The real Army on alert in Iraq. They don’t bring the bucks home like the mercenaries but they still do their jobs.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan “Tumbleweed” Crocker has his posse saddled up and riding shotgun again in Baghdad. The U.S. mercenary force, a.k.a. Blackwater USA, is undertaking “mission-essential” operations for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to the State Department. This comes after the controversial private security firm was suspended in the wake of an incident involving their employees in which between 10 and 20 Iraqi citizens were killed.
One thing that can be said for the highly-paid mercenaries, many of whom are ex-Special Forces operators, and that is they put a high value on money.
Remember that dreadful and enraging incident in Fallujah in which four Blackwater employees were burned and dragged through the streets? Well, Blackwater certainly didn’t forget because the men apparently failed in to meet their contractual obligations with the company. The families sued the company so Blackwater decided to play hardball and sue for $10 million the estates of those killed. Hey, it’s only business and nothing personal says Blackwater. They say they are only trying through “arbitration to enforce its contracts with the four deceased men,” said a Blackwater USA news release.
The company has taken much heat from many corners including past and present military personnel who make or made only a fraction of what Blackwater operators make for often just as dangerous or more dangerous missions. But one must ask: How can you show disgust for a company that not only can take over small countries on their own but also sell a bunch of great-looking shit to wear?
Blackwater’s Web site features the “Proshop” where guys can purchase a “Blackwater Bear T-shirt” for just $15 or the gals can get a cool pink V-neck shirt with the company logo, also for the low, low price of $15. There is even a “babys onesies” with the ever-present Blackwater logo for the infant at the outrageously low price of only $18. I mean, I don’t know if the Army can match that.
Well, many free-market Republicans and even Democrats have for years pushed for privatization. And it is running pretty freely within many sectors of government these days. For instance, Carson Wagonlit, the mega agents of travel handle all the travel processing and paperwork for the federal agency which I work for on a part-time basis. Blackwater and the firms like it in Iraq and Afghanistan are just carrying the privatization thing to the Nth degree. That makes me think: “What if we just turn our entire military over to private enterprise?”
There would be no buck privates polishing rocks in boot camps and no Navy recruit would ever again have to fiddle with mess cooking when arriving on ship because the Navy hired their own contractors to run things. Why perhaps even the terrorists could hire their own private armies and let the guys getting the big bucks blow themselves to hell for awhile. The rest of us could all just sit back and relax.
Ahhh, aren’t free-market economies the cat’s pajamas?