[Marxism] From the latest LRB

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

James Meek: The Rise of the Private Army

Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army by 
Jeremy Scahill

In a James Bond film, viewer credulity gets its toughest workout with 
the hero’s tour of, and subsequent escape from, the villain’s lair. This 
power-crazed evil genius, this smug gentleman in a tightly tailored suit 
posing as a bold entrepreneur: how was he able to construct a 
paramilitary base over a dozen square miles in the middle of, say, the 
United States, without its raising an eyebrow among the local 
constabulary? How did he get the zeppelin hangar past the county 
planning board? Such vast amounts of concrete. Such tunnels, such 
golf-carts, such fleets of helicopters armed with machine-guns. Such 
tours of firing ranges where hired muscle in beige boiler suits 
incinerates cardboard targets with grenades and automatic weapons. ‘What 
do you think of our little playground, Mr Bond?’

full: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n15/meek01_.html

The Rendition of Abu Omar
John Foot awaits the trial of the kidnappers

On 17 February 2003, a 39-year-old Egyptian man was walking down a quiet 
street in suburban Milan on his way to daily prayers. His real name was 
Osama Nasr, but he was known as Abu Omar. He was a cleric and political 
militant, an opponent of the Mubarak regime, and had refugee status in 
Italy (which is very hard to get). A man in police uniform came up to 
him and asked in Italian to see his documents. As he reached for his 
passport, Omar was bundled into a white van and driven away at high speed.

full: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n15/foot02_.html

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