I'm totally not surprised about this move from the US. It's like they're saying "hey, we've had enough" and taking action against these mercenaries. But at the same time, I think it's a bit late to the party - people have been talking about this issue for ages 
. What really gets me is that there's still no real solution in place to stop mercenarism. Sanctions might help, but they're just one part of the equation. We need to tackle the root cause of the problem - the illicit economy and lack of accountability.
And can we talk about how this affects innocent people caught up in the conflict? I mean, these child soldiers are being trained and forced to fight by these mercenaries... it's heartbreaking
. The US needs to do more than just slap sanctions on the people involved - they need to take concrete steps to stop the flow of foreign fighters into conflicts like Sudan's.
It's also interesting to see how Colombia is responding to this situation. I mean, their government is apologizing for not doing enough to stop these mercenaries... but at least they're acknowledging the problem
. The thing is, though - we need a global response to this issue, not just individual governments trying to cover their own backsides.
Anyway, it's good to see some experts weighing in on this topic
. Elizabeth Dickinson seems spot on that calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go... but Sean McFate makes a valid point about sanctions being insufficient. We need a multi-faceted approach to tackle mercenarism and its effects 
.
. What really gets me is that there's still no real solution in place to stop mercenarism. Sanctions might help, but they're just one part of the equation. We need to tackle the root cause of the problem - the illicit economy and lack of accountability.And can we talk about how this affects innocent people caught up in the conflict? I mean, these child soldiers are being trained and forced to fight by these mercenaries... it's heartbreaking
. The US needs to do more than just slap sanctions on the people involved - they need to take concrete steps to stop the flow of foreign fighters into conflicts like Sudan's.It's also interesting to see how Colombia is responding to this situation. I mean, their government is apologizing for not doing enough to stop these mercenaries... but at least they're acknowledging the problem
. The thing is, though - we need a global response to this issue, not just individual governments trying to cover their own backsides.Anyway, it's good to see some experts weighing in on this topic
. Elizabeth Dickinson seems spot on that calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go... but Sean McFate makes a valid point about sanctions being insufficient. We need a multi-faceted approach to tackle mercenarism and its effects .
... I mean, can you believe these guys were literally getting paid to train child soldiers and fight in a war? It's crazy that some folks are making so much money off conflict zones. And the US is finally taking action, imposing sanctions on those involved. But it makes sense, they've been fueling the fire all along 
.