Off-topic but Cuba brightens my heart, a strong revolutionary spirit coupled with true socialist progress right off the coast of the gaudiest space in the Imperial Core. What they have done with regards to Revolutionary Medicine is mind-blowing to an American Capitalist Pig like myself.
Money and 3rd party status to the conflict. The US gets away with calling PMC’s military contractors because the fighters are from one of the nations involved in the conflict. But a Congolese fighter in Afghanistan would be a mercenary due to 3rd party status. This is assuming that they were also being paid more than rank-and-file soldiers.
But let’s be real. The US is party to every conflict and can claim “War on terror” to send mercenaries to anywhere in the global south without consequences. Along with the geo-political reality that the US has giant double standards.
I am very interested in where these foreign fighters in Ukraine are getting paid though. They are “volunteers” on paper. But there are go fund me style fundraisers to help equip them and support them. I would bet my last dollar that our friends at the CIA are donating funds and equipment. Some of these fighters are much better equipped than the Ukrainian or Russians. I know they can bring some gear from the US. But they have weapons and explosives that they definitely didn’t bring and Ukraine doesn’t field. The real surprise is they have communication gear and night vision that is either not available to civilians or ridiculously expensive. I saw one guy with USARMY comms gear and night vision that is $50,000 to $70,000 per unit. That’s not a volunteer. That’s a spook from an agency that doesn’t exist. If I can dig up the picture I will link it below.
One of the major defining factors is whether they are held to the standards of military law within that country. For example the French Foreign Legion is part of the army and subject to French Military Court Martial. Whereas Triple Canopy in the US is a PMC(mercenary) due to the inability to Court Martial their “soldiers” for crimes in theater. They are only liable in the civilian courts which effectively means they are liable to no one.
Hey, there’s motorcycle racing too.
I’m in South Carolina. It’s everything that you think it is and MUCH worse. I hate it here. But the working class is here. They are reactionary because they are uneducated and propagandized with racism. We must organize and educate our comrades. One day this will be the core of the working class revolutionaries.
Maybe……
Can we organize some DDOS protection? I don’t know shit about computers. But I am willing to help or chip in a few bucks.
Communism is living in their heads rent free. Like our future.
You have no idea. 18 year old me signed up for a trip to Afghanistan as an Airborne Combat Medic. Got hurt pretty bad and an old Vietnam Vet radicalized me in the VA hospital. So at least you never fucked up that bad.