- Pakistan Troops Killed 'By al Qaeda' (June 26, 2002)
...r details on the US operatives involved. But US Army Green Berets, CIA paramilitary units and telecommunication experts are all active in the area, searching... - Integral War of Attrition in the Rebel Zone of Chiapas (January 21, 2004)
...e in this strategy, and the control and the harassment, including military-paramilitary actions, espionage and counterinsurgency, and judicial and propagandistic... - Haiti's Lawyer: US Is Arming Anti-Aristide Paramilitaries, Calls For UN Peacekeepers (February 25, 2004)
...e that Washington has been involved in a coup in Haiti. Several of the paramilitary leaders now rampaging Haiti are men who were at the forefront of the US-ba... - Radical Jewish Groups Raise Funds in Brooklyn, NY (August 25, 2004)
...actions with them. The group's Web site invites volunteers to Israel for a paramilitary training program in West Bank Jewish settlements. Photographs show part... - Behind 'Plot' on Hussein, a Secret Agenda (June 19, 2002)
... at its disposal—including U.S. military special operations forces and CIA paramilitary teams—to eliminate Iraq's Saddam Hussein. According to reports, the CIA is... - Rumsfeld Admits Number of Security Forces May Have Been Underestimated (December 7, 2003)
...merican soldiers and watched Iraqis train for a new Civil Defense Corps, a paramilitary force designed to help in the hunt for holdouts from Saddam's regime. '... - Mark Thomas Urges the Unions to Take on Coca-Cola (March 29, 2004)
... a week into the protest, and strikers are already being threatened by the paramilitary Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, which issued a statement to "declare war... - Reflections on Haiti and Democracy (February 29, 2004)
... Postcript ( plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose): “The Rebel paramilitary army crossed the border from the Dominican Republic in early February. It... - Clinton Backs Role in Colombia (June 29, 2002)
...residency. The conflict sets two main rebel groups against a right-wing paramilitary army and the government. The U.S. State Department has placed all three il... - Ties Frayed Between US and Iraqi Council (November 10, 2003)
...the United States handing over responsibility for security to an Iraqi-led paramilitary force composed of private militias. Bremer, however, will only hand ov... - Phoenix Rising (January 1, 2004)
... that Congress approved in early November—will go toward the creation of a paramilitary unit manned by militiamen associated with former Iraqi exile groups. Exper... - Shiites Feel Betrayed by Americans (July 2, 2003)
...ath Party that ruled Iraq for decades under Saddam and the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary squads.... - US Closes Consulate in Pakistan (August 5, 2002)
...tani armored troop carriers have also been parked in front, and police and paramilitary rangers stand guard. Last month, France closed its consulate building... - The CIA's Secret Army (January 26, 2003)
... Some longtime intelligence watchers are wondering whether a reinvigorated paramilitary wing of the CIA could be a mixed blessing for America once again. And the... - Top General Sees Extended War (March 28, 2003)
...ere we'd expected." What was unexpected, however, was the zeal of Iraqi paramilitary fighters. U.S. military planners had anticipated fighting three Iraqi m...
Paramilitary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Paramilitary units can serve many different functions. Some are created by governments as internal security forces. Some are formed as revolutionary groups, or engage in guerilla warfare, and may fight against opposing government paramilitaries. Some are commando units, created by a state and intended for non-traditional combat missions, operating outside the military. Still other paramilitary groups adopt aspects of military culture, discipline, and/or organization, but are not intended to see any form of combat.
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Paramilitary groups as security forces
These groups are neither a police agency nor a military organization, having elements of both but also lacking elements of both. Much of the world's military forces, particularly in developing countries, could be considered paramilitary; they are oriented towards controlling their own country's population rather than toward the role of a professional military.
This sort of paramilitary force typically exists to assure the internal control of a country and to suppress anarchy or civil war. They are typically armed with small arms and wear military uniforms. They are also often equipped with tear gas and other non-lethal weapons. Such paramilitaries may be controlled by the ruling political party or by the head of state personally rather than by the government.
These forces ostensibly operate to enforce the law but may act with disregard of the law or at cross-purposes to the existing civilian or military authorities. Paramilitary forces have been responsible for some violations of the laws of war and for several atrocities.
In military terms, paramilitary security forces are typically light infantry. Effectively led they can stand in defense, especially in cities or urban areas, but are less capable of offensive action or sustained combat operations due to a lack of heavy weapons, professional military training, and effective logistics support.
Examples of this kind of paramilitary force include the People's Armed Police in the People's Republic of China which was split off from the People's Liberation Army in 1983 precisely to remove paramilitary duties from the PLA, Colombian right wing paramilitary groups such as the AUC, and police Special Weapons And Tactics units.
Revolutionary and guerilla paramilitary groups
Some paramilitaries are formed to fight the current government of a country or region. This includes rebellions against recognized governments and attacks on occupying forces. While some insurrections are carried out by rebellious units of a country's military, many are staged by paramilitary groups. When a group is acting locally against a military occupation, its members may be referred to as partisans.Unlike state security paramilitaries, these groups are typically engaged in asymmetric warfare against an established and stronger force. In fact, they may be fighting both against the government and against other paramilitaries that support or are controlled by the government.
Examples include FARC in Colombia, the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.
Paramilitary commandos
In some cases, paramilitary groups are formed to perform commando functions. Unlike internal security forces and revolutionaries, commando paramilitary groups are generally small and highly trained. The CIA's paramilitary operations are an example.
Paramilitary groups as mercenaries
Paramilitary groups may also be formed to serve as mercenaries or private armies. Among the best-known of such groups is Executive Outcomes, a mercenary corporation that operated in Africa in the 1990s.
Non-combat paramilitary organizations
Because "paramilitary" refers to the organization, not the purpose, of a group, some groups could be called paramilitary whose main purpose is not to fight.Examples include various cadet corps and the US Civil Air Patrol.
See also: police, military, military dictatorship, political
External links
BBC's The World explains the CIA's paramilitary operations in Afghanistan