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Washington Post: Private military
contractors a US 'crutch' in Iraq
Raw
Story
Monday Aug 20, 2007
The United States has set a new precedent in its
reliance on private contractors to perform dangerous military
duties in Iraq, reports the Washington Post in its Monday edition.
Writes the Congressional Research Service in a recent report:
"Iraq appears to be the first case where the U.S. government
has used private contractors extensively for protecting persons
and property in potentially hostile or hostile situations where
host country security forces are absent or deficient."
Of these contractors said to perform "functions once carried
by the U.S. military," recently gauged at 127,000, less than
20 percent were Americans.
The CRS report goes on to say that the increasing reliance on
private contractors, of whom 1,001 have died as of June 30, 2007
in the Iraq offensive, saves resources that would otherwise be
used to court volunteers for military service; it also appears
to lessen the chance of a draft.
(Article continues below)
A 1995 Defense Department study discouraged the use of private
contractors in place of active servicemembers, saying that the
practice would keep the Pentagon from "building and maintaining
capacity needed for strategic or other important missions."
The entire article can be read HERE.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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