Are you kidding me? Some of the Guardsmen in Iraq scamming the Iraqi's?

[Horse with no Name]

:banghead:So now we are forcing the Iraqi businesses to pay henchmen to keep them safe? Safe from who?
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-guard6aug06,1,5411131.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage

California Army National Guard troops sought unauthorized, off-the-books "rent" from Iraqi-owned businesses inside Baghdad's Green Zone to raise money for a "soldiers fund," military officials and sources within the troops' battalion said Friday.

The disclosure is the latest to emerge from a wide-ranging investigation into the conduct of the 1st Battalion of the 184th Infantry Regiment of the Guard, which is headquartered in Modesto.

The money was used to create a "soldiers fund," said one member of the battalion, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Such funds are used by troops for a variety of purposes, such as receiving small loans to pay a bill back home or buying commemorative "challenge coins" — often specially minted to foster morale inside a unit.

Army officials say the total amount involved was $4,000, but troops in the battalion have said the scheme raised more than $30,000. The investigation resulted in disciplinary action against one officer from the battalion's Bravo Company. Army officials declined to reveal the officer's name, and his identity could not be confirmed independently.

[vogonjiltz]

1. Shocking (shakes head in disbelief), but we are there to bring

Democracy.

[H5N1]

2. pure capitalism: supply and demand; market forces at work

god bless 'murika

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Yup. Supply & demand. The American way.

Armed American troops demand money.
Terrified Iraqis supply it.

[frylock]

4. "challenge coins" — often specially minted to foster morale inside a unit.

nothing like a fucking trinket to boost your morale as you're gathering your buddy's severed limbs together, or mowing down a group of civis with your M2.

[ochazuke]

5. Gives new meaning to the term "green" zone

I guess it's American territory, so they have to pay rent. I mean, it's not their country is it. We fought for it, we won. It's ours. (sarcasm)

"Nice place you've got here, Achmed. You wouldn't want anything to 'happen' to it, would you?"

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

6. quite the racket

and pretty sick.

[punpirate]

7. It's fine to...

... "support the troops," but the news here is that the people joining up are no different than the rest of us. Maybe the same ratio of ordinary people to opportunists. When I was in basic, one of the reservists stole everything that wasn't nailed down or locked up and hid it all under the bottom drawer of his locker. We all got collective punishment until the perpetrator admitted the crime (he never did).

I knew people in the army who black-marketed everything they could and then used the proceeds to finance their loan-sharking operations. People who spent their entire military career ripping off the government with little scams like tearing the plug off of power equipment, declaring it unusable and then pulling the stuff out of the scrap pile and shipping it home.

Not everyone in uniform is an angel.

Cheers.