RE: [MERCS] Weapons available [FH]

--- CS Renegade <njg@csrenegade.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>> Twentieth-century mercenaries tend to form units
>> for single operations, or are even hired
>> individually by the sponsor. In both situations,
>> there is often a large degree of deniability, so
>> the mercenaries are free to use methods that
>> government troops and company employees would
>> face recriminations for.

From: ~ On Behalf Of John Atkinson
Sent: 21 April 2002 22:22
Subject: RE: [MERCS] Weapons available [FH]

> Uh, not necessarily.	They can get tracked down,
> especially if the victims are determined enough.  

In any present-day scenario I can think of, I have
to concede this. As soon as the NBC balloon goes up,
a prohibitive amount of press and official interest
is applied to finding the miscreants.

The only possible exceptions to this are groups so
close to the criminal fraternity that they fall
outside of our use of the term "mercenary".

For example, were the Japanese authorities certain
that they tracked down all of the Ahm Sum (sp?)
cultists and their stocks of Nasty Substances (TM)?

On a more recent note, did I miss the apprehension
of the author of the Anthrax Letters? Was the batch
of anthrax used ever traced to a probable source?

The perpetrators were able to construct* and deploy
biological and chemical weapons, inside first-
world countries to boot. These weapons certainly
didn't have military capabilities, but they
illustrated the civilian reaction quite well.

* Granted that the last I heard, this hadn't been
  established for the letters with any certainty.

> And if they are that hard to track down, would
> anyone trust them with a goddamn nuclear weapon?
> Do you have any idea what sort of standards a
> nation holds the custodians of their nuclear
> weapons to? Most personnel in the US military
> could not qualify for the PRP program to get
> close to nuclear weapons.

Going by the recent Nukes thread, the US upholds
higher standards in this area than some other
nations. Leaving aside impoverished Russian rocket
scientists and peasant conscripts exchanging vodka
for plutonium, there was some speculation (in the
London Times, don't ask me for the date) that Gen.
Musharrif (sp?) reshuffled some of his generals
to ensure that only pragmatists had access to the
bomb. Personally I thought it was more likely to
be an attempt to shore up his own position given
the unrest in Pakistan at the height of the Afghan
offensive.

>> In fictional backgrounds, different moral
>> standards often prevail.
 
> Depends.

Are there any absolute standards that are
required for a scenario to have a modicum of
credibility?

>> ... what if you have an industrial complex
>> worth several billion credits and it's been
>> occupied?

> Personally? I flush the place with CS and then
> send in riot police or regular infantry.

I didn't think CS and similar agents were that
effective? They can flush people out of confined
spaces and break up crowds, but they are designed
not to kill or even incapacitate*. Although 
improvised protection isn't much help, can simple
respirators handle CS? If memory serves, it's not
very good at putting out fires either. 

* to forestall the howls from all who have been
  exposed to CS, I think the issue may be one of
  concentration. Beyond a certain point, there's
  no question of being able to hold, let alone
  aim a weapon. Next question: how many typical
  CS rounds would it take to gas a big aviation
  hanger?

Get yourself a nice non-persistent nerve agent
that'll go through anything short of a full
environmental protection unit (I may have the
wrong name for the relevant bit of tank here;
I mean the gubbins that doubles as air-
conditioning and gas attack warning / filtration)
in three seconds flat.

>>> How could you explain to your voters that you
>>> hired a bunch of crazed lunatics?
 
>> That assumes a democracy, or ~

> Other methods of government produce regimes
> far too paranoid to equip those not politically
> reliable with WMD.

True, but these might hire what they could not
buy or manufacture. Given scattered interstellar
colonies with several generations of ignorance,
they may not even fully realise what they are
getting into. Remember the Elbonian catapult!

> It's even simpler in any background with space
> travel: If the mercs in question do unacceptable
> things, they find it really difficult to get
> off-planet.

OK, let's swap to Alois Hammer. I'm sure you've
read The Butcher's Bill; cast your mind back to
But Loyal To His Own. Granted, the Slammers are
exceptional (and somewhat larger than life.)

>> Being wanted by the NSL for undue use of
>> chemical weapons is no problem if you 
>> primarily work within the ESU.

> Depends on circumstances. Would the ESU hire
> mercenary units with the firepower to set up
> their own fief (which WMD provide)?

I don't think WMD do that in small quantities;
if the threatened power has many planets and the
threat is concentrated on one, a power like the
ESU has no problem with the mathematics and the
mercenaries know it. It's simpler to take the
remuneration and move on to the next ticket.

Once again, clarity is advised but not provided;
there's a fairly hideous mixture of fact, fiction,
supposition and humour in all of the above.

===============================================
NJG - greasy geek w/glasses & floppy hair at Salute.