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 enlarge | Author: Robert Young Pelton
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 73672
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1400097827
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.3540973
EAN: 9781400097821
ASIN: 1400097827
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
 RAGINGLY RABID! May 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Licensed to Kill : Hired Guns in the War on Terror is a damn good book. It's an unfiltered and unjudgemental look at the security contractors who do security, assault and intelligence work on behalf of governments around the world. If you've heard of companies like Blackwater, DynCorp or Aegis, then by all means, pick up this book.
1. So who are these guys? Who are these guys are all over the news these days, with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Basically, security contractors are highly-trained masters of warfare. They are usually ex-special operators (e.g. Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Marine Recon) or at the very least, ex-infantrymen or cops in the governmental forces. Some do security detail work for top dogs like Afghan President Hamid Karzai and former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer. Others guard escorts and convoys, and other work as non-official spies.
On one extreme end there is a guy like Billy Waugh, an ex-Green Beret-turned-CIA-turned-contractor. He is extremely experienced, guile and professional. Most of all, he is very patriotic, and his zeal to defend America keeps him going even though he's almost 80.
And just like sports teams, there are the walk-ons. This one guy named Shannon Campbell is the security contractor's answer to Rudy. He's not a veteran of the Special Forces or SAS, but a regular Joe who had a dream of making it. He trained in martial arts and firearms until he could break in to the industry, and he did!
2. And what are these guys like? They are basically just humans, just like us. They just happen to be extremely alpha. Although many media outlets portray them to be these monsters who have no remorse and shoot kids on the streets of Baghdad for fun, Robert Young Pelton does a great job keeping things in perspective. Security contractors have fun; they have camaraderie; they have fear; they worry about family and finances; they surf the web for porn. They are just like guys out there in the regular "world." It's like asking what NBA players are like, or what NFL players are like. Until you've lived in their world, you don't know what it's like. But if you want to know what they are like as human, just look at the people around you.
Of course, with the good and normal, you have the bad and the ugly. Besides the possibility of someone going berserk on some women and children after having seen too much war, you have guys motivated greatly by greed, greed and more greed. On one hand, you have companies like Sandline and Executive Outcomes and guys like Niek du Toit and Timothy Spicer, who scour for unstable nations rich with resources like Equatorial Guinea and Papua New Guinea and try to capture the market - even overthrowing the government is not out of the question. Niek du Toit sits in a Equatorial Guinean jail, and is unlikely to ever see daylight again.
And in a market that is exclusive, secretive and relatively unregulated, you must always watch out for the opportunists, like Jack Idema. Portraying himself as a well-connected and well-informed ex-Special Forces member, Idema scammed journalists, filmmakers and locals in Afghanistan. Like Niek Du Toit, Jack Idema is currently rotting away in an Afghan prison.
3. And what is the future of the private military/security industry? Only God knows, but the faithful founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, has ambitious dreams. He visions Blackwater fielding a battalion-sized force of security operators with small-arms, heavy weapons and planes, that can be deployed globally on short notice. It may sound bolsterous, but with Blackwater's capital, reach, and track record, Prince's plan is certainly not unrealistic.
Also, with small conflicts popping up everywhere, urbanization, and the rise of mixed martial arts, I can certainly imagine more Shannon Campbells popping up. With more manpower neededm with elite war vets who decide to pass on becoming contractors, and with companies that offer tactical training, it is not unrealistic to envision young males decide to get in shape, learn hand-to-hand and weapons, and join in for some gold and glory.
I don't want to go on forever, but Licensed to Kill : Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton was a great read, and I could not put the book down. And I don't think you'd be able to either.
A genuinely fascinating book! April 13, 2008
Completely devoid of preaching, no axes to grind, no ideology to promote... you have to wonder how this ever got published in the USA. Not a trace of faux compassion. No uplift. In short, an almost miraculous book. Remarkable achievement.
Great book! February 23, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. A very interesting take on the life of a contractor, without the political objective.
balanced coverage without political biases January 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was a fantastic book. I'm having a hard time finding unbiased literature about the modern trend of PMCs (mercenary companies). Books written by conservatives paint PMCs (especially American ones) as purely patriotic and heroic organizations. They often overlooking or minimize the problems PMCs create and in some cases the crimes they have engaged in. Books written by progressives describe PMCs as evil agencies with immoral killers who profit from death, nothing more.
Mr. Pelton covers how the trend toward smaller government (including militaries) have lead to the rise in PMCs. He describes incidents where mercenaries have stepped into help nations the world will only talk about. He also covers incidents where mercenaries have illegally tried to topple small governments.
Unlike many "expert" authors, Pelton went to hot spots around the world to assess each situation for himself. He spoke with leaders and with people on the ground in and around the business.
Pelton credits the Bush administration for creating a situation where the US military is required to rely heavily on PMCs in Iraq and for their lack of accountability. He also credits the international community's lack of involvement for the fact that smaller nations have resorted to PMCs to end their violent conflicts.
If you think PMCs are the greatest thing on earth, here to promote democracy around the world, or if you think they're hired killers, here to kill innocent indigenous people in the name of corporate wealth and racist regimes, please read this book. Don't merely read books with an agreeable point of view.
Mr. Pelton does express a concern about the lack of oversight and accountability with PMCs around the world, but if he was trying to push another political message, I didn't see it. Great reporting. This is a book with a wealth of information that I didn't have to read with a grain of salt or read with the mindset that the author was trying to manipulate my views one way or another.
You may also want to view the DVD "Shadow Company," which covers the same topic.
Outstanding read December 30, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mr. Pelton's book hits a great medium. It is neither pro nor anti, it simply displays the information without bias. The stories he tells are informative and easily read. His insights from spending time with PSCs in the field are poinant in regards to the situation in Iraq as they explain what it is to drive "Route Irish" one moment and swig Whisky while smoking cigars the next. I found that the book humanized a sometimes inhuman subject; namely the business of providing security in a war torn environment.
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