in Africa, culminating in the outbreak or revival of armed conflicts across the continent, particularly in the sub-Saharan portion, as well as several genocidal events. I believe that if the international community had not interfered in the business conducted by EO and from that point on indirectly prevented the employment of companies such as EO by embattled African states, several million lives would have been saved. Numerous wars and genocides in particular could have been avoided by employing a company such as EO as an intrastate military force. Instead, the world watched as humanity failed in Rwanda, the DRM, Sierra Leone and other regions/countries and millions were slaughtered in genocidal ethnic cleansing campaigns and guerrilla wars perpetuated by rebel organizations conscripting child soldiers. I am ashamed that the international community turned its back on Africa.

All in all, an excellent introductory documentary to modern PMCs.