Sentence:  If the Hessian troops sent here willy-nilly by the Hessian Government to fight for England in the 1770 's <WSD>were</WSD> mercenaries , what shall we call the UN troops sent to the Congo willy-nilly by their governments to fight for the United Nations ? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)