Conor McGregor just belongs in Westeros.
Some odds-n-ends I’ve collected in the trapline this past week:
• The colorful Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor has landed a gig in Game of Thrones.
According to a source at Watchers on the Wall, McGregor has been cast as a crew member on Euron Greyjoy’s ship, the Silence. Why is the ship called the Silence? Because Euron has cut the tongues out of everyone crewing it, as he and Balon discussed in Season 6. No word on how the famously verbose McGregor will adapt to not being allowed to speak.
I really need to catch back up on that show.
• Christopher Othen’s exploration of obscure, shadowy figures of the militant European right wing of the 20th Century continues. His two posts on the French mercenary Dominique Borella are good reading. Here and here. I’m fascinated by such fringe characters. Borella fought in Indochina, Algeria and died in Lebanon, in the service of the Christian Phalangist militias in the civil war.
Dominique Borella fighting in Cambodia.
Dominique Borella shaking hands with Pierre Gemayel, founder of Hizb Al-Kata’eb Al-Lubnaniyah (the Lebanese Phalange Party) and biggest warlord in the country. — Both photos from Christopher Othen’s blog https://christopherothen.wordpress.com/
• Stumbled across Eve Ball’s In The Days Of Victorio, her oral memoir of the Warm Springs Apache James Kaywaykla and the great Apache guerrilla fighter’s campaign in 1879-80. Victorio deserves a serious post — I’ll get on that.
The debt we owe to Eve Ball is tremendous. Her empathy and ear and commitment to record the memories of the combatants in the final Apache wars gave us invaluable historical documentation from the native viewpoint, and constitutes a wonderful tribute to this great warrior people. If you have the least interest in the Apaches, you must read In The Days Of Victorio and Indeh.
• Deuce Richardson forwarded me an interesting piece on the apparent deployment of Chechen special forces in Syria.
Russia will be sending operators from the so-called “Chechen” special forces battalions “West” and “East” to Syria to “guard the Russian installations” in Khmeimim and Tartus. According to Russian sources, these two battalions have been converted into a “military police” force which will be fully deployed by the end of December.
The Chechens, of course, have been insanely badass Frontier Partisan fighters for centuries.
The author believes there is much more afoot than sending a bunch of badass Sunni operators to guard a couple of installations. There are plenty of losers in the Syrian civil war, but it sure seems that Russia and Iran are poised to be the geo-strategic winners.
Chechens have always been tough guys.
Matthew says
The Borella thing is interesting. Bloody thirsty mercenary or Knight-Errant? Everything I read about the French press is that is even more divided and vicious than the American press.
I remember reading about the Chechen units in the Russian/Chechen war in Soldier of Fortune. They talked about various atrocities. They were called mercenaries and it’s the only time in a Soldier of Fortune magazine that I can remember it being used pejoratively. It goes without saying that is ironic.
JimC says
Irony as an extreme sport. Geez.
One of the things that I find fascinating (as does Othen) about these fringe characters is that there is such a rich, dark stew of motivation. It’s not an either/or proposition. There’s the war-junkie-feeding -an-addiction aspect; there’s genuine “idealism” in the sense that they seriously believe they are fighting a foe that threatens Western Civilization; there’s the financial lure to men who generally don’t have great conventional career options; there’s a sense of belonging in a collection of misfits. I’m sure these things have driven the mercenary since time immemorial.
Matthew says
It’s a mistake that to assume a person has only one motivation.
Matthew says
I remember reading about mercenaries who went to the Balkans in the 90s to fight for the Croats. They ranged from a kid who was horrified about the atrocities and went to fight to stop them at a young age. From what I can tell he was just handed a rifle and shoved to the front lines. There were British soldiers who went because they were war-junkies (or needed a job.) They ended up fighting along side members of the IRA who went because they were Catholic extremists. They was one who was a Neo-Nazi who wanted to kill “communists.” (Russia was backing the Serbs.)
Nowadays, the Balkans are a major exporter of mercenaries to Syria and the Ukraine.
JimC says
One of the books I’m reading right now is “The Trigger,” by Tim Butcher. Balkan War reporter who goes back to trace the path of Gavrilo Princip. The Balkans are fascinating — truly a frontier environment for hundreds of years. The World War II civil war was unbelievably savage, as was the 90s conflict. The 90s horror show really did draw some strange characters, including a bunch of future al Qaeda figures. Hadn’t heard about the IRA and the Croats, but it makes sense.
Rick Schwertfeger says
I just read the two postings by Othen. I’ve also read his Katanga book – which is really good. Mercenary certainly is a strange but interesting profession. All the above comments are good, too.
JimC says
You are really trolling through the archives. I like that.