What do you think of private militias?

Question

What do you think about private millitaries such as blackwater, dyncorp, or triple canopy being in iraq? Should they, shouldn't they, good idea, bad idea???

I know that there not private militaries, i know what they do, my dad happens to work for blackwater

And its not outsorcing our defense, out sourcing would be sending it to like china and trust them to defend us, this is an american based company, and always will be...

Answer 1

I think it's great if private citizens want to go. I love the idea of a militia. They don't cost taxpayers anything and they usually do a great job because they don't have to worry about bureaucratic red tape.

Answer 2

A country that outsources its own defense is in trouble. Hello, does the term "Fall of the Roman Empire" ring a bell? If the citizenry won't support a war, then all the mercs in the world can't win it.

==Edit==
I'm sorry, but you are mistaken. Outsourcing does not mean having China do it. Out sourcing simply means having an outside agency do a task rather than your own organization. Besides, you say it will always be American, but that is demonstrably false. Something like 90% of the sub contractors employed by Private Military Companies in Iraq are either Iraqi or other foreign nationals, NOT US citizens. I listened to a weeklong series of radio interviews with major PMCs, and that was one of the things they were proud of, and admitted it quite freely. As for their not doing offensive operations, you are being naive. In an insurgency the line between defensive and offensive operations is often arbitrary, with no real differance. You think these companies hire ex SEALs and Green Berets for their defensive skills?

I am not suggesting it is wrong to ever use contractors, but using them for functions that traditionally have been the strict domain of the military is simply wrong. It helps hide the true costs (financial and human) of a conflict, it is difficult to police their actions (numerous violations, neither UCMJ, federal law, or local laws seem to apply) it hurts recruiting and retention (hmm, $35-40K as a E-6, or $60-100K as a PMC?), and it isolates the populace even further from the policies of the government (Hey, they aren't really soldiers dying, so who cares?).

What is your argument?

Answer 3

First of all, they are private security companies, not military. Difference is a security contractor does not go on the offensive, like going with troops to do house to house searches. They can only fire in self defense.

They are an essential part in the reconstruction of Iraq. They provide important services such as escorting convoys & VIPs, and training the Iraqi Army/ Police. They are also inexpsensive compared to having regular military do the jobs the psc guys do.

Answer 4

They're not private militias... that's a whole another story. They're called private military contractors...
and as far as your question goes... I think that they often loosen up our military's needs during an extremely stressful war, but our Army should be able to work efficiently with or without PMCs...
But I think PMCs are extremely useful if they were to be operated under the UN... because you can commit men to hotspots around the world to stop genocides and such without risking the soldiers of the UN member countries.

Answer 5

Next time Halliburton, Chevron and Exxon decide to invade a country, they can use Blackwater, and Triple Canopy and not involve us.

Answer 6

definitely i'm against the full conflict factor yet i'm in settlement with you. did you recognize that the U.S. military has decreased in length out the protection of our protection rigidity bases and posts to non-public protection companies that have the education of your person-friendly lease-a-cop. i think of that that's a travesty previous comprehension yet what's going to we do ? Who is responsive to somebody would get set off chuffed or perhaps pass off because of the fact their friends shrink them off from the intercourse. i did no longer understand that Blackwater became Amway the place did you pay attention this?

Answer 7

of course they should. after all the enemy has plenty of privately funded armed foreighners in Iraq- jihadis from Saudi, Jordan, Iran, even Morocco. Why should they be the only ones allowed a monopoly on militia?

Answer 8

I like them, when I was over in Iraq, those guys did the work that I know I didnt want to do, like embassy guards, and guarding important diplomats, american and foreign. That leaves us with more time to go on patrols and perform missions.

Answer 9

it's a great idea. they're doing the jobs that Americans won't do... or rather, they're doing the jobs Americans won't let their soldiers do?

Answer 10

great idea, would love to have one