1756 — Q. Statorius. Journal of the Proceedings and Debates in the Political Club. (link)
A standing army of mercenary troops always, at last, begin to look upon themselves as the masters of that country where they are kept up; and after the body of the people have been rendered dastardly and effeminate, which is the never-failing consequence of a total disuse of arms, such an army will no longer submit to the civil power, than till they find a general who has art and conduct enough to unite them under his influence.
Nov. 25, 2015 — Emily B. Hager and Mark Mazzetti. The New York Times. Emirates Secretly Sends Colombian Mercenaries to Yemen Fight.
The United Arab Emirates has secretly dispatched hundreds of Colombian mercenaries to Yemen to fight in that country’s raging conflict, adding a volatile new element in a complex proxy war that has drawn in the United States and Iran.
