Part 1: Everything Turns To Shit....

[filkertom]

Please just read this. Okay? And take a minute to let all of the implications sink in.

I swear to God, I never thought I'd be living in a Frank Miller comic....

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I'm not pleased by this, but I will point out that it's not something new in American military practice. From the time of the Revolution until the end of the Civil War, there were many Private Companies. They ranged from the well disciplined Mosby's Rangers of Virginia to the rag-tag mob that was Quantril's Raiders of Missouri. After the Civil War the private companies were discouraged, and a lot of laws were enacted to restrict what they could do. In recent years there's been a loosening of those laws (going back to the Reagan years) and a corresponding resurgence in American private military companies.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

You also should mention Teddy Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry, the Rough Riders.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Thanks Doug. You're right, the Rough Riders were a privately raised squadron of cavalry.

What was that about a Frank Miller comic...?

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

http://www.moveon.org/news/fec-gag.html

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Kathryn Cramer has been on a long roll recently on the topic of mercenaries "security consultants", "bodyguards", "military outsourcing", and the like. If the article you refer to appalls you (as it should), prepare to have her chill your blood.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled sunny day. That is all.

[ororo.livejournal.com]

Great, now I have to explain to my co-workers this sudden nervous twitch I've developed.

Devil's Advocacy

[umbran.livejournal.com]

Hm. Seems to me the implications have been there for all of human history. Use of mercenary troops is about as old as military engagements. Tested in countless wars over time, there's nothing wrong with the principle, when applied with forethought.

The time to worry is when the forethought is not applied. If those mercs do soemthing wrong and are not held accountable, or if they are used unwisely in military engagements leading to great losses, then is the time to complain. But the article sited seems to be an example of where the mercs did their jobs, and did them well.

I mean, really - we use contractors to build things in military scenarios. We use them to feed, and to help administrate. Why shouldn't they also be used to protect? A poorly built power station or hospital can lead to greater loss of life than a poorly secured building. At least with merc, if they're on the take, they're lives are at risk. Can you say the same for Halliburton employees?

[poltr1]

I think what bothers me more than the use of outsourced mercenary forces is that this type of stuff is marked "classified" and swept under the rug so that there can be no accountability by the citizens.

Paging John Sheridan.....time to do something about this President Clark wannabe....