Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Private military contractors Essay Example for Free
Private military contractors Essay Introduction            Private military contractors, also known as private security contractors provide a number of different services for the UN military in Iraq. Various services include the preparation of meals, navigating army supply vehicles, military training and security for US officials. Some private military contractors also provide interrogation and translating services for the US military. Contractors providing this service in particualr have been suspected of a number of human rights abuses at the Abu Ghraid Prison. Other activities by private military contractors have raised issues about humanitarian conerns and the abuse of womren’s rights.  There are currently at least 100 private military contractors in Iraq.[1] This discussion looks at the unique role of private military companies in Iraq and examines their impact on the rights of women. Private Military Companies in Iraq            The US military and the State Department spends billions of dollars on private security contractors in Iraq.[2] These contractors according to the Washington Post are: â€Å"Out of public view, have been engaged in a parallel surge, boosting manpower, adding expensive armor and stepping up evasive action as attacks increase.†[3]            The primary goal is to â€Å"offset chronic troop shortage†and the number of invidual contractors are between 20,000 and 30,000.[4] David Isenberg in a report by the British American Security Information Council published on September 4, 2004 maintains that it is impossible to accurately account for the number of private military companies currently in Iraq. This is because only PMC’s whose contracts exceed $50 million are required â€Å"to be reported to Congress.†[5]            Isenberg complains that the legal status of private military companies is especially problematic since there is no real provision in International law to account for their role and definition.[6] While many view the private military personnel as mercenaries, they do not fit the definition of mercenry within the meaning of the Geneva Convention.[7] Article 47 describes a mercenary as an idividual who takes part in military combat and is not a national and: is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party.[8]            James Conachy however, refers to these private military personnel as â€Å"modern-day mercenaries.†[9] Conachy aligns their physical presence with their abstract presence. While they are by and large not subjected to transparency and legal accountability in the traditional sense they operate out of uniform and from â€Å"unmarked vehicles†.[10] They go about their business in this manner while â€Å"manning roadblocks, or stalking outstide building, with machine guns.†[11] As a result, the private militaray presence in Iraq has â€Å"become an ubiquitous and offensive symbol of the US occupation.†[12]            Conachy maintains that the need for private military presence in Iraq is obviated by the bredth of US military deployment overseas following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Without the use of private military companies the US would be compelled to send more troops to Iraq from an already depleted armed force or would have to seriously consider â€Å"reviving the military draft.†[13] It is obvious from this assessment of the single purpose of the private military that distinguishes them from the Article 47 definition of mercenary. Mercenaries are not aligned to a paritcular party and obviously the private military contractors are aligned to the US and are used to facilitate the US military’s shortfall.            The following description of private military duties takes them well outside of Article 47’s definition of mercenary: â€Å"Far more than in any other conflict in United States history, the Pentagon is relying on private security companies to perform crucial jobs once entrusted to the military.†[14] It is clear that private military companies are not in actual combat. Mercernaries, according to the Geneva Convetions are actively fighting . Human Rights Concern and Women            In an article published in the Guardian, Luke Harding explains that the full extent of abuse toward women by all sectors of the military in Iraq will not be fully known. This is primarily because Islamic women rarely discuss violations of a sexual nature. Rape, Harding maintains is a symbol of shame in the muslim world and â€Å"victims can be killed to salvage family honour.†[15] The most shocking incidents of abusive treatment of women originate from the Abu Ghraib jail which was primarily manned by private military personnel.[16] Accroding to Patrap Chatterjee the private military’s role at the Abu Ghraib jail was one of interrogation which brought them into more frequent contact with the prisoners than other jail personnel.[17]            The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that in October 2003 there were approximately thirty female prisoners in the Abu Ghraib jail.[18] According to prison personnel, that number was reduced to five by May of 2004.[19] The Internation League for Peace and Freedom had documented some eye witness accounts of abuse at the Abu Ghraid jail. One such account was given to Iman Khamas who heads the International Occupation Watch Center, a private organization that collects anti-human rights information. The account came from a former prisoner who told Khamas of a rape incident at the jail. Khamas reports that the prisoner recalls that: â€Å"†¦ the prisoner said her cellmate had been rendered unconscious for 48 hours. ‘She claimed she had been raped 17 times in one day by Iraqi police in the presence of American soldiers.’