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Paramilitary policeIn military terms, paramilitary security forces are typically light infantry. Effectively led, they can stand in defense, especially in urban or unfenced border areas, but are less capable of offensive action or sustained combat operations due to a lack of heavy weapons, professional military training, and effective logistics support. Examples of this kind of paramilitary force include the People's Armed Police in the People's Republic of China which was split off from the People's Liberation Army in 1983 precisely to remove paramilitary duties from the PLA, and the East German Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse. Over a million strong, the Indian Paramilitary Forces (PMF) is one of the largest and the most formidable paramilitary units in the world. One may also consider that United States SWAT units, or similar units in other countries, are paramilitary. Over the last 25 years, USA has seen a militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a rise in the use of paramilitary SWAT police units for routine police work, with more than 40,000 raids per year by one estimate. [1]
Certain countries, following the French model, have a Gendarmerie – a national police force with military status, responsible for law enforcement in rural areas and military installations. In the case of countries with a rule of law, such forces, however, are not referred to as paramilitary except in polemical fashion. The largest part of the Gendarmerie is made of "normal" officers who perform duties in a way similar to what a normal police officer, state trooper or deputy sheriff would do in the United States. Some paramilitary police forces include:
Paramilitary groups as extra-judicial "security" forcesThese groups are neither a police agency nor a military organization. These elements act outside the law and, in functional democracies, are both illegal and considered part of the problem rather than part of the solution. This sort of paramilitary force exists ostensibly to assure the internal control of a country and to suppress anarchy, civil war, but more often simply to suppress change. They are typically armed with small arms and wear military uniforms. They may also use tear gas and other non-lethal weapons. Such paramilitaries may be controlled by the ruling political party or by the head of state personally rather than by the legal government. In some situations, where the state or military apparatus is particularly weak or absent, they can act with a large degree of practical independence, having their own command structures and benefitting from private sponsors (instead of, or in addition to, any institutional ones), such as landowners, regional authorities, local interest groups, former victims of revolutionary paramilitary forces, warlords, drug lords or foreign interests. These sponsors may then be able to further extend their influence or control over the paramilitary forces, or even organize paramilitary groups of their own. These forces ostensibly operate to enforce the law but may act with disregard of the rule of law or at cross-purposes to the existing civilian or military authorities, which may or may not lead to confrontation if the resulting discrepancies are significant enough. Depending on their degree of political and financial autonomy, the relationship between the independent paramilitary forces and official institutions can vary from one of tolerance or incidental alliances (rather than of direct oversight and cooperation) to outright illegality. These groups may then act according to their own subset of tactical, economical and even political objectives, which may or may not be in opposition to those of the central government or established military command as a whole. Paramilitary forces have been responsible for some violations of the laws of war and for several atrocities. Examples of this kind of paramilitary force include the Colombian right wing paramilitary groups such as the AUC, and loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, such as the Ulster Volunteer Force, or the Ulster Defence Association. The Haganah, precursor of the Israeli Defense Forces, was also a paramilitary group that defended Jewish-acquired territory in Palestine during the British Mandate period. (For their opponents, see next). Revolutionary and guerrilla paramilitary groupsSome paramilitaries are formed to fight the current government of a country or region. This includes rebellions against recognized governments and attacks on occupying forces. While some insurrections are carried out by rebellious units of a country's military, many are staged by paramilitary groups. When a group is acting locally against a military occupation, its members may be referred to as partisans, guerrillas, or as resistance fighters by supporters. The military occupation forces will generally refer to them as terrorists, insurgents, or rebels. Unlike state security paramilitaries, these groups are typically engaged in asymmetric warfare against an established and stronger force. In fact, they may be fighting both against the government and against other paramilitaries that support or are controlled by the government. Examples include the FARC and ELN in Colombia; EZLN in Mexico; Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah in the Middle East; and the Lord's Resistance Army of Uganda. Two of the oldest and best known revolutionary paramilitary armies in Europe are the Provisional Irish Republican Army, in Ireland and the Basque separatist group ETA, in Spain, both of which have stated their decommissioning. In some instances, paramilitary groups have worked to destabilize and overthrow (supposedly) democratic governments, generally to create a fascist regime or, alternatively, to support a Communist revolution. As a consequence, many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting private paramilitary groups. Examples include the Sturmabteilung (helped install Nazi Germany) and the Blackshirts (helped install Fascism in Italy). Paramilitary commandosIn some cases, paramilitary groups are formed to perform commando functions. Unlike internal security forces and revolutionaries, commando paramilitary groups are generally small and highly trained. The paramilitary operations of the CIA and Mossad (as distinct from their intelligence-gathering function) are one example. Police SWAT teams and Black Cats are another. Paramilitary groups as mercenariesParamilitary groups may also be formed to serve as mercenaries or private armies. Among the best-known of such groups is Executive Outcomes, a mercenary corporation that operated in Africa in the 1990s. Such groups are often made up of former military personnel, especially former South African soldiers. Private firms have recently gained a major role in the operation of Western militaries, especially that of the United States. Such private military contractors played key roles in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent occupation, doing jobs like logistics and security. See the SourceWatch article: Private Military Corporations Non-combat paramilitary organizationsWhile the word "paramilitary" is most often associated with violence, some groups have paramilitary features (military rank, uniforms, a strict chain of command, military courtesy) but are not intended for direct combat or police duties. Some of these organizations serve as military auxiliaries, performing non-combat functions in support of the regular military. Examples include the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary or the Civil Air Patrol (the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary). Others serve as cadet corps to train future officers or soldiers, like the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets,the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, the Air Training Corps of the United Kingdom, the National Cadet Corps of India, or the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany. In wartime, both auxiliaries and cadet corps have sometimes been pressed into combat. Paramilitary organizations that reject military purposesThere are also some organizations that have distinct military features but are not intended for combat and are not connected with regular police or military units. Such organizations include the Salvation Army. Some organizations maintain disciplined rules of succession and even train individuals to use weapons in combat but nominally not toward military purposes. See also
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