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most prominent is probably the army of Libya, financed by petrodollars
and swelled far out of proportion to the desert state' s size by Moslem-and
now, it appears, American-mercenaries. But historically not only the
French but also the British Empire was largely built by hired soldiers. In
the case of Britain, the troops were employed by the Chartered Companies
who actually represented Britain in their respective franchises. The British
Army's famous Irish-Catholic regiments-the Connaught Rangers,
Munster Fusiliers, and so on-all traced their origin to the largely Irish
force recruited by the East India Company about 200 years ago....
There is a sense, however, in which an American Foreign Legion
would be unique . America is not only a nation but also an idea. It has
adherents in every country on the globe. Its legionnaires would be idealists,
and their volunteering would be a standing reproach to their governments:
a sort of inverse human rights policy.
Of course, we must make some concession to contemporary taste .
"Foreign Legion" sounds imperialistic, but what hearts could be melted at
the idea of an "International Brigade."
Ernest
van
den
Haag
replies:
Peter Brimelow
BARRON'S
New York
Peter Brimelow has done something I also thought impossible : he has
greatly improved on my original idea and its elaboration . I am grateful.
Exchange of letters in
Policy Review,
Spring 1982
Editor's Note: The International Brigade was the name of the Communist–
controlled unit in the Spanish Civil War.
