U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan • Hacker News Board

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#131

Post by jeffreyrogers » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:07 PM UTC

eloisius wrote: post #127

Mirioron wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think about it, it's a bit odd that there are so few mercenaries in this day and age. When you look back on history then from what I can tell, mercenaries were much more common.

I met a guy at NewSpace several years ago and we were talking about the role of the US military in space exploration. I was expressing my wariness of a militarized space force, the possibility of us ending up under a military junta, etc, but he was less worried. He kept making the point that mercenaries were the norm in the past and that the US military actually has an incredible record for never seizing control. He…

The US military has only been around for 250 years and look at how much the country has changed in that time. The idea of the welfare state would be totally incomprehensible to the founders[0]. I think the idea of the military as separate from the rest of the state is contingent on that state operating in the interests of the people. Or at least, not against the interests of the people. And history shows that no society has been able to do this forever.

[0]: I'm not saying we shouldn't have a welfare state, it's clearly necessary in the modern world, but the America of today is nothing like the America that was intended, for better or for worse.

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#132

Post by cosmodisk » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:09 PM UTC

wh-uws wrote: post #112

blaser-waffle wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As true with code as with pulling triggers. Work for the Feds and pull 150k around DC and a security clearance. Some of the seniors at big contractors pull big $$$. Meanwhile, you can get a total comp of 400k or more working for a FAANGM out west while smoking weed everyday and banging foreigners. My understanding is that the SOF and SEALs get paid well, even as enlisted folks (who get paid less than officers), but w…

Its frustrating when people trot out FAANGM as if thats a standard take just anyone can get. Its great if you can get through the interview process at some place decent (I did for the record). But that's like saying "I'll just go play for the NBA". Competition is stiff

Well,yes,it is tough,but then again,if someone's pulling $400K in total comp writing code, that's not something that just lands from the sky. Outside of tech industry you'd need to be a VP, or even a CEO to clear that kind of money,so yes, it's expected to be tough.

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#133

Post by tomjen3 » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:10 PM UTC

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #110

md2020 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That doesn't work forever. Name an honourable war conducted by the US military since 1946.

Korea. Afghanistan.

Edit: And destroying Isis.

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#134

Post by gazelle21 » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:11 PM UTC

eloisius wrote: post #89

cosmodisk wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they are fed up with making pennies. It's the case in pretty much every country,only in the US they tend to have a little bit more so called opportunities because of mass obsession about anything military related. In my own country the guys from special forces take unpaid holidays and go abroad for some lucrative private contracts because the government pays peanuts.

This is also how Los Zetas formed. A bunch of elite soldiers figured out they could make a lot more money as enforcers for drug cartels.

Guess who trained them? The whole cartel/US connection is insane. I'm surprised more media outlets haven't talked about it.

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#135

Post by bogomipz » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:11 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #11

> U.S. law enforcement learned Peter Taylor had booked a flight from Boston to Beirut departing Wednesday with a layover in London and he was arrested by U.S. marshals as was Michael Taylor [1] Why would someone who just helped a fugitive evade the laws of a country the U.S. has an extradition treaty with feel comfortable remaining in Boston? [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-ghosn/us-arrests-t...

Both men are very well-connected and part of the security-industrial complex. Michael lived in Boston where he had a company named American International Security Corporation that was well known for this sort of thing and they contracted with the CIA, DEA, foreign governments etc.

To give an indication:

>"Another company that Furlong sub-contracted was Boston-based American International Security Corporation (AISC) run by Mike Taylor, a former Green Beret turned private investigator. A 1995 lawsuit by Massachusetts State Trooper Robert Monahan accused Taylor of helping drug traffickers by providing phony Greek passports, and even arranging a jailbreak in Florida.

AISC also employed Duane "Dewey" Clarridge, a former senior CIA official who was indicted in 1991 for his role in the Iran-Contra affair. In 1992, just before leaving office, President George H.W. Bush pardoned Clarridge."[1]

and

https://fortune.com/2020/01/06/green-beret-nissan-carlos-gho...

