http://www.buffalo.edu/reporter/vol39/vol39n22/articles/Taussig-RubboMercenaries.html
Should mercenaries be honored?
By CHARLES ANZALONE
Contributing Editor
America's increasing use of private military contractors in Iraq and
other international battlefields is changing the traditional emotional and
psychological relationships between U.S. citizens and those who fight for their
country, a UB Law School professor says.
Mateo Taussig-Rubbo examines whether these military contractors-sometimes
called soldiers for hire or mercenaries-should be embraced as heroes and given
the same honors as those who serve in the conventional armed forces. Or should
they occupy a more distant position from what the associate professor calls our
country's "tradition of sacrifice"?
Taussig-Rubbo does not judge how U.S. citizens should view these military
contractors. Instead, he urges the legal community to continue to address the
lack of legal clarity concerning the actions and responsibilities of these
soldiers for hire. Just as important, he says, are the questions of where these
soldiers fall within the long-standing and profound American tradition of
honoring those who lose their lives fighting this country's wars.
"Being a citizen in a democracy has traditionally required sacrifice,"
says Taussig-Rubbo. "What is the place of this sacrifice in a democracy? And
should the government recognize the death of military contractors as
sacrifices?"
Taussig-Rubbo acknowledges the legal issues that arise from the U.S.
using these private military contractors. Are their actions covered by
international law? U.S. military law? American civil law?
But, he says, legal accountability is only the beginning of important
civic and social issues that should be addressed as these military contractors
occupy an increasingly visible role in U.S. military activity.
"The rich, important tradition in this country says those who die and
suffer for this country are honored in a certain way," says Taussig-Rubbo, who
plans to publish his research in a paper called "Outsourcing Sacrifice: The
Labor of Private Military Contractors." "So when someone dies in uniform, the
public, family and elected officials say 'that was a death for the nation.'"
Using paid contractors-the most notable of them being Blackwater USA, a
private company known for its high profile and sometimes controversial methods
in Iraq-complicates this tradition, he says.
The use of military contractors separates the soldiers from the
established lines of military command and control, he says. Their emergence is
one way a government can avoid liability for the actions of those fighting a
war. Privatization of the military also has led to sidestepping traditional
controls on those engaged in combat, according to Taussig-Rubbo. And if the
government can substitute private military contractors instead of its
conventional forces, he asks, does that make it easier to get involved in a war?
Relying on these contracted soldiers also changes the idea of sacrifice.
"This practice maintains that sacrifice takes place, but the significance is
removed from the purview of the government and the public, and is contained
within the private sphere of the family and the company," according to
Taussig-Rubbo.
"The contractors are awkwardly positioned in relation to the traditional
understanding of sacrifice, a tradition that has been the basis behind
Americans' imaginings about those who kill and are killed on behalf of the
nation."
Just how the U.S. regards these military contractors became an
international story in 2004 when four armed Blackwater contractors were
ambushed and then "grotesquely and spectacularly killed, dismembered and
immolated" in Fallujah, Taussig-Rubbo recalls.
"In a way, they were sacrificed," he says. "They were seen as dying for
our nation. They were not just mercenaries. The uncharitable way to look at it
is that they were not heroes. But the majority response seems to have been that
they had sacrificed."
The legal debate is essential, he says. But the social dimensions also
matter to many Americans.
"The sacrifice theme resonates with many people," Taussig-Rubbo says.
"The traditional story of soldiers and sacrifice is important. When we become
aware of these contractors and their activities, we're not sure what to think
about them. A lot of questions come to mind. Are they mercenaries? Are they
like soldiers? Are they something else?"
Taussig-Rubbo earned a law degree at Yale Law School and a doctorate in
anthropology from the University of Chicago. He previously practiced in the
area of cross-border transactions with a New York City law firm and clerked for
a U.S. District Court judge in the Southern District of New York. He teaches
advanced topics in constitutional law in the UB Law School.
