Text Multiple Choice: Based on the information in your lessons and in the following excerpt, what is the main concern surrounding Private Military Companies (PMC)? Throughout both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US Department of Defense contracted with private military companies (PMCs) to provide services formerly the responsibility of uniformed troops. The government regards the employees of these PMCs as “civilian contractors” although to most Iraqis and Afghanis, as well as a significant number of Americans, PMC employees look and act like soldiers. It has become increasingly common for governments, including the United States, to privatize certain routine services such as contracting with for-profit companies to provide security at federal buildings, operate prisons and manage offenders, and even some shipping services once reserved to the US Postal Service. Extending this concept to include operations and missions formerly reserved for uniformed military troops, however, has raised significant legal and ethical questions. Are employees of PMCs subject to the same battlefield limitations and responsibilities defined by the Geneva Convention and other treaties? Are employees of PMCs actually mercenaries, the relatively derogatory term applied to paid soldiers? Who is responsible for regulating the actions of PMC employees when they are deployed to foreign battlefields; is it their civilian employer or the commanding officers of the military? These and other questions must be answered and strict regulations that define the authority of PMCs and their employees set into place.
The image of private investigators may suffer from erroneous media exposure. Thinking about the specific skills and limitations of the private investigator, write a paragraph about the PI’s work ethic based on their experience and use of investigative skills. These skills include: interviewing, records research, legal factors, and the use of electronic surveillance. Be sure to include the PI’s awareness of the investigator’s limitations by law.
The work of private security personnel is analogous to law enforcement officers, which means:
In a brief paragraph, relate Pinkerton’s code of professional conduct to the sense of ethics in today’s security officers. Use details from Pinkerton’s code, such as keeping clients updated and turning down money rewards. What elements do you think cause the most difficulty in how security officers are able to maintain (or not maintain) ethical behavior today?
Why do you suppose that there is little information about intelligence gathering in ancient Rome compared to today’s intelligence methods?
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