Talk:Executive Outcomes

Founder

The introductory text hosted on the .mil site contradicts this article's claim that Simon Mann founded EO: "When researching EO, it must be understood that Eeben Barlow, its founder...." It also makes it clear that the company was founded in 1989, not 1993 as the Wikipedia article wrongly states.

It's also worth nothing that the Army page's links are woefully outdated and many, if not most, of the links are dead.

The content seems to concentrate more on Mann than EO, which are distinct entities. From my reading on EO, I can't find evidence that Mann was the sole owner of EO.

What exactly constitutes "making a fortune"? This and other content sounds editorialized, as if the author intends to portray Mann as a nefarious war profiteer. While that may be the case, it should be made clear, rather than hiding under innuendo.

The CNN article (Aug 28, 2004) quoted in the article is a dead link. I tried searching CNN's site, but couldn't find this article. The other article that dealt with the EO scandal published on that date was http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/08/28/equatorial.thatcher/index.html

I could not find the direct quote on CNN's site. Maybe the link should be changed or updated?

EO was prominently featured in: History Channel "Soldiers for Hire" documentary I took some of the information from that source.

I corrected, rewrote, and updated much of this article because of these issues.

--SamClayton 07:35, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Sounds like a typical wiki argument. Eben Barlow has a book and an excellent blog specifically to correct much of the misinformation generated about EO. The truth and the facts are much less exciting than the speculation. Often the story the media tells has little to do with the actual events and company in question.

- EO was a South African company created to provide skills and training from ex military to private sector. There is nothing unusual or illegal at the time. There is some good information on this page about the early growth and structure. - EO contacted by Simon Mann and Tony Buckingham to liberate his oil gear in the port of Soyo. After some members were killed EO hit the world's media radar. - They were then hired to train the Angolan forces and provided a more robust role in combat. They made a lot of money very quickly and invested in in many strange ventures. None panned out as well as the original idea of providing ex soldiers to train and fight in bush wars. - The funds from that venture pushed EO into a more visible and commercial position. Simon Mann and Tony Buckingham can be viewed as clients and EO as the contractors for that venture. There were some attempts to legitimize the provision of military services using a front man (Tim Spicer) and South Africans to do the heavy lifting - There were attempts to create other "EO"'s some real, some fake, some overtly criminal. Just having South Africans on the payroll (like Tim Spicer and Aegis in Iraq or Simon Mann and his coup attempt) doesn't mean you are EO - EO worked in Angola, Sierra Leone, East Timor and with Sandline in Sierra Leone and Papua New Guinea - EO as a business was shut down due to pending anti-mercenary legislation which has never really been enforced - Simon Mann, Tim Spicer, Tony Buckingham and the rest of the non South Africans tried to create a legitimate umbrella or shell company for EO but failed magnificently in Sierra Leone and Bougainville. Sandline is dead and its offshoots are dead. - The coup attempt in EG involved some former EO and Sandline folks but Logo Logistics was Simon Mann's corporate entity (created after his and Tim Spicer's split with Sandline) You can read all about EO, Sandline, Logo Logistics etc and the modern versions in my book) Thatcher, Calil and Wales had nothing to do with EO but many of the same people have worked in many iterations of security firms who hired South Africans from the apartheid era (black and white) - Many of the same people who worked for EO currently work in Iraq and Afghanistan for private security firms. - There are plenty of excellent books that could be referenced to provide dates, names and facts - Opinions and conspiracy theories about EO are usually a waste of time since an "encyclopedia" should provide facts, the media can make up the rest :))

- RYP —Preceding unsigned comment added by RYP (talk • contribs) 22:48, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

There is no real conflict between the founding date of 1989 and the date when the company was registered in the UK in 1993 as a limited (LTD) concern. There is an intrinsic difference between founding a company and then officially registering it. There are no real complications with that at all and they are not contradictory. 5.56.31.175 (talk) 13:20, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

Operations in East Timor

Does anyone's knows if EO has been operating in East Timor for sure? given to the political sensitivities of its bigger neighboors like Australia, im doubtful if they were ever present there(EO attempt to help PNG in bougainville crisis,ended in failure due to objections by Australia). If so, can anyone indicate what role that EO participated on?

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