Executive Outcomes

The Fall of the USSR in 1989 and the changing politics in the world made it possible for a company in South Africa to become a major private military contractor. The Company was Executive Outcomes, it was founded by Eeben Barlow in 1989. The company was mostly made up of members of the South African Defense Force, most with special forces traing. The world would not take notice of this development until it was incharge of the Civil War in Angola. The US army called the organization "This network engages in what could be termed a post-Cold war form of 'predatory capitalism' by specializing in the extraction of mineral and oil resources from troubled and failed-states".1 Executive Outcomes changed the outcome of two major Civil Wars in Africa. This includes forcing rebels to the negotiating table in Sierra Leone. In Angola, EO was able to force the UNITA to accept the Lusaka Protocal iin 1994. During this time they are thought to have had a web of influence in Uganda, Botswana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Lesotho and South Africa. In Sierra Leone, the National Provisional Ruling Council government, headed by military leader Captain Valentine Strasser, hired EO to fight the Revolutionary United Front rebels, who were financed by their hold on the Kono district's rich diamond deposits. EO forces summarily beat back RUF fighters to their Kono strongholds. Race issues were big in the international outcry against EO. Though 3/4th of their employees were of African Descent, many only saw the white leaders of EO on the television. Many held the belief that these were Mercenaries and they were participating in neocolonialism. "We offer a variety of services to legitimate governments, including infantry training, clandestine warfare, counterintelligence programs [cointelpro], reconnaissance, escape 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Outcomes

and evasion, special forces selection and training and even parachuting," adds Barlow. EO is equipped with Soviet MiG fighter jets, Puma and East Bloc helicopters, state-ofthe-art artillery, tanks and other armaments. Barlow pointed out that EO boasts an array of no less than 500 military advisors and 3,000 highly trained multi-national special forces soldiers.2 According to the company’s website that was able to be brought up using archive.org they brag “Despite its short history, EO is the only company in the world that has acted effectively on behalf of two African governments in order to bring about stability.”3 The Clinton administration has opposed the use of Executive Outcomes by governments in Africa. In Sierra Leone, it has won the war for the government against the Revolutionary Front, demanding in return a full franchise on Sierra Leone's diamonds--leading to suspicions that EO is a front for the DeBeers diamond cartel.4 Reportedly, EO was paid US$20 million a year during its 1995 to 1997 stint in Sierra Leone, and routed the RUF forces with a force of less than 300 mercenaries, allowing elections to take place. By contrast, the UN peacekeeping force sent to Sierra Leone after the Revolutionary United Front retook the capital of Freetown consisted of 18,000 soldiers at its height and cost upwards of a billion dollars yearly, while arguably failing to defuse the bloody war for another 3 years. In terms of effectiveness, the UN peacekeeping force allowed the RUF to retake the capital twice while committing atrocities in its wake, and also stood helpless while a military coup led by Colonel Johnny Paul Koroma deposed the democratically elected Kabbah. 2

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16671 http://web.archive.org/web/19980703122602/www.eo.com/about/p7.html 4 http://www.aboutsudan.com/action/geopolitical/executive_outcomes.htm 3

Executive Outcomes ceased trading on January 1, 1999, as South Africa passed an antimercenary law, though apparently its Pretoria, South Africa office remained open for some time.

In one opinion of Executive Outcomes “EO is the vanguard of the British monarchy's recolonization of Africa--an operation that has already cost hundreds of thousands of African lives in the last five years, and promises to cost millions more.” Executive outcomes sees a much more promising future. EO sees that governments are scaling down military budgets. This seem to indicate in their opinion that their will be more and more operations conducted by companies such as theirs. One big factor for them is their impartiality. They can go into a country with a speicifc task and make a speedy resolution. The employees of EO are only loyal to the company. With this they can carry out torally unbiased peacekeeping/conflict resolution service throught out the world.