Disarmament & International Security Committee
Private Military Contractors
The Bahamas
Jared Rhein
Forest Hills Eastern
The United Nations looks favorably towards private military contractors which they use frequently to protect its individuals, on the road or in foreign countries. Gregory Starr, the U.N.’s top security official and former head of U.S. State Department Security, advocates for an increase in the use of private security firms. Rightly so, considering that in Pakistan, U.N. relief workers have been the target of kidnappings and killings, according to U.N. officials. The stakes are heightened even more for the U.N. considering that the Taliban killed five U.N. employees, along with the death of two Afghan guards on October 28, 2009. These atrocities committed by terrorist groups and hostile beings are a concern of the Bahamian people because the domestic policing force is unacceptable with outdated weapons and minimal personal with only 4000 police officers to enforce. According to The Tribune, stationed in Nassau, the police and defense forces have made the Bahamians look stupid. This luxury of military contractors can be abused as evident in the massacre of 17 Iraqi Civilians, injuring 20 more by Blackwater Security Consulting. There should be a restraint to these groups so that there are checks and balances to maintain the order that maintains your own country’s well being. There are clear benefits to having private military contractors, but they should never be allowed to have free reign and harm innocent citizens; if an incident occurred these contractors should be prosecuted as such for their clear humanitarian violations.
The idea of private military contractors is an option for all those needing extra protection. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas currently has a military called “The Royal Bahamas Defence Force,” which consists of roughly 1000 active members. The Bahamas traditionally have had a small domestic military while under British rule before 1973 and have found no need to expand its military capabilities. If the Bahamas were attacked or provoked, the nation could be taken and abused easily due to a lack of military power. Private military contractors could stop injustices of invasion and the atrocities that follow war while maintaining the peace for a payment.
The succession to the Bahamas dilemma is the employment of private military contractors who have been trained by elite Special Forces. Help from private military contractors is a valuable asset to attain for its source of defense for nations and individuals along with the enforcement of the law. The Bahamas recommends the U.N. to allow the usage of private contractors for military defense and protection against foreign enemies and domestic disputes; however, the U.N. should instill limits upon these militants for civilian protection and resistance upon contractor rebellion against the government. With the improvement of military enforcement, the Bahamas will become safer attracting more tourists from around the world to our islands along with the banking and investment sector blossoming. Due to these two factors improving the GDP of the Bahamas will soar, the gangs will be reduced, the illegal trade diminished and the shipping and boating industry more regulated with the employment of private military contractors. The Bahamas are open to the use of private military contractors only if they abide by the humanitarian laws while maintaining order for those in need.
- Jared Rhein
