November 18, 2006
What's Wrong With A Merc?
Or, Why Not Privatize The Military?
Pacified at Kos posted Mercenaries: Screw 'em in which he eludes to an argument against the use of private military contractors.
Private security team? Is that straight from the PR materials?
Let's not mince words and call these people exactly what they are: Mercenaries.
They represent the Bush agenda of privatizing our military--a policy the Democrats must forcefully reject and reverse in the new Congress. We need to show the American people just how disgusting these profiteers--focusing especially on those who run these companies--have been, and how destructive they are to the military as a whole.
The American people will reject this and hold the Republicans to blame. No one likes a profiteer. Democrats just have to make sure they American people do find out--and we'll be here to help out.
So what can the Dems do? Dunno. But Jack Murtha has the purse strings, I heard. Maybe we could defund the private contracts, and call them out explicitly in authorization bills. Maybe we could draft legislation specifically forbidden the current and future privatization of certain functions in the military. Let Bush veto it.
Because Americans will not support this if they know what's going on. You don't out source war.
There's a glaring ommission from this rant - that's all it is, a rant - the argument against Mercs, private military contractors, or whatever you want to call 'em.
Pacified said himself the nutroots "need to show the American people just how disgusting these profiteers have been." I didn't realize there was a fundamental problem with the historical practice of hiring military contractors. I'm very interested in his argument, but sadly, he forgot to provide it.
His use of the word "Mercenaries" as a pejorative is shameful and unfounded. To think that Congress should react to the use of a name and adjust policy based on it is irresponsible and dangerous. Pacified suggests Congress should do exactly that, in pointing out that Senator Murtha "has the purse strings."
The practice has been employed throughout human history. In Ancient Egypt, in 1500 BC, Pharoah Ramses II employed 11,000 mercenaries to take part in his battles. Mercs have been used in every type of military conflict since. If there was something fundamentally wrong with the use of private military contractors, history would bear their fallacy and no one would use them.
Don't be a Merc Hater.
Also...
- LGF: Daily Kos: Mercenaries - Screw 'Em
- Mary Katharine Ham writes Five Civilian Contractors Abducted in Iraq
Posted by Richard at November 18, 2006 9:42 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.goodrichardsalmanac.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/62