[6] Most recently, for example, the State Department approved a license for a US company to help bolster security in Equatorial Guinea, an African country of half a million people that is run by a military dictator and has no US embassy.
Former four-star generals
[7] Defenders the PMCs note that they are staffed mostly by retired military officials and have eased the pressure on US troops, which are increasingly burdened by foreign interventions and peacekeeping missions.
[8] And PMCs dovetail with a larger US policy of encouraging military-to-military ties, in the hope that a professional army can stabilize a fragile democracy.
[9] Thus in some countries, the military firms may be tools of nation-building, not destruction. In Nigeria, where the US recently restored military aid after an era of dictatorship, some aid will pay for a private firm to train a more responsible military.
[10] Because PMCs are not categorized by the US government, and they have received little public attention, it is difficult to determine their scope.
[6]举例说，就在最近，国务院批准一家美国公司向赤道几内亚提供安全支援。赤道几内亚是一个非洲国家，人口50万，由一位军事独裁者统治着，美国在该国没有大使馆。
退役的四星将军
[7]私营军事公司为自己辩解说，公司里的职员大部分是退役军官，他们可以减轻美国部队因介入外国事务和维和任务而肩负的越来越沉重的压力。
[8]而且私营军事公司与美国一项较大的政策相吻合，即：鼓励军队与军队之间紧密联系，希望一支职业军队能够使脆弱的民主得以巩固。
[9]因此，在某些国家中，军事公司也许是建设而不是破坏国家的工具。在尼日利亚结束了独裁专制时代之后，美国最近恢复了对该国的军事援助，某些援助将采用付款的办法请一家私营公司帮助训练一支更负责任的军队。
[10]因为美国政府没有给私营军事公司归类，且这种公司很少引起公众的注意，所以很难确定他们的业务范围。
