I recently wrote about how destabilization has created a growing soldier of fortune industry (some call it the “security industry”) in the Middle East. That was based on the need by oil companies to protect their pipelines when no capable conventional force is available (or such a use might be too politically controversial). Now there is more news from the Sydney Morning Herald on a more personal level:

A former Australian soldier and a New Zealander have been arrested in Lebanon on accusations they’re part of a mercenary squad that seized the two daughters of Canadian Melissa Hawach from her estranged Australian husband north of Beirut.

[…]

Lebanese police claim all five men are ex-commandos who had staked out the girls’ father, Joseph Hawach, for several days before launching the daring raid.

Police say Pemberton arrived in Lebanon after receiving an email asking him to find and seize the girls for a fee. Corrigan arrived on December 9.

I suppose this sort of incident will be more and more likely as mercenaries flock to troubled regions on behalf of troubled leaders on special missions for whomever is the highest bidder.

It all reminds me of the 1960s UN struggle in the Republic of the Congo when ill-equipped international volunteer forces were sent to impose international orders against a (Belgian) seasoned group of Korean War veterans turned mercenaries. And even after these mercenaries were forced out of the Congo they apparently moved on to other jobs around the world, eventually ending up as honorary guests (long arm of state intelligence services) in some countries. I think reviewing this sort of stuff is all now starting to be referred to International Security studies, although it was still referred to as International History or International Relations when I was a student.

On a side note, it’s curious that the Rainbox-Six theory that Tom Clancy popularized in 1998 did not include agents from Australia or New Zealand:

…we must face the fact that there remain many experienced and trained international terrorists still roaming the world, some with lingering contacts with national intelligence agencies – plus the fact that some nations, while not desirous of a direct confrontation with American or other Western nations, could still make use of the remaining terrorist “free agents” for more narrow political goals.

Perhaps Tom didn’t factor in the more narrow personal goals or did not consider them serious enough threats to people living in American or other Western nations.