War dogs rebranded as `pussycats of peace'(Gold Rush over for Mercs?)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&col=968350060724&c=Article&cid=1163890210396&call_pageid=968332188854

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In recent decades, mercenaries have been pushed to the wilder edges of global conflict: the "dogs of war" who fight nasty little campaigns in Africa.

But for a new kind of soldier of fortune, the fighting in Iraq has proved to be a pot of gold. Private security companies' hired guns have grown into the second-largest military contingent in Iraq, after U.S. forces.

Estimates of their number range from 10,000 to 30,000. They build and supply military camps, guard Baghdad's "Green Zone" enclave, protect convoys, gather information and provide bodyguards for officials, businessmen, aid workers and journalists.

The cannier of these mercenaries have become millionaires. But now, the gold rush could be ending.

Reconstruction projects are running down, and with them the contracts to protect the contractors. The market is saturated, meaning lower prices. It is uncertain how long the U.S. military will remain in Iraq and how much business the Iraqi government will transfer to local outfits.

I'd love to see the Dems stop all the outsourcing of military training, contracts for protection, etc., away from outfits like Blackwater, Custer Battles, Caci, etc.

[Rageneau]

1. contractors, mercinaries and bomb makers = Bush's new jobs

Smirk keeps crowing about all the new jobs his admin has (finally) created. What he does not dare say, though, is that almost all these jobs are directly related to the war. Consequently, they add nothing to the economy and subtract greatly from it.

If the US had an honest national media, this point would be being made over and over. Instead, the press lets Bush pretend that he really IS creating new jobs.