[20]            Another report originated from Mohammed Daham al-Mohammed who heads an Iraqi group, the Union of Detainees and Prisoners. According to a-Mohammed he was informed of a â€Å"mother of four†who had been arrested in December of 2003 and killed herself after being raped by US guards who forced her husband to watch while incarcerated at the Abu Ghraib jail.[21]  According to the woman’s sister the rape victim committed suicide.[22] The victim had told her sister of incidents of physical abuse outside of the rape. In one account she recalled a American male pulling her by the hair and forcing her to look at her husband while the American took off her clothing. After this incident the rape took place. Once released, the woman was afraid to face her husband since he had witnessed the rape and asked her sister to help her commit suicide.[23]            A former male prisoner reported incidents where women were constantly removed from their cells to private rooms. The prisoner explains: They had to pass in front of our tent and cried out, Find a way to kill us.[24] Human Rights groups explain that rape for a Muslim woman shames the entire family which is why these women would rather die having suffered a rape.[25] Khamas recalls an incident in which she visited a woman at the Abu Ghraid jail and a female prisoner told her about a rape, but whispered in her ear despite the fact that no one else was present.[26]            Khamas, Mohommed and Hoda Nuaimi, a professor in politics at Baghdad University report that: â€Å"†¦three young rural women from the Sunni Muslim region of Al-Anbar, west of Baghdad, had been killed by their families after coming out of Abu Ghraib pregnant.Nuaimi said that in the case of another such woman, who was four months pregnant, her brother had been reluctant to kill his sister because he considered her a victim.†[27]            Luke Harding reports that the first information about abuse of female victims at the Abu Ghraib jail, a US facility first came to light by a note smuggled out of the prison by a female prisoner.[28] In the note the woman claimed that women were being raped by US personnel and many of them had become pregnant. The note also begged the Iraqis to â€Å"bomb the jail to spare the women further shame.†[29]            Swadi, a female lawyer among seven representing the female detainees indicated that the abuse was not limited to the Abu Ghraib jail and was happening all over Iraq.[30] The shame associated with rape and the consequence for family disgrace were evident in the following account from a female prisoner at al-Kharkh, a US military base: She was the only woman who would talk about her case. She was crying. She told us she had been raped†¦Several American soldiers had raped her. She had tried to fight them off and they had hurt her arm. She showed us the stitches. She told us, We have daughters and husbands. For Gods sake dont tell anyone about this.’†[31]            Luke Harding also reports that an investigation conducted by the US Military which was headed by Major General Antonio Taguba confirmed the contents of the note smuggled out of the Abu Ghraib facility. Moreover, digital photographs, according to Tajuba’s findings also depitcted US personnel engaging in sexual contact â€Å"with and Iraqi woman.†[32] Tajuba’s investigation also found videotapes of nude female prisoners.[33] There are additional photographs of Iraqi women being forced at gun point to â€Å"bare their breasts.†[34] While these photographs have been relased to Congress they have not been released to the public.[35]            In May of 2004: â€Å"an Iraqi woman in her 70s had been harnessed and ridden like a donkey at Abu Ghraib and another coalition detention centre after being arrested last July.†[36] UK Labor Member of Parliament Ann Clwyd investigated the incident and confirmed that it was in fact true. The Iraqi elderly woman had been held without charge for at least three weeks during which time â€Å"she was told that she was a donkey.†[37]            Luke Harding explains the devastating consequences for female rape victims which only accentuates the abuse involved. According to Harding: â€Å"Honour killings are not unusual in Islamic society, where rape is often equated with shame and where the stigma of being raped by an American soldier would, according to one Islamic cleric, be unbearable. The prospects for rape victims in Iraq are grave; it is hardly surprising that no women have so far come forward to talk about their experiences in US-run jails where abuse was rife until early January.†[38]            At the time of writing, Harding describes another incident of physical and mental abuse agianst female detainees in Iraq in which the private military personnel are activiely involved. Five women, according to Harding were being held in â€Å"solitary confinement†in cells measuring just 2.5 meters in length and 1.5 meters in width at Abu Ghraib.[39] Captain Dave Quantock who was then in charge of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib told journalists that all female prisoners at Abu Ghraib are kept â€Å"in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.†[40] The only entertainment the women are allowed is access to the Koran.