This is WHY PMC's (mercenaries) are a BAD idea

[seemslikeadream]

http://media.pbs.org/asxgen/general/windows/media4/frontline/2315/windows/ch2_hi.wmv.asx

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/view/
CHAPTER TWO
Citizens In a Combat Zone
The brutal killings of four Blackwater contractor brings home the daily dangers contractors face. It also raises the issue of regulating a private security force of tens of thousands that is not part of the military command structure.


In "Private Warriors," FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith travels throughout Kuwait and Iraq to give viewers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at companies like Kellogg, Brown & Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, and its civilian army. KBR has 50,000 employees in Iraq and Kuwait that run U.S. military supply lines and operate U.S. military bases. KBR is also the largest contractor in Iraq, providing the Army with $11.84 billion dollars in services since 2002.

Historically, there is nothing new about the military's use of private contractors, but the Iraq war has seen outsourcing on an unprecedented scale. The policy change came after the Cold War when the Pentagon was downsizing under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Cheney first hired Halliburton as a consultant and later became the company's president. Halliburton subsidiary KBR is now one of the largest recipients of government contracts.

FRONTLINE visits the biggest Halliburton/KBR run base, Camp Anaconda, in the Sunni triangle. Behind concrete walls 28,000 soldiers and 8,000 civilians live in bases that offer Taekwondo and Salsa lessons, movie theatres, fast food courts, and four meals a day. The amenities are impressive, but some argue that there is a price to pay. Says a former base commander Marine Colonel Thomas X. Hammes, "it's misguided luxury … somebody's risking their lives to deliver that luxury."

And while KBR was glad to provide Smith with a tour of the facilities, they weren't able or willing to answer some basic questions about how much certain services -- like feeding the troops -- cost. Smith eventually finds some answers from the Army base commander, but numerous audits are underway to determine just how the contracts are being fulfilled. In response to allegations of overcharging in the tens of millions of dollars, KBR's Vice President of Worldwide Military Affairs, Paul Cerjan says, "the only thing we can do is stand up and give a true and honest evaluation of what we've done. … And let whoever is making the assessment make the assessment. We are not afraid of that process."

[MadMaddie]

1. Holy shit...

I didn't realize

<snip>
The policy change came after the Cold War when the Pentagon was downsizing under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney.

Cheney first hired Halliburton as a consultant and later became the company's president.
<snip>

Congress must pass a law that no lawmaker or Pres/VP or any other role can have vested intrest in a company that they worked for etc (not sure how to say that).

I didn't realize Cheney was directly responsible for downsizing the military....why isn't this being used against Cheney?

[seemslikeadream]

2. mercenaries do not have to follow military orders

they put our soldiers at great risk

[MadMaddie]

3. I have always believed that..

And the world views them only as Americans who are committing attrocities.

We have to get our our soldiars home.

[spindrifter]

4. I don't care so much about

the "luxury" lifestyle of the mercs. What I care about is the cowboy attitude some of the companies have. At one time Aegis had a website for the use of its employees--until someone posted one of the infamous videos of them shooting up a road, accompanied by "appropriate" music. The website also had some of the insider carping that revealed significant problems with drugs and drink among some of the mercenary companies, though apparently not AegisIraq. It's pretty amazing to see what some of the guys think is cool--like shooting thousands of rounds of bullets at a "sniper."
A dirty job at any price.

[ftr23532]

5. Here's some interesting info on the abuse of foreign workers by KBR

I just stumbled across this a couple of days ago: See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3101962&mesg_id=3109106">here and http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3101962&mesg_id=3110384">here.