[1] https://corpwatch.org/article/afghanistan-spy-contract-goes-...

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#136

Post by umeshunni » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:12 PM UTC

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #110

md2020 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That doesn't work forever. Name an honourable war conducted by the US military since 1946.

Operation Desert Storm

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#137

Post by zerkten » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:12 PM UTC

djdjrjfbfjd wrote: post #72

blantonl wrote: post #63

It's been extremely disturbing to see how much the culture of special operations military has changed in the past 20 years. Previously, Navy Seal and Green Berets operated in silent, keeping the sausage making of military special operations quiet and secret, just doing their duty. Now, it seems like every Navy SEAL now publically writes a book, sponsors a coffee line, or slaps their name, likeness and story all over…

I worked with seals on a few projects, back when Blackwater was a thing and also more recently, and I wonder what kind of job offers these guys are getting after they leave the military. Or, frighteningly, while they’re still in it. The number and variety of corporate and private mercenary forces is much higher than most people would suspect. The size of Special Operations Command in the active duty US military is al…

I casually follow this topic and have observed this growth. How do people in SOC feel about this growth? Is part of the issue that the specialists are sidelined in the growth of the bureaucracy?

To an outsider it seems like a startup that's been swallowed up by an enterprise company. For the programmers at the startup they had a lot of autonomy, but now most don't have this. Other opportunities seem exciting and there is a feeling that many others are living off the success that you felt you created. I'm sure that's a bad analogy, but it's hard to know from the outside unless you have military links in the US.

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#138

Post by tomjen3 » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:13 PM UTC

pmoriarty wrote: post #75

blantonl wrote: post #63

It's been extremely disturbing to see how much the culture of special operations military has changed in the past 20 years. Previously, Navy Seal and Green Berets operated in silent, keeping the sausage making of military special operations quiet and secret, just doing their duty. Now, it seems like every Navy SEAL now publically writes a book, sponsors a coffee line, or slaps their name, likeness and story all over…

" It's made a complete mockery of what has always been a silent service and honorable job" Killing people and enabling the mass murder machine that is the military is not and has never been honorable.

There are bad people out there. I don't mean assholes and undesirebles. I mean men willing to kidnap and enslave women for sex. I got no issue with them being killed.

And if the US military was a machine for murder they do a pretty bad job of it.

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#139

Post by johnchristopher » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:14 PM UTC

poof131 wrote: post #120

blantonl wrote: post #63

It's been extremely disturbing to see how much the culture of special operations military has changed in the past 20 years. Previously, Navy Seal and Green Berets operated in silent, keeping the sausage making of military special operations quiet and secret, just doing their duty. Now, it seems like every Navy SEAL now publically writes a book, sponsors a coffee line, or slaps their name, likeness and story all over…

The privatization of the military is one of the most corrupt and corrosive things our country has done in a while. I flew F-18s for the Navy and did a ground tour in Iraq with Special Forces. Look at the pay grades in 2020.[1] E3-E6 are making about $25-40k in salary. With some hazard pay and Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Subsistence (BAS), depending on where you live (if not in the barracks) maybe you are ma…

The privatization of the US military is a consequence of the monetization of war that went into full swing around the 2000's. Or so I read from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shock_Doctrine

Re: U.S. arrests former Green Beret, son, in connection with Ghosn escape from Japan

#140

Post by colinmhayes » Wed, May 20, 2020, 5:15 PM UTC

hpoe wrote: post #101

pmoriarty wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" It's made a complete mockery of what has always been a silent service and honorable job" Killing people and enabling the mass murder machine that is the military is not and has never been honorable.

So I'll offer a counterpoint. Maybe what they were doing and the hands moving them weren't honorable but many of these guys joined because they did believe that they were going to defend freedom, they were going to serve their country, and they were going to protect innocents. Now whether or not that's what they actually ended up doing is a question for open debate. But these guys did believe in what they were doing,…

I don't think being ignorant is a valid excuse. Anyone paying attention from 2003ish onward can see that the US military in its current state is not honorable. Signing up because you're too naive to see that doesn't make you honorable.