[41]            Mystery surrounds the grounds upon which the five females in solitary confinement are held. The general term used is that they are held as â€Å"security detainees.†[42] Swabi maintains that these women are being held â€Å"for who they were married to and their potential intelligence value.†[43] Be that as it may, the degree of abusse cannot be justified. Under both US and International laws the cruel and inhuman treatement of prisoners at anytime is unlawful.            International humanitarian laws contained in the Geneva Conventions 1949 of which the United States ratified since 1955 requires that during times of war and peace all prisoners are to be treated humanly.[44] More over the Geneva Convention IV specifically prohibits rape and indecent assault on women. Article 27 provides as follows: â€Å"Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitutiOn, or any form of indecent assault.†[45]            Judicth Gail Gardam and Hillary Charlesworth argue that women have always been at risk of violence in armed conflict. Although the emphasis has always been on sexual violence there have been other forms of violence against women. Gardam and Charlesworth note that the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action called for governments worldwide to map out plans for combatting: â€Å"the effects of armed or other kind of conflict on women, including those living under foreign occupation.†[46] The Iraqi conflict and occupation and the violence against women is therefore nothing new. What is perhaps more surprising is the fact that it could happen in light of international laws and attention to violence against women in the past. Conclusion            An irony arises out of these reports. The US invasion has been called â€Å"operation Iraqi freedom†which presupposes a vastly humanitarian effort. Yet in the course of fighting for Iraqi freedom, those sent to fight for the cause have added to the problem. Roger Normand alleges that the US personnel in Iraq are: â€Å"†¦violating almost every law intended to protect civilians living under foreign military occupation.[47] While many of these crimes are being committed by private military companies,  the world at large and the Iraqi populace draw no distinction between the US soldiers and the security companies employed by them to help the cause. The private military and security personnel are agents of the US government and as such the US government is vicariosuly liable for the misconduct of the private miliatary contractors. As long as they are permitted to continue working with and for the military and as long as they continue to violate international law particularly article 27 of the fourth Geneva Convention, the US must take responsibility for the ills committed by them. They cannot take the benefit without the burden.  Bibliography Center for Economic and Social Rights.(n.d.) â€Å"New Report Documents Extensive U.S. War Crimes In Iraq†. Available online at: http://www.ccmep.org/2004_articles/iraq/061104_CESR.htm Retrieved December 11 2007 Chatterjee, Pratap. (May 12, 2004) â€Å"Private Contractors and Torture at Abu Ghraib, Iraq.†Democracy Now. Available online at: http://www.democracynow.org/2004/5/12/private_contractors_and_torture_at_abu Retrieved December 11, 2007 Conachy, Jamers. (May 3, 2004) â€Å"Private Military Companies in Iraq: Profiting from Colonialism.†International committee of the Fourth Amendment. Available online at: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/may2004/pmcs-m03.shtml Retrienved December 11, 2007 Fainaru, Steve. (June 16, 2007) â€Å"Iraq Contractors Face Growing Parallel War: As Security Work Increase, So do Casualties.†Washington Post Gardam, Judith, Gail and Charlesworth, Hillary. (Feb. 2000) â€Å"Protection of Women in Armed Conflict†. Human Rights Quarterly Vol. 22 No. 1 pp 148-166 Geneva Convention Harding, Luke. (May 12, 2004)†Focus Shifts to Jail Abuse of Women.†The Guardian. Harding, Luke. (May 20, 2004) â€Å"Rape in Iraq: The other prisoners.†The Guardian. Isenberg, David. (Sept. 4, 2004) â€Å"A Fistful of Contractors: A Case For a Pragmatic Assessment of Private Military Companies in Iraq.†British American Security Information Council, Research Report. Kabbara, Rouba. (May, 29, 2004) â€Å"Human Rights Groups: Iraqi Women Raoed at Abu Ghraib Jail.†Peace Women Available online at: http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Iraq/May04/Women%20in%20Prison.html Retrieved Deember 10 2007
Monday, January 20, 2020
Business Challenges :: essays research papers
     Becoming a CEO of a company whether it’s big or small, is a huge task to take on, but can be the most rewarding depending on how your company does. Either way when going into such a job, in which you are so powerful, you have to think of each and every challenge that you come across within your job. Challenges that your company will face can vary in many different ways, from environmental issues, to social issues, economic issues, as well as many more      For my company, Staples, I have worked in the store since I was 15, going through quite a few managers. Luckily I got to meet people very high in the corporation, such as the president and vice president of the company, and I could see how stressful their jobs have been. As being the CEO of Staples there are many problems that can come into effect. First thing that comes to mind is competition. Our competitors Office Max, and Office Depot are our biggest threat in the office supply business. Our company holds about 1100 stores, while they have about 700 each, and each day they take away business from us. We have to fluctuate our prices with what’s popular for that time of season, such as pens, notebooks and computers for back-to-school, and make sure our prices are more convenient for the customer.      