MILITARY STYLE OPERATIONS are fine when you are protecting animals and tropical hardwoods… no matter what hardship it might produce for locals just trying to eke out a living. But don’t get distracted by trying to help, you know, actual people. At least, that seems to be the subtext of this New York Times Magazine story on “Eco-Mercenaries.”

UPDATE: Suman Palit has some thoughts on this. He notes that these NGOs are in many countries more powerful (but no more accountable) than the governments.

A piece in the July/August Atlantic Monthly (not available online unless you pay) called “The Internationals” points up the neo-colonial angle as well, and notes that the new version is in once sense worse: colonial officials a hundred years ago often spent years or decades in the countries they administered. Aid workers now spend a few months. I guess it’s kind of like the “ticket punching” system for officers that was employed with such great success by the U.S. military in Vietnam. . . .