The Fall of the USSR in 1989 and the changing politics in the world made it possible for

a company in South Africa to become a major private military contractor.

The Company was Executive Outcomes, it was founded by Eeben Barlow in

1989. The company was mostly made up of members of the South African Defense

Force, most with special forces traing. The world would not take notice of this

development until it was incharge of the Civil War in Angola. The US army called the

organization "This network engages in what could be termed a post-Cold war form of

'predatory capitalism' by specializing in the extraction of mineral and oil resources from

troubled and failed-states".1

Executive Outcomes changed the outcome of two major Civil Wars in Africa.

This includes forcing rebels to the negotiating table in Sierra Leone. In Angola, EO was

able to force the UNITA to accept the Lusaka Protocal iin 1994. During this time they are

thought to have had a web of influence in Uganda, Botswana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Lesotho

and South Africa. In Sierra Leone, the National Provisional Ruling Council government,

headed by military leader Captain Valentine Strasser, hired EO to fight the Revolutionary

United Front rebels, who were financed by their hold on the Kono district's rich diamond

deposits. EO forces summarily beat back RUF fighters to their Kono strongholds.

Race issues were big in the international outcry against EO. Though 3/4th of their

employees were of African Descent, many only saw the white leaders of EO on the

television. Many held the belief that these were Mercenaries and they were participating

in neocolonialism.

"We offer a variety of services to legitimate governments, including infantry training,

clandestine warfare, counterintelligence programs [cointelpro], reconnaissance, escape

1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Outcomes
and evasion, special forces selection and training and even parachuting," adds Barlow.

EO is equipped with Soviet MiG fighter jets, Puma and East Bloc helicopters, state-of-

the-art artillery, tanks and other armaments. Barlow pointed out that EO boasts an array

of no less than 500 military advisors and 3,000 highly trained multi-national special

forces soldiers.2

According to the company’s website that was able to be brought up using

archive.org they brag “Despite its short history, EO is the only company in the world that

has acted effectively on behalf of two African governments in order to bring about

stability.”3 The Clinton administration has opposed the use of Executive Outcomes by

governments in Africa.

In Sierra Leone, it has won the war for the government against the Revolutionary Front,

demanding in return a full franchise on Sierra Leone's diamonds--leading to suspicions

that EO is a front for the DeBeers diamond cartel.4

Reportedly, EO was paid US$20 million a year during its 1995 to 1997 stint in

Sierra Leone, and routed the RUF forces with a force of less than 300 mercenaries,

allowing elections to take place. By contrast, the UN peacekeeping force sent to Sierra

Leone after the Revolutionary United Front retook the capital of Freetown consisted of

18,000 soldiers at its height and cost upwards of a billion dollars yearly, while arguably

failing to defuse the bloody war for another 3 years. In terms of effectiveness, the UN

peacekeeping force allowed the RUF to retake the capital twice while committing

atrocities in its wake, and also stood helpless while a military coup led by Colonel Johnny

Paul Koroma deposed the democratically elected Kabbah.

2
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16671
3
http://web.archive.org/web/19980703122602/www.eo.com/about/p7.html
4
http://www.aboutsudan.com/action/geopolitical/executive_outcomes.htm
Executive Outcomes ceased trading on January 1, 1999, as South Africa passed an anti-

mercenary law, though apparently its Pretoria, South Africa office remained open for

some time.

In one opinion of Executive Outcomes “EO is the vanguard of the British monarchy's

recolonization of Africa--an operation that has already cost hundreds of thousands of

African lives in the last five years, and promises to cost millions more.”

Executive outcomes sees a much more promising future. EO sees that

governments are scaling down military budgets. This seem to indicate in their opinion

that their will be more and more operations conducted by companies such as theirs. One

big factor for them is their impartiality. They can go into a country with a speicifc task

and make a speedy resolution. The employees of EO are only loyal to the company. With

this they can carry out torally unbiased peacekeeping/conflict resolution service throught

out the world.