Manedwolf, your vitriol is unwarranted
In an all volunteer army, everybody is a "contractor" or a mercenary to the extent it's a job done for some degree of financial benefit and pay.
Many of the people in national guard and reserves who suddenly started complaining about overseas duty when war started joined up in the peace time for money and benefits.
During Civil War, high percentage of the guys in the regular units were recent foreign immigrants. They needed the money when they were fresh off the boat with very little money, resources, and family support in US.
Quite often, security guards can do the jobs of the police much more cheaply and efficiently because of the way they are organized and utilized, as well as due to the fact that if they don't do a satisfactory job, the security guard firm will lose the contract(get booted). Note that even the US federal government employs more security guards than police. It's simply more cost efficient even for the inefficient government.
As for possible friendly fire incident with US military and less oversight, anybody who has done a small team training in a close quarter urban environment knows how easy friendly/accidental shooting is. I've heard of police tactical team shooting each other in urban environment and they are lot better trained than average soldier.
Remember the Tillman incident with US Army in Afghanistan? He was a leading a company of US Army Rangers. He was killed by multiple US 5.56 rounds to the head by other US soldiers.
Here is an informative article about Tillman's death and coverup:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_6477789
Was Tillman murdered by own troops?
Documents reveal medical examiner's doubts, other details in NFL-star-turned-Ranger's death
By Martha Mendoza, Associated Press
insideBayArea.com said:
SAN FRANCISCO —
Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman's forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player's death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
"The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described," a doctor who examined Tillman's body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.
The doctors — whose names were blacked out — said the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.
...
...
-
No evidence at all of enemy fire was found at the scene — no one was hit by enemy fire, nor was any government equipment struck.
Continues here.
I remember being told by a retired Special Forces major that if he was a contractor in Iraq, how he would be afraid of being shot by US armed services member by mistake.
Believe it or not, casualties from friendly fire during wartime are significant but underreported.
The best oversight is marketplace. When contractors misbehave or do not perform adequately, fire the contracting firm and charge the individual contractors with specific criminal charges that they are guilty of violating.
As for desire to kill, it's an innate desire that exist in most men in one form or other. Due to society and our parents, that desire gets tempered as we grow up(kill only under morally justifiable circumstances). Col. Grossman in his book "On Killing" covered it.
With government agencies, very little changes when just the head of the agency is replaced and/or individual officers are reprimanded because the existing infrastructure remains the same.
--John
Dr. David R. Henderson said:
In his testimony before the commission, General Westmoreland said he did not want to command an army of mercenaries.
Mr. Friedman interrupted, "General, would you rather command an army of slaves?" Mr. Westmoreland replied, "I don't like to hear our patriotic draftees referred to as slaves."
Mr. Friedman then retorted, "I don't like to hear our patriotic volunteers referred to as mercenaries. If they are mercenaries, then I, sir, am a mercenary professor, and you, sir, are a mercenary general; we are served by mercenary physicians, we use a mercenary lawyer, and we get our meat from a mercenary butcher."
tried to read your files?
