Pentagon's call to mercenaries--BBC report

[Gloria]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3136428.stm

Pentagon's call to mercenaries
By Katty Kay
BBC correspondent in Pennsylvania

Jason is taking part in military training in rural Pennsylvania. But he is a mercenary, not a government soldier, and this is America's latest boom industry.

A mercenary in training
Private armies are being increasingly used by the Pentagon

Once seen as shady, men like him are fast becoming mainstream.

Private companies like Northbridge Services do jobs governments can't or won't extend to.

SNIP

Overstretch

The industry grew from providing bodyguards for celebrities. Now it's more than that.

Mercenaries are training to do the kind of work the US Government can't afford to have its own soldiers doing. And in a couple of weeks some of them will be shipping out to places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

MORE

[Old and In the Way]

1. If our government can't afford to have our own soldier's doing it,

who is paying them to do it? And why is it justifiable to employ a private army as proxy in someone else's country....this is way too freakin' outrageous....is this the way a democracy runs it's foreign affairs?

Why isn't every person attached to this misadministration in jail?

[TroubleMan]

2. Just look at the mercs we got in South America...

I think the company is called Dynecorp or Dynacorp or something. It's all run by a bunch of "former" CIA, FBI, and military bigwigs

That kind of corporation should be illegal...it's very sad that if you've got money you can make your own army, not accountable to anyone. Then a bunch of bastards will pay you a lot to do their dirty work, but since you've got connections everybody looks the other way.

[JCMach1]

3. Accountability-- set it up right and they are accountable

to no one in this country

[candy331]

4. The soldiers

should be given access to this. I bet these mercenaries make more in a month than the sodiers make in a year. If this war was truly about sacrifice for one's country that would be one thing but is not so all the soldiers should really be seen as mercenaries and paid accordingly, it is not like we don't have the money is it? $54,000,000 for Iraqi post office.

[PaDUer]

5. Isn't it great that they're teaching

our children to become murderers one way or another!