The second dilemma that comes to mind is geography. Considering we have over 1000 locations, we have to figure out where the appropriate places for a new store would be. For instance if we only have 2 stores in Maine, we can’t put them together, yet we need to put them in a somewhat populated place, that would be most convenient for the business customer. For us, globalization is not a very big problem considering that we only have one store in France, one in Germany, and two in Puerto Rico.      As for a third challenge is technology. Everything is becoming on-line, and on the Internet. Some people can’t go out to the store everyday do but something they need, and each store can’t carry every product. So as a CEO the best solution is to put them online so people can shop at home, and have the products shipped to their doorstep. Also by having staples.com available in store, if the store itself is out of a product, just order it.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Are We Living in a Surveillance Society?
We might think no one else either knows or cares what we get up to, as long as we compliance the law, unless we are a celebrity. But with massive development of technology, that is no longer the case and I totally agreed with the statement that we are living in a surveillance society. Moreover, I strongly believed that the level of surveillance will grow even further in the future. If we use loyalty cards or credit cards we can earn points and receive money off vouchers, but we also allow retailers keep data on what we've bought and where we've bought it. The money we spend on credit cards is also monitored to check for any unusual spending patterns, which could indicate the card has been stolen. With the increasingly sophisticated technology, using internet becomes a daily activities of most of the people especially those who live in town. However, when we use the internet, records are kept about what we've been searching for, that can help if we want to log back on and do a similar search, but sad to say, it also means the provider keeps detailed information about our surfing habits. The same thing happen when we use the Global Positioning System (GPS). It not only will guides us any destination that we want to go, but also alerts us to speed and traffic light cameras on the way  ¬ which record our progress. Besides, when we use our mobile to call anyone, this will be logged by the telephone company and could be used by police to locate where the phone was at the time. In short, if this issue continues to develope, we would not have any freedom again as our daily life will be monitored. Thus, I hope that appropiate steps should be taken to solve this problem before our life become no privacy at all.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Ocd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment - 131367 Words
COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR OCD This page intentionally left blank COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR OCD DAVID A. CLARK THE GUILFORD PRESS New York London  © 2004 The Guilford Press A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc. 72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012 www.guilford.com All rights reserved Paperback edition 2007 Except as noted, no part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher. Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper. Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 LIMITED†¦show more content†¦However, by the late 1980s and early 1990s, behavioral researchers like Paul Salkovskis and Jack Rachman were advocating a more integrative theory and treatment of OCD, an approach that amalgamated the behavioral treatment of OCD with Beck’s (1976) cognitive theory of emotional disorders. From these two theoretical perspectives on clinical disorders, a new cognitive-behavioral approach to o bsessions and compulsions was born. In many respects, my own professional development has taken a path similar to that seen in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for obsessional states. My roots are in the behavioral tradition, dating back to the early 1980s when I was a graduate student at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, England. My interest in OCD and unwanted intrusive thoughts was sparked by the stimulating discussions and innovative research of the clinical faculty, most notably Jack Rachman and Padmal de Silva. My doctoral thesis on the psychophysiology of mental control and unwanted intrusive thoughts was an outgrowth of their insights into the pathology of obsessional thought. vii viii Preface In the late 1980s, I was introduced to the cognitive perspective on clinical disorders by Aaron T. Beck. I was privileged to spend a few months at the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia, where I received training in Beck’s therapy approach. Over the last 15 years I haveShow MoreRelatedOcd Speech991 Words  | 4 Pagespersonally suffer from OCD, I have met people who do. I do, however, believe that everyone has something in his/her life that requires repetition until perfection. For instance, when I draw or create artwork, it has to be perfect down to the last pencil, pen, crayon, paint, or charcoal mark. If even one thing is out