Anyone who does this type of work for money and isn’t employed directly by a government is a “professional mercenary.” What’s the difference between some ex-Marine who gets hired as a mercenary after a 4 year tour and an “ordinary” or “commonly criminal” person?
You’re using “professional” to mean “ethical and skilled” but anyone who takes a job killing people for money from the highest bidder is far from that.
Look up the definition of professional in the dictionary. If you get paid for a job, your are a professional. Level of experience or skill is not part of the definition.
Do you have first hand knowledge of the work these mercenaries do versus the work of western mercenaries? Your entire argument is premised upon having said knowledge.
They are called mercenaries and the practice is as old as war.
There are tons of mercenary companies working for the US Government too.
Mercenaries are professionals, though. This phenomenon is about ordinary or at least commonly criminal people.
Anyone who does this type of work for money and isn’t employed directly by a government is a “professional mercenary.” What’s the difference between some ex-Marine who gets hired as a mercenary after a 4 year tour and an “ordinary” or “commonly criminal” person?
You’re using “professional” to mean “ethical and skilled” but anyone who takes a job killing people for money from the highest bidder is far from that.
The non/semi-professional mercenaries have to start somewhere before they get promoted to the big leagues.
They usually start as foot soldiers in a formal state military before moving on to mercenary work.
If they are paid they are professional and not all mercenaries are paid in coin.
Mercenaries are definitely not all professionals - who do you think are the boots on the ground for all the proxy wars happening today?
Turkey and Russia were flying out Syrian mercenaries to north Africa to fight each other over Libya.
It’s extensively published in military research papers that guns for hire (mercenaries) are becoming much more ubiquitous in today’s proxy wars.
Look up the definition of professional in the dictionary. If you get paid for a job, your are a professional. Level of experience or skill is not part of the definition.
I think the key term being used is “mercenary” though
It’s like saying that a muzzle loading musket and an assault rifle are the same thing.
Do you have first hand knowledge of the work these mercenaries do versus the work of western mercenaries? Your entire argument is premised upon having said knowledge.
I think you replied to the wrong commenter.
I’m having a beef with Miller about how the meaning of the word mercenary has changed over time.
You are just talking about scale, they are both guns.
So, if you personally were going into combat, you’d be happy to have the 1700s single shot musket instead of a modern weapon?
Next you’ll be saying that two tin cans connected by a string is as good as a modern landline.
I am not really sure you understand how language works.
One way it works is by evolving over time.
An idea that seems to elude you.