United Arab Emirates seeks to recruit 3000 Colombian soldiers

The United Arab Emirates is seeking to enlist 3,000 Colombian soldiers in the oil-rich Arab country’s armed forces, weekly Semana reported Sunday.

According to the weekly, 842 Colombian soldiers and retired soldiers have already joined the UAE army which is paying salaries up to ten times what the Colombian state pays the members of its armed forces.

The transfer of soldiers to the foreign army is causing unease among Colombia’s military commanders because the military fears the higher salaries abroad are draining the army of its best men and women.

According to the former colonel, the Colombians’ responsibilities “range from urban defense against terrorist attacks to the control of civil uprisings and even be prepared for a possible border conflict with Iran.”

The United Arab Emirates is one of the few countries in the Middle East that has not been affected by the “Arab spring,” a wave of revolutionary social unrest that forced four rulers in the region from power.
- Colombia Reports

Via Jeremy Scahill @Twitter and as he observed ‘what could possibly go wrong?’