Mercanaries?

Question

Is it really true? Sense the U.S. Military can't make up the slack in this war are they really hiring mercenaries to fill in the void?

Answer 1

yes and Blackwater is the bigest one in iraq.. hers some info..Blackwater USA was formed in 1997 to provide training support to military and law enforcement organizations. In 2002 Blackwater Security Consulting (BSC) was formed. It was one of several private security firms employed following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. BSC is one of over 60 private security firms employed during the Iraq War to guard officials and installations, train Iraq's new army and police, and provide other support for occupation forces.[11]

On March 31, 2004, Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah ambushed a convoy containing four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA who were conducting delivery for food caterers ESS.[12] The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were killed with grenades and small arms fire. The bodies were then hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates.[13]

Photos of the event were released to news agencies worldwide; a great deal of indignation and moral outrage in the United States followed. This directly preceded the announcement of an upcoming assault on Fallujah. Family members of those killed were given little information about the facts concerning the deaths and were told they would have to sue Blackwater to find out what happened. Blackwater has countersued the estates of the dead men for ten million.[14]

In April 2005 six Blackwater independent contractors were killed in Iraq when their Mi-8 helicopter was shot down. Also killed were three Bulgarian crewmembers and two Fijian gunners. Initial reports indicate the helicopter was shot down by rocket propelled grenades. The six Americans killed have been identified as:[15]

Robert Jason Gore, of Nevada, Iowa
Luke Adam Petrik of Conneaut, Ohio
Jason Obert of Fountain, Colorado
Steve McGovern of Lexington, Kentucky
Erick Smith of Waukesha, Wisconsin
David Patterson of Havelock, North Carolina

Answer 2

Believe it or not it's authorized in the Constitution and has been since that charter of government was adopted. you can find it in Article One, Section Eight where the Congress has the authority to issue letters of marque and reprisal. These are letters which authorize civilians to carry out military actions in the name of the United States. The last common use of this was in the Jefferson administration and was used to provide privately-owned and operated war ships in the war against the Barbary Pirates. That step was taken because we had disbanded the U.S. Navy after the War For Independence and it would take some time for the Congress to authorize and have built new Navy ships to fight in that war.

Answer 3

Technically they arn't mercenaries, since mercenaries are paid to go fight and kill the enemy. These guys are security contractors. They do stuff like escort convoys & VIP's. They can only defend when attacked, they cant initiate a fight.

And yes, the military is not going to be able to guard everything in Iraq. It is a large country and everytime they want to add more troops, it causes such an up roar. Contractors are not included in the troop totals. They are ex-military and patriotic Americans, not "Loyal to None" mercenaries.

Answer 4

"In February, Blackwater, through a subcontractor, began hiring former combat personnel in Chile, offering up to $4,000 a month to guard oil wells in Iraq, the company official said. Some of the Chileans worked for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, the spokesman confirmed."
Blackwater was formed by two former Navy SEALS.
From USA Today..

Answer 5

True, today's youth is too busy rocking out, smoking dope, and having sex to be bothered to serve.


Why serve when someone else will do it for you?