U.S. MERCENARY)MACNEIL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000301400012-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 6, 2010
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: October 11, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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11 October 1984
--U.S. MERCENARY>MACNEIL: Tonight we have a different view of the kind of
>CONVENTION>warfare going on in Nicaragua, the view of mercenaries,
American mercenaries. Correspondent Kwame Holman has the
story.
HOLMAN: They call themselves soldiers of fortune, freedom
fighters, mercenaries or mercs. They believe it's
appropriate for Americans with military skills to, as they
put it, 'work free-lance in foreign wars' mostly for
anticommunist forces. There are hundreds of them here.
Most are Vietnam veterans; many are policemen. They
recently put on their camouflage uniforms and came to Las
Vegas for a convention. They came to shoot, they came to
check out the newest weapons, they came to simulate a
hostage rescue and they came to honor two fellow soldiers
of fortune who died last month in Nicaragua. UNIDENTIFIED
MAN: I would submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that
the reason those people died is because they believe. We
believe, don't we, ladies and gentlemen?
HOLMAN: The fact is that very few of these men actually
go out and fight in foreign lands. But among the
convention goers there was a handful of real, full-time
mercenaries. One of them calls himself Dr. John. He
lives in New York City and he's anxious to return to
battle. DR. JOHN: There's exhilaration from knowing that
every step on the general path might be your last. It's
not duplicated in civilian life.
HOLMAN: Last year Dr. John organized this invasion force
to overthrow the government of Surinam in South America.
He also has fought against the government of Nicaragua.
Right now Dr. John has put in bids to fight in three
separate battles. He says his skills are very much in
demand. DR. JOHN: What I in particular have to sell are
my connections, my contacts in the world of munitions and
arms and international transport and international
banking.
HOLMAN: Before he became a mercenary, Dr. John was a
clinical psychologist. But at age 43, he made a career
change. Though he fights partly for ideological reasons,
he also fights for money. Dr. John gets $2,000 to $5,000
a month, plus expenses, for his work. DR. JOHN: I
believe in what I'm doing. I'm a private citizen actually
impacting world events. There's a lot of reinforcement, a
lot of gratification there. So the original impetus is
altruistic. I have to make a living at it, of course, or
I couldn't do it very long or I'd be crazy to do it.
HOLMAN: But is it legal to fight as a mercenary?
Republican Congressman Jim Leach, who sits on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, says there are laws governing
Continued
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mercenaries. REP. JIM LEACH (R.-Iowa): Under the
neutrality act, foreign or United States citizens are
prohibited from planning to attempt to overthrow foreign
governments or to engage in war from the shores of the
United States.
HOLMAN: Potential mercenaries seeking advice on how these
laws apply to them regularly turn to attorney Dana
*Jankowski, who has himself fought as a soldier of
fortune. DANA JANKOWSKI: If you and'your buddies get
together and say, 'Hey, guys let's get together and go on
down to Nicaragua and blow a bridge, you know, just for
the fun of it and then come home,' you have now violated
this law of engaging in an expedition against a friendly
nation, because it was launched from the United States.
What this means is, nobody can set up a conspiracy in the
United States to go down to Nicaragua and drop mines in
the harbor, for example. So the law specifically
prohibits mercenaries from being recruited in the United
States or from making plans while in this country.
HOLMAN: Those who practice the mercenary life have found
ways to circumvent those laws. DR. JOHN: If I meet a
client and we discuss, in general terms, their situation
and my investigation proves that it is valid and then
we're ready to move into the planning stage, we go to a
foreign country to continue our business. LEACH: They've
taken law into their own hands. They've become
international vigilantes. And the question is whether the
United States government wants to disassociate its policy
from these individuals or not. (Video of Dr. John singing
'God Bless America.')
HOLMAN: Dr.. John says his fights are always in America's
best interests and that the U.S. government always knows
where he is. He hints that his pay is sometimes filtered
through front organizations for the CIA or through
governments friendly to the United States. On camera, he
will make only one cryptic statement about his
relationship with the..U.S. government. DR. JOHN: There
have been times when I've had intimate contact with
employees of the United States government.
HOLMAN: Since the government has not cracked down on
mercenaries, Congressman Leach believes the administration
is undermining Congress' attempt to limit the number of
U.S. personnel and dollars going to Central America.
LEACH: When you have private citizens take war-making
authority into their own hands and then when you have a
government assist these private citizens, you have a real
breakdown in the contract under our Constitution between
the.executive and the legislature. It's this
constitutional issue that overwhelms all others by
comparison.
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MACN IL: One high-ranking official of the Reagan
administration has denied that the government has anything
to do with mercenaries. Robert McFarlane, the president's
national security adviser, said on this program on Sept.
6, 'We do not condone and encourage, endorse nor
facilitate this kind of thing.' McFarlane acknowledged
that it can happen, but not with the encouragement of the
United States government
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