We have more mercenaries than American soldiers in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/quicktakes/576276,CST-NWS-qt27.article

Billions and billions

From the QT Archive of Knowledge:

• • We have more mercenaries than American soldiers in Iraq.

• • The occupation of Iraq is now costing $8,000 a second.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. thanks for the link

[mvccd1000]

2. Define mercenaries?

I'm not sure the 20,000 US truckdrivers, or the 50,000 Indians and Phillipinos who cook, pick up trash, run the gyms, and clean offices count as mercenaries. Nor do the thousands of expats who maintain military vehicles or install armor kits to protect the soldiers.

I'd hazard a guess that there are only a few thousand actual civilian gun-toters in Iraq; well under 5% of the number of soldiers in Iraq.

[raccoon]

3. K&R. Just those 2 bulleted items are enough to knock the breath out of you. nt