The Magazine for Mercenaries Enters Polite Society
Susan Katz Keating is modernizing Soldier of Fortune, focusing on its controversial history and predominantly male, right-leaning audience, while downplaying concerns about civil unrest and political violence.
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Susan Katz Keating, the editor and publisher of Soldier of Fortune, is revitalizing the magazine, which has a history of controversial war reporting and gun-for-hire ads. Keating, who began contributing to the magazine in the 1980s, purchased it from its founder two years ago. She aims to modernize the publication, which has shifted to an online platform and experienced a decline in circulation since the Cold War. Keating's interest in mercenaries was sparked by her childhood experiences in Ireland during a time of political violence. Currently, the magazine's readership is predominantly male and leans politically right. Keating writes a significant portion of the articles herself, including a recent piece linking a cocaine packet found in the White House to someone in the Biden family orbit. During a discussion about potential political violence surrounding the upcoming Presidential election, Keating expressed concerns about unrest but downplayed the likelihood of a civil war, suggesting that recent violent incidents, including an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, are not indicative of a larger political crisis.
- Susan Katz Keating is the new editor and publisher of Soldier of Fortune.
- The magazine is undergoing modernization after a decline in circulation.
- Keating's interest in mercenaries began in her childhood during political violence in Ireland.
- The magazine's audience is primarily male and politically right-leaning.
- Keating believes recent violence does not indicate a looming civil war.
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11 commentshttps://archive.org/details/soldieroffortunemagazine
It’s particularly annoying that the article focused on American elections, which basically had nothing to do with SOF magazine. Especially when PMCs have become so widespread in the last few decades, and the modern mercenary’s role in recent conflicts. But I guess the “new” magazine isn’t really intended to cover that industry.
[1] https://silentprofessionals.org/job_category/military-contra...
https://jacobin.com/2018/06/american-soldiers-rhodesia-angol...
The other about the very real-politics that make it necessary and the other ugly old world things luking out there (land-empires, genocidal cultures etc.) that very much make the existence of special circumstances necessary. Ever since iraq- the idealists have lost ground, as usas influence in the world unravels.
The funny thing is the inter-depedence. As in- when there side looses, the loosing side gets clingy to the other side.
After Oslo has fallen apart, all thats left is some old-men talking really loud to convince themselves and everyone that the world they made is real and permanent, hysterically clinging to falcons and mercenaries.
However the Persian Gulf war and Blackwater demonstrated that the reality of soldiers of fortune is likely more mercantile and corporate than it is mercenary and curmudgeon.
And more recently the reality of so-called soldiers of fortune are Jan 6 Doughnut Militia LARPers.
At least the 80a fictionalized version of the solider of fortune ideal was some kind of curmudgeoningly politic-neutral stasis, with short term cash as the only North Star, which made survivalism a more interesting and inviting idea. Nowaways engagement with the idea of survivalism is a quick red pill deep end dive into the rabbit hole of alt right wacko conspiracy theories.
I don’t have a point except to say that the allure of the illusion of the solider of fortune magazine is way more interesting than the reality. Maybe that was always true, but it seems like getting back to that ideal, such as it was, is a hard turn from politics - and yet everything seems infused with politics these days.
(From the Wikipedia article.)
Yeah, this seems like about what one would expect.
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