# Mercenary takeover of lawless area.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 25, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571 "2009-09-25T20:52:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/1 "2009-09-25T20:52:36Z")
So, I was thinking earlier today about PMC’s, specifically Xe (formerly known as Blackwater). Xe has quite a bit more capability than I first thought. They have a fleet of aircraft, mostly cargo planes and helicopters, but several of those choppers could easily be convereted into attack copters. They have at least one light turbo-prop aircraft that is an “Anti-Insurgency” craft. In addition, they have cash assets and such that are truley out of this world. Assume that for some reason the leadership of Xe decide they are no longer going to be subservient to a government, and that the best course for their future is to have their own nation-state to run (for various idealogical reasons). Using their logistics ability, landing a force of several thousand well trained and very well equipped soldiers in southern Somalia (for example) woudln’t be difficult. If they were careful I imagine it wouldn’t be hard for them to carve out a piece of that blighted country for themselves. What would stop them from doing this? What would be the repurcussions of this act? Assuming that the Xe forces don’t go stupid and decide to genocide the Muslim population or something extreme of that nature. I put this in GD because I figured it would end up there anyway. I know Xe (Blackwater) is a highly charged subject. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/2 "2009-09-25T21:03:27Z")
They’d probably be committing crimes under the laws of whatever country they invaded, but it is at least arguable that your example, Somalia, has no existing law as a practical matter, nor means of enforcing it. They’d also likely be violating the hell out of international law regarding respecting the territorial integrity of soveriegn nations. Depending on how popular the victim nation is in the world community, there could potentially be a multi-national force sent to boot them out. If they are a U.S. company, there’s likely some federal law against invading foreign countries without the consent of whatever government is recognized there. That could get corporate assets frozen, officers jailed, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/3 "2009-09-25T21:11:13Z")
They would need a puppet first to invite them in on their side, given a veneer of legitimacy to their takeover. That might let them get away with it. Some African nations might be in bad enough straights to pull it off. Perhaps an island nation would be better - anybody heard from Madagascar recently? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/4 "2009-09-25T21:24:47Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > What would stop them from doing this? “The winner of that war would own a thousand square miles of Somalia. The loser of the war would own ten thousand square miles of Somalia.” [/WC Fields] ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/5 "2009-09-25T21:36:01Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > They would need a puppet first to invite them in on their side, given a veneer of legitimacy to their takeover. That might let them get away with it. I agree, though even then the history of Sandline and other PMC’s shows that probably won’t work, especially if they are on the losing side. Thus my idea of them landing and setting up shop for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/6 "2009-09-25T22:26:00Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > They would need a puppet first to invite them in on their side, given a veneer of legitimacy to their takeover. That might let them get away with it. > > Some African nations might be in bad enough straights to pull it off. Perhaps an island nation would be better - anybody heard from Madagascar recently? I can _never_ take Madagascar … which sucks because the plague always gets me _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/7 "2009-09-25T22:36:43Z")
What the fuck would they do with Somalia? Why would they want it? Hell, I’d GIVE them Texas! Really, though, they would lose all their lucrative American contracts if they simply started seizing territory. I just can’t see how they could make it profitable. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/8 "2009-09-26T04:19:30Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > What the fuck would they do with Somalia? Why would they want it? > > Hell, I’d GIVE them Texas! > > Really, though, they would lose all their lucrative American contracts if they simply started seizing territory. I just can’t see how they could make it profitable. Somalia is pretty useless, but was really only offered as a convenient example. What about the dozen or so African countries loaded with diamonds or oil? Could make for some nice profit, even if all you did was buy oil futures. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/9 "2009-09-26T04:29:08Z")
Which part of "Texas’ don’t you understand? TEXAS!!! Take Texas and don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/10 "2009-09-26T04:48:54Z")
A possible parallel would be French mercenary/adventurer [Bob Denard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Denard). As the leader of a small mercenary band (about company strength, and much less well equipped and funded than Xe) he did a lot of putsching in his time, all over Africa. Won some, lost some, established his own little kingdom in the Comoros for a decade, until another coup happened. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/11 "2009-09-26T05:44:39Z")
I really don’t know what’d stop them. The world has done nothing when far worse things have happened. A true invasion would probably involve a false flag attack or an invitation though. They’d send out a group of soldiers who were ‘unexpectedly’ killed and maimed, then use that as justification to invade the country. Or they’d find a military officer who wanted to stage a coup with blackwater’s help. If they did it, you’d assume the potential tax revenues would help out their organization. Ah corporate fascism. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercenary-takeover-of-lawless-area/511571/12 "2009-10-03T04:11:43Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > A possible parallel would be French mercenary/adventurer [Bob Denard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Denard). As the leader of a small mercenary band (about company strength, and much less well equipped and funded than Xe) he did a lot of putsching in his time, all over Africa. Won some, lost some, established his own little kingdom in the Comoros for a decade, until another coup happened. Also, maybe [James Brooke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brooke), the Sultan of Sarawak.