US in talks over Arab/Saudi force to replace American troops, pushed by Bolton - Polidicks

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/18/us-syria-arab-force-replace-american-troops-saudi-arabia-egypt-uae There are about 2,000 US troops in Syria fighting Islamic State, but Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to withdraw them. Middle East experts said it was feasible Arab states could fund an army run by private contractors and possibly help recruit soldiers from developing countries such as Sudan. Any Saudi troops deployed to Syria would find themselves directly confronting Iranian fighters and their allies, which could prompt a dangerous escalation in the conflict. Ugh

why would we want PMCs anywhere backing us?

"Cheaper on the tax dollar; who gives a shit about ethics"

still blows my mind that PMCs circumvent the international mercenary law.

John “It’s just Browns killing Browns” Bolton once again shows his strategic genius and sane mind /s

Middle East experts said it was feasible Arab states could fund an army run by private contractors and possibly help recruit soldiers from developing countries such as Sudan. This sounds like some dystopian shit. Country A takes soldiers from country B to fight a war in country C for country D

thats literally how the UN army has worked for decades though

The UN army is under international supervision, though.

Its like im reading a bad Metal Gear fanfic...

It's not a fanfic; it's just the prequel to MGS4. PMCs fighting PMCs who are both being puppeteer-ed not by nations but wealthy corporations and individuals in a series of endless proxy battles. https://youtu.be/Nwq1rbRfJnU?t=85

hmm yes funding bad guys to get rid of other bad guys as something that has never been tried before, this will have no reprocussions and can only go well, especially 15 years down the line

galaxy brain: you can double the amount of dead brown people by making them kill each other

Ah yes, just the two keywords I look for when I want professional soldiers involved in an insurgency. Saudi PMCs

There is nothing inherently wrong with a PMC. They are high risk security guards. They can't be wielded like a private army and actually remain inside regulations. Generally speaking they really only become a dystopian nightmare once they get government backing. Then it all goes to shit. Normally they are nice specifically BECAUSE they keep private business and government separate. Like a hospital being built by a private company starts getting a little questionable in a warzone when it gets government forces protecting everything. This is where PMC's come in. Then it is a private company with private security and there are no inherent ethical concerns. They are also useful for things like guarding cargo ships from pirates. They are a useful component that keeps getting misused.

Thats great and all, but when you see shit like blackwater. The key sentence is that last line. They keep being missued because its easier to wipe your hands of the issue unless you have a massive fuck up. But even then you can go "we didnt know 😏" and fine them some money. Hmmm, sounds a lot like a mercenary group.

It's pathetic that Saudi Arabia has so much top of the line equipment, yet utterly fails militarily.

Equipment will never be a substitute for training and morale.

Een that is an oversimplification though. Only a portion of contracts awarded to blackwater we're even executed by blackwater. They often wound up subcontracting to smaller firms. So while it seems like a private army, the reality, and possibly even the primary problem, is that it is the exact opposite. They are primarily a bunch of smaller firms and disorganization and the absence of oversight leads to more fuckups. Not that I prefer a massive singular private army by ANY stretch of the imagination. Mostly the issue is just more complex than it seems and that PMC companies aren't necessarily evil. Fuck blackwater though.

Weren't the Saudis funding jihadi terrorists in the region? Granted, these are PMCs so they're technically unaffiliated with the government but judging from the religious disposition of Saudi-Arabia and the black box morality of PMCs, I wouldn't be surprised if they're the next assholes bringing terror to Syria. The people there are gonna have to put up with this shit for much longer if we keep exporting more warring factions to them.

War has changed.

A well trained, high morale force can easily beat people with more people and better arms. Just look at Finland during WWII.

Condottieri are the usual choice for countries that are too incompetent to wage war.