“Mad Mike” Hoare was perhaps the best-known mercenary since Xenophon. Like the ancient Greek general, he had a remarkable gift for leadership in trying circumstances, notably in the mid-1960s in what became known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where his “Wild Geese” saved thousands of lives during the Simba (Lion) rebellion.Congo Mercenary is a great book (although it should probably be taken with a pinch or two of salt - Mike Hoare was definitely not averse to polishing his legend a little). I'll have to drag it out and have another read...
"I have often been called a Nazi, and, although it is unfair, I don't let it bother me. I don't let it bother me for one simple reason. No one has ever had a sexual fantasy about being tied to a bed and ravished by a liberal." PJ O'Rourke, Give War a Chance
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Tuesday, February 04, 2020
Mad Mike
Now there's someone I assumed had died decades ago! He'd be absolutely delighted with his Times obit:
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