Mystery plane siezed in zimbabwe

[Baphomet 0]

Doesn't generally being a merc mean buying your own gear?

That doesn't sound too cool. Sure if you've got tons of money. Still. How do you start up an outfit like that? The overhead would be tremendous.

Then you'd want to take out an insurance policy. Your work would be plenty dangerous.

You'd also be working with guys who would probably cut your throat so much as look at you. I wouldn't expect them to stick their neck out much for you... I mean. They're mercs.

The closest thing to being a merc I think anyone would really want to get is to join the french foreign legion. They do dirty work all over the world... France of course can disavow any knowledge and they generally have a sense of comraderie in their ranks. So they're sort of like mercs... only you get funny helmets and issued FAMAS rifles. =P

Speaking of Mercs...

Yeah. I've been itching for some good old Jagged alliance action once more. Maybe if I can stop playing ofp for five minutes I can go out to the store and see if they're selling wildfire.

[Munk 0]

Doesn't generally being a merc mean buying your own gear?

That doesn't sound too cool. Sure if you've got tons of money.

Thats where the clients come in. Some mining company owned by a rich bastard in Africa needs some better secruity from some rebel group and money is no object. They end up paying for all the kit, accomodation, beer etc.

[turms 0]

Reuters told about the mercenaries going to court, and they could face a death penalty

I object a death penalty , but I understand that this is a serious matter that should be dealt with in court, but in this case i would prefer a international court...any thoughts?

Quote[/b] ]Equatorial Guinea's president said South Africa had warned him that a group of mercenaries was heading for his country and he suggested that they had had foreign backing of hostile foreign powers and multinational firms.

From BBC

[MSpencer 0]

Ace, ace ace... I didn't want to have to say this, but you insulted me in the same way.

Everyone in your country is a f*cking terrorist.

Are we done with the generalizations? Can we move on?

[Pathy 0]

lol nice way to make a point...

if your gonna be a merc, back the winning side.......thats what the PMA will do (PATHFINDERS MERCENARY ARMY)....at the moment i am looking for my 1st contract, something along the lines of a security job.....bouncer at an OAP disco or something

[MSpencer 0]

I say invade Tassie.

[DarkLight 0]

And then came silence

It's always funny to notice that everytime i post something, someone mentions my signature... i wonder why...... no.... on second thought.... i don't wonder why...

I dunno who it is... just some woman i guess

[Llauma 0]

****BLAME BUSH, NOT THE US ARMY, USMC, OR USN. THE COAST GUARD, PARTS OF THE USN, AND THE USAF ARE OPEN REIGN. DO WHAT YOU WANT****

I don't blame Bush for anything... He is just stupid.

There are many stupid and dangerous men in the world so I blame those who gives them the power.

Just look at the evil men of our time.. They would have not accomplished anything without those who put them in power.

There are a few totally messed up people who never received any real power. They managed to kill 10 people alone.

What would Hitler or Stalin have accomplished without the power?

[Tovarish 0]

just some woman i guess

ugh, if it isn't, then that totally ruins it for me, and makes me feel dirty for hosting it

[ShadowY 0]

I dunno who it is... just some woman i guess

She(her body) looks like the Italian 80`s Sabrina(great body, nice face), she was a toy in the music business with some hits

*on topic plzzz

[DarkLight 0]

*on topic plzzz

Can't....stop....focusing....on....my....sig....

aaaargh

[turms 0]

From BBC

The trial has begun, it seems.

Quote[/b] ]the governments of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea believe they were heading to the small, oil-rich country to overthrow the government.

[Mister Frag 0]

From http://www.cnn.com/2004....ex.html

Quote[/b] ]'Mercenaries' admit lesser charges

Tuesday, July 27, 2004 Posted: 2:55 PM EDT (1855 GMT)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- All but three of 70 suspected mercenaries accused of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea have pleaded guilty to lesser charges in Zimbabwe and were immediately convicted.

The 67 men on Tuesday admitted breaching Zimbabwe's immigration and aviation laws when they flew to Harare in March, offenses punishable by up to two years in jail.

They were arrested in Zimbabwe and accused of seeking weapons here to use in overthrowing Equatorial Guinea's president.

Defense attorney Alwyn Griebenow said all 70 would plead innocent when more serious conspiracy, security and firearms charges are considered Wednesday.

Chief prosecutor Stephen Musona accepted the guilty pleas and Harare Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe formally convicted the 67 of the lesser charges.

Neither the defense lawyers, nor family members, would comment on the likely penalty faced by the men.

But several of the suspects held up six fingers to relatives gathered in a makeshift courtroom at the Chikurubi maximum security prison, indicating they expected six months in jail, of which they have already served just over 4 1/2 months.

The 67 were detained after their aging Boeing 727 landed at Harare International Airport on March 7. They were accused of conspiring to carry out a coup in the tiny, oil-rich West African nation of Equatorial Guinea with weapons acquired in Zimbabwe.

Alleged coup leader Simon Mann, a former British special forces member, and two associates who were not on the plane were arrested separately in Zimbabwe and accused of illegal arms purchases. They also face the three more serious charges carrying a penalty of up to life in prison.

