America's New Mercenaries

of course the merc. issue is in no way new news.
personally i think we just need a reminder about how large this issue is.

As American commanders meet this week for the Afghanistan review, Obama is hiring military contractors at a rate that would make Bush blush. Tim Shorrock on the Blackwater heirs. Top U.S. commanders are meeting this week to plan for the next phase of the Afghanistan war. In Iraq, meanwhile, gains are tentative and in danger of unraveling. Both wars have been fought with the help of private military and intelligence contractors. But despite the troubles of Blackwater in particular – charges of corruption and killing of civilians—and continuing controversy over military outsourcing in general, private sector armies are as involved as ever. Without much notice or debate, the Obama administration has greatly expanded the outsourcing of key parts of the U.S.-led counterinsurgency wars in the Middle East and Africa, and as a result, for its secretive air war and special operations missions around the world, the U.S. has become increasingly reliant on a new breed of specialized companies that are virtually unknown to the American public, yet carry out vital U.S. missions abroad. Companies such as Blackbird Technologies, Glevum Associates, K2 Solutions, and others have won hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military and intelligence contracts in recent years to provide technology, information on insurgents, Special Forces training, and personnel rescue. They win their work through the large, established prime contractors, but are tasked with missions only companies with specific skills and background in covert and counterinsurgency can accomplish. Some observers fear that the widespread use of contractors for U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa could deepen the secrecy surrounding the American presence in those regions, making it harder for Congress to provide proper oversight. Even in Iraq, where the U.S. has ended combat operations, the government is "greatly expanding" its use of private security companies, creating "an entirely new role for contractors on the battlefield," Michael Thibault, the co-chairman of the federal Commission on Wartime Contracting, recently warned Congress.

more inside

"Some observers fear that the widespread use of contractors for U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa could deepen the secrecy surrounding the American presence in those regions, making it harder for Congress to provide proper oversight."


Fear? Really, you fear this might happen? Use your god given brain. What other conclusion is there besides more secrecy and less oversight.

How do these people reach these positions of power? seriously

Considering that America is a mercenary for Israel and the Fed, this makes sense.

Outsourcing and contracting are the culture in the corporation called America.

The scam is remove yourself from the list of accountable parties while getting your goal accomplished.

Hire a contractor, right off the cost of doing business, get what you want and if there are any problems "fire" the contractor to solve the problem. No risk and all gain.

reply to post by zroth

Considering that America is a mercenary for Israel and the Fed, this makes sense.

is a merc. not for hire?
america volunteers, and i'd even go so far as to say, pays israel for allowing the u.s. to protect.
similar concept, yet possibly a bit different.

The military industrial complex is a strange beast indeed. Crashed UFO recovery, covert political interference, technology suppression, drugs, arms and sex trades and a host of other hush hush stuff. I expect there are a lot of good men and women performing honest and decent roles, but some of the stories that leak do not paint a pretty picture to some aspects. With private contractors operating outside of general military guidelines and oversight it is a little Pandora's box of goodies for those on the inside.

As for most of the worlds military coming together under UN charters it will be interesting to see how these two factions merge. One loyal to the state, the other loyal to the dollar. This is a drastic over simplification of the issues as there are a lot of deep and complex relationships throughout the system and crossovers between public and private interests. One step at a time, as UFO disclosure transpires there will be a lot of people with a lot of questions.

Originally posted by rubbertramp

we just need a reminder...

As American commanders meet this week for the Afghanistan review, Obama is hiring military contractors at a rate that would make Bush blush. ...Companies such as Blackbird Technologies, Glevum Associates, K2 Solutions, and others have won hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military and intelligence contracts in recent years to provide technology, information on insurgents, Special Forces training, and personnel rescue.

...Even in Iraq, where the U.S. has ended combat operations, the government is "greatly expanding" its use of private security companies, creating "an entirely new role for contractors on the battlefield," Michael Thibault, the co-chairman of the federal Commission on Wartime Contracting, recently warned Congress.

more inside

What "Entirely new role for contractors on the battlefield"? ...if combat operations are over?

Any way to find out?

Originally posted by zroth

...Outsourcing and contracting are the culture in the corporation called America.

The scam is remove yourself from the list of accountable parties while getting your goal accomplished.

Hire a contractor, right off the cost of doing business, get what you want and if there are any problems "fire" the contractor to solve the problem. No risk and all gain.

Looking for transparency and accountability? ...Support Wikileaks. Seek out the new leak sites, support them too.

We DO need to know what's being done in our names, with our money. And we still have a right to know.