Since when does the United States Marine Corps need a private company (Blackwater) to protect it from our enemies?

Some of the United States of America's Blackwater Corporation Fighters

With a price tag of 800 million dollars, Blackwater is/was our largest mercenary army in Iraq. And to think I was beginning to think that our forces were winning at least the ground battle ... on their own. The "is/was" verb is because it looks like the Blackwater Army doesn't/didn't have the discipline and honor as do our United States Marines ... and our soldiers, sailors and airmen from the other services who have fought and died in Iraq, albeit under the protection of Blackwater and several other smaller security firms.

As of today, Blackwater is being charged with the murder of Iraqi civilians and is being ordered out of the country by the Iraqi Government. This is perhaps the most shocking and disgusting revelation yet to have come out of our Iraq invasion and occupation.

To be sure, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is twising Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's arm (and head) to try to turn this decision around, but Mediawingnuts is wondering ... why aren't we insisting upon the removal of private mercenary armies from Iraq ourselves? Isn't that one of our gripes about the non-Iraqi al-Qaeda fighters hidden among the Sunnis?

At least Henry Waxman announced today that he will launch an investigation into the incidents as well, calling such killing "an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors."

Amen!


A sad commentary ... click on the book's jacket to read the full cover material