Prosecutors allege Equatorial Guinea's Spanish-based rebel leader, Severo Moto, offered the group US$1.8 million and oil rights to overthrow President Theodoro Obiang Nguema in the former Spanish colony.

The suspects, most of them former members of South Africa's apartheid-era military forces, deny the charges and say they were headed to security jobs at mining operations in eastern Congo.

In April, Zimbabwe said it had revised its extradition policy to include Equatorial Guinea, raising the possibility the suspects could be sent to the West African nation to face charges with seven others arrested there.

If tried in Equatorial Guinea, described by human rights groups as one of the most repressive countries in the world, they could face execution.

[Mister Frag 0]

Another update on CNN...

From http://www.cnn.com/2004....ex.html

Quote[/b] ]'Mercenary' admits weapons charge

Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Posted: 9:43 AM EDT (1343 GMT)

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A man accused by Zimbabwe of leading 70 suspected mercenaries has pleaded guilty to attempting to possess dangerous weapons, according to news reports.

The charge could result in Simon Mann, a former member of Britain's elite SAS special forces unit, being jailed for 10 years.

Appearing in court in Harare on Wednesday, Mann also entered a limited guilty plea to a second charge of purchasing weapons, but said the deal never took place, according to Reuters.

He has been identified as the leader of a group of 70 men who have been detained since March in Zimbabwe on charges of plotting a coup in the oil-rich West African state of Equatorial Guinea.

On Tuesday, all but three of the group pleaded guilty to lesser charges in Zimbabwe and were immediately convicted. (Full story)

The 67 men admitted breaching the country's immigration and aviation laws when they flew to Harare, offenses punishable by up to two years in jail.

Defense lawyer Alwyn Griebenow told The Associated Press that all of the men would plead innocent to more serious conspiracy, security and firearms charges.

If convicted, the men face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment in Zimbabwe, which accused U.S., British and Spanish spy agencies of aiding the alleged plot.

Lawyers for the men want the trial moved to South Africa, which has no death penalty. Some of the men were born in South Africa.

AP reported last week that the men feared they could be extradited to Equatorial Guinea, considered by human rights groups to be one of the most repressive countries in the world.

Prosecutors allege Severo Moto, a Spanish-based rebel leader of Equatorial Guinea, offered the group $1.8 million and oil rights to depose President Theodoro Obiang Nguema in the former Spanish colony, AP said.

The suspects -- South Africans, Namibians, Angolans, Congolese, a Zimbabwean and Mann, a UK national -- are former members of South Africa's apartheid-era military.

They deny plotting to oust Obiang, maintaining they were traveling to guard mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo when they were detained.

Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Ministry said the group's aircraft was carrying military equipment when it was impounded at Harare.

Items displayed for reporters included camouflage uniforms, an inflatable dinghy, portable radios and tools such as bolt cutters, but there was no indication that the aircraft carried any weapons.

[Pathy 0]

methinks Mann forgot the 7 p's.

Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

[Ironsight 1]

10 years, that's quit long

Quote[/b] ]attempting to possess dangerous weapons

Duhhh that's what mercs do   Do they have to fight with sticks and stones

[hellfish6 7]

I really can't believe that they were trying to overthrow a government - if we were living in 1960-1980 I'd believe it, but not in this day and age.

[Mister Frag 0]

I can, because there are people who are greedy and / or live in the past, like Mann. How sad.

It doesn't really take much to overthrow some governments. All you need to do is knock off the head of state, and take advantage of the power vacuum. In many third-world countries with corrupt, oppressive rulers, opposition and political competition isn't tolerated, so if you get a couple of mercenaries to kill the president / prime minister / divine ruler, you can quite easily seize power.

Promise the mercenaries and the local army money from oil or mineral rights to buy them off, and then you can plunder the country for a couple of years until someone does the same thing to you.

[DarkLight 0]

Promise the mercenaries and the local army money from oil or mineral rights to buy them off, and then you can plunder the country for a couple of years until someone does the same thing to you.

Basically this is what the circle of life is all about...

Gotta love it!

[bn880 5]

I really can't believe that they were trying to overthrow a government - if we were living in 1960-1980 I'd believe it, but not in this day and age.

I believe it, it's possible IMO... Not like we have had a dry spell of overthrowing govts.

[hellfish6 7]

How many times in modern history have mercs overthrown a government? Even Bob Denard couldn't do it in the Comoros before a customs agent got suspicious and the French marines were called it.

[Mister Frag 0]

How many times in modern history have mercs overthrown a government? Even Bob Denard couldn't do it in the Comoros before a customs agent got suspicious and the French marines were called it.

It certainly isn't for a lack of trying -- this study documents 225 coup attempts in sub-Saharan Africa between 1986 and 1990, of which four were successful -- that's about one successful coup per year.

The successful coups were in Burkina Faso (five attempts in total), Burundi (five attempts in total), Lesotho (five attempts in total), and Sudan (five attempts in total).

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again...

[bn880 5]

How many times in modern history have mercs overthrown a government? Even Bob Denard couldn't do it in the Comoros before a customs agent got suspicious and the French marines were called it.

It is not that mercs have to do it alone, they can have help, from organizations like the CIA etc.

[hellfish6 7]

How many of those 225 (or 5 successful) were executed by mercs?

[bn880 5]

The question is how many of those 225 attempts were Mercs. involved.