of place, it will bother me and I will constantly dwell on it until it is fixed. This is not truly a form of OCD, but it does give me a taste of what those who suffer from OCD go through on aRead MoreObsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )1429 Words  | 6 PagesObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric illness that is characte rized by two traits: obsessions and compulsions (Storch et al., 2007). The obsessions are typically thoughts that are both repetitive and intrusive in nature, while the compulsions are actions performed to decrease the anxiety induced by these obsessions. OCD occurs in about 1-4% of the population and often symptoms arise in childhood and can continue throughout one’s life depending on the level of treatment received and the levelRead MoreObsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )1601 Words  | 7 PagesBrief Overview Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by constant intrusive thoughts (obsessions) that normally cause anxiety or distress which can only be alleviated by performing repetitive actions (compulsions) (Rahimi, Haghighi, and Shamsaei, 2015). Nearly everyone has experienced something similar to these obsessions and compulsions at some point in their life but this experience can only be labeled as OCD when it occurs at least one hour per day andRead More Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Essay example1575 Words  | 7 Pagescompulsive disorder (OCD). It was once thought that OCD was rare; however, recently it has been found that 2-3% (or 7 million Americans) of people have OCD. People with OCD are usually diagnosed by between the ages of 20 and 30, and about 75% of those who will develop OCD will show symptoms by age 30. (1) This leads to a couple questions that need to be answered: What is OCD? What causes it, and what is the most effective tr eatment? These questions will be answered throughout the paper. OCD is an anxietyRead MoreObsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )974 Words  | 4 Pagesdisorders have different attributes and characteristics which makes them unique and requires different treatments too. one of these mental disorders that quite a number of people suffer from – whether they are conscious about it or not – is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). But what is OCD? How does it affect our daily lives? What is OCD? obsessive compulsive disorder, often referred to as OCD, is a mental health disorder that may affect people of all gender, age and walks of life. It is a commonRead MoreObsessive-Compulsive Disorder Essay939 Words  | 4 Pagesknown as OCD, is a psychiatric anxiety disorder that is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts along with repetitive behaviors. These unwanted thoughts are called obsessions and the repetitive behaviors are called compulsions. Repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, checking, counting, and cleaning are usually performed with the hope of making these obsessive thoughts go away or even preventing them. These repetitive behaviors are often referred to as ‘rituals’. People with OCD performRead MoreObsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )1224 Words  | 5 PagesDisorder, otherwise known as OCD, has on an individual. The paper will explain and interpret the link between obsession and compulsion that is characteristic of being diagnosed with OCD. In addition, this paper will describe the impact having this disorder can have on an individual in their day to day lives. This paper will clearly articulate exactly what the definition of having OCD is and how often it is self-diagnosed in error. In addition, the paper will provide symptoms along with real world examplesRead MoreObsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )1114 Words  | 5 PagesIntroduction Obsessive compulsive disorder is influenced by neurological factors with symptoms such as repeating steps, continuously washing their hands, and having a fear of objects like germs. Although there is no cure, there are treatments such as medication and therapy that can help lessen the patient’s anxiety and discomfort. What is obsessive compulsive disorder? Obsessive compulsive disorder also known as OCD, is an anxiety disorder. People who have this disorder have repetitive thoughts andRead MoreThe Identification and Treatment of OCD Essay1221 Words  | 5 PagesThere are many different aspects to the identification and treatment of OCD and this paper attempts to identify classic symptoms and theorized risk factors/causes. In addition it explores the viable treatment options and evaluates the efficiency of each in alleviating symptoms while discussing how each treatment functions to facilitate recovery. Furthermore, it assesses the extent to which the treatments may be used together to maximize effectiveness and then provides a probable prognosis. VerifyingRead MoreObsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )1602 Words  | 7 PagesAccording to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder foundation ( (International OCD Foundation, 2016), â€Å"OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing.†They compare OCD to a brain spasm; the brain freezes on a certain thought and cannot move forward. The brain is incapable of dealing with thoughts of worry or doubt. This causes many side effects that can clearly distinguish a person as OCD. Obsessive compulsive disorder is a disease that many people know of, but few people
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