what do you think of Pentagon's use of mercenary armies?

Question

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070402/scahill_vid

Answer 1

Bush and the Republicans know if they reinstated the draft, they'd lose the next election. So they have to hire mercenaries to fight; plus mercenaries can do all sorts of dirty jobs that the armed forces aren't suppose to do...

Answer 2

I wouldn't exactly call Blackwater a mercenary army. They're a security firm that also has the expertise to assist with training. That whole article was based on the fact that Donald Rumsfeld referred to contractors as part of "the total force". (Read it again, and you'll see what I mean. The author drew his own conclusions to create a story.)

Guess what... the Filipinos who work in the kitchens on the bases are part of that number too, because they work in a support capacity. They're not fighting though... and neither are the employees of Blackwater.

Answer 3

It was common practice by the U.S. to use native American allies to go after native American enemies. The U.S. used mercenaries during the Barbary Wars. On the flip side, U.S. mercenaries called the Flying Tigers served in China and there were guys in the U.S. fighting in WWI and WWII before the U.S. entered those wars.

Answer 4

Well, maybe they are running out of recruits