I disagree with the author&#x27;s attitude towards mercenaries operating in foreign countries. Having read &quot;The Modern Mercenary&quot;, by former Blackwater merc, Sean McFate, I am fully convinced that mercenaries have a desirable and necessary place in future conflicts.<p>Take Afghanistan for example. It is a nation at a major geographic crossroads that truly acts as a set of tribes and alliances, not a Westphalian-style state that is Westerners think ought to be the standard. That&#x27;s why no matter how much &quot;nation building&quot; we do, nothing succeeds.<p>Instead, as McFate argues, we should have mercenaries prevent groups like al Qaeda from using that space to plan attacks on American soil, instead of spending political capital on forever wars. Mercenaries will be seen as a foreign defense mechanism against terrorism, like what we see the TSA doing at home. (Disagree with their tactics all you want, but they have stopped <i>some</i> bombings).