I've been sort of following the progress of various Soldier for hire groups for some time. Thinking that this trend of Corporate War, was a trend back to the Private armies of state, like the West India Company of the 16th - 17th Century. But this article on Defense Tech has place them in a whole new light for me. Namely that in this new warfare that counts on these new companies so heavily to support US military forces, both logistically and with trigger pullers. They are extremely vulnerable to being crippled by having their CEO's kidnapped or killed. Unlike the military that has chains of command to deal with their head officers being compromised in this way. What are the rules for Corporations operating in these theaters?
The CEO as an Objective of War
CEO kidnapping isn't new. It is common practice in Brazil, Mexico, etc. The difference in Iraq is the motive. In Iraq, it isn't purely financial gain. It is being used as a way to unravel the fledgling Iraqi government..... Read more from Global Guerrillas blog
And the example given by Defense Tech.
That's because the CEO is so central -- too central, in fact -- to his company's success. It makes him "a single point of failure for the entire corporate organism," Robb says. With companies so important these days to the American war effort, this centrality makes CEOs "better targets than government or military officials."
Defence Tech: BUSINESS = WAR, BUT NOT "WWIV"
Global Guerrillas: PIERCING THE CORPORATE VEIL
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