Throughout the history of mankind, they have been secretly hired by some kings, princes, emperors, pontiffs, rulers or leaders in conflict, with the purpose of achieving a military objective in enemy territory, without directly engaging in the extreme violence they could commit. Their only ambition is economic, they will avoid death to collect what is agreed; they are without flags so their reliability and loyalty is minimal, they could switch to a more generous pattern.
Wagner and love of country
They are generally former members of the regular armed forces, from any nation, with training, capabilities, skills and experience in warfare, intelligence and logistics; They also have the ability to strategically or tactically plan, implement and execute. They are recruited and organized by mercenaries with entrepreneurial and financial skills who offer their service as a paramilitary army to anyone willing to subdue their enemy, regardless of the cost. His recruitment does not require court records, his identity is often not real, there have even been cases of recruiting prisoners.
The Crimean War and multipolarity
In its fall, the Roman Empire was fragmented into several kingdoms and principalities, and one of them was the city-state of Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, where Nicholas Machiavelli (1469-1527), politician, philosopher and author of the masterful work El PrÃncipe (1532), a manual giving a set of rules for the acquisition, maintenance and exercise of political power. The expression “The end justifies the means” is attributed to him; Regarding the mercenaries in Chapter XII, he stated: “If a prince maintains his state with mercenary troops, he will never be firm or secure, because they lack unity, are ambitious, undisciplined, boastful in the presence of friends, and cowards against enemies. . . .”
It is true that mercenaries existed, exist and will exist in our conflicted nature.
After the Second World War, the Geneva Convention (1949) and the Supplementary Protocol on the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts were established, in Art. 47, briefly, defines: “A mercenary is a person: a) who is specially recruited to fight in an armed conflict; b) who directly participates in hostilities; c) essentially motivated by personal gain; d) who is not a citizen of a party to the conflict; e) who is not a member of the armed forces of a party to the conflict; and, f) that a state that is not a party to the conflict has not sent him on an official mission as a member of its armed forces.”
What was described was fulfilled in the current Russian-Ukrainian war of invasion, in the case of the rebellion of the leader of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin against President Vladimir Putin. The press announced that the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, intervened in the agreement to calm the rebellion, granting Prigozhin asylum, and that Putin would allow the inclusion of most of Wagner’s group in his armed forces. Putin accused Prigozhin of treason, will his life be spared, will there be an agreement? It is true that mercenaries existed, exist and will exist in our conflicted nature. (OR)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
