RE: [MERCS] Weapons available [FH]

This is true. However, quite a few "Mercenaries" in
the GZG universe are state sponsored and state operated.
That is are for all intents and purposes a national 
military "loaned" out to a client-state. Examples:
LLAR, IC, IF, & NI. If the LLAR wanted to provide its
units with NBC weapons, it would have the resources and
training to do so. Only the contract with the client
state (or wisdom on the LLAR's part) would prevent them'
from doing so.

Now, you could argure that all Merc contracts would have
clauses in them not to equip such units with NBC weaopons.
But it also provides "plausable deniability" to the 
client-state if the "renegade mercs" use NBC weapons,
but then have thier contract canceled (no one mentions
the, off-book, swiss bank account exchange).

Some of it depends on how "dark" you make the GZG future
history. The "Cabal of Radical Darwinism" may find it 
worth being hunted down to nuke the "Society of Intelegent
Design".

-----
Brian Bell
-----

-----Original Message-----
From: John Atkinson [mailto:johnmatkinson@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 22:27
To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: [MERCS] Weapons available [FH]

--- "Imre A. Szabo" <ias@sprintmail.com> wrote:
> Sure they would.  If they need the firepower at the
> moment and view the
> mercanary fiefdom as far easier to deal with then
> the NSL or any other major
> power.

It would be far more likely that they would provide an
"advisory and control group" to the merc unit to
maintain control over the nuclear weapons and ensure
that they are used in accord with whatever control
measures the overall ESU command decides to put in
place.	So it wouldn't be, in extreme circumstances,
completely unheared of for a merc unit to call in a
WMD strike but it absolutely wouldn't be under merc
control.