I posted this because they just talked about the Blackwater employees that were killed. On of them was a triathlete and adventure racer. Scott I think his name was. Tom D knew him.
in former times private contractors were called mercanaries. we didn’t like it when the brits did it to us with the hessians and throughout american history, mercanaries have been out of favor…but whatever, our poor uniformed kids can’t get body armor, but these assholes pulling down 100k a year are outfitted to the nth. but the jerk supposes rhodesian army veterens need a gig like everyone else.
jerk
Oh once again the Jerk pulls shit out of his ass just so he can try in vane to keep his title. You sir are not a jerk, your just stupid.
Oh once again the Jerk pulls shit out of his ass just so he can try in vane to keep his title. You sir are not a jerk, your just stupid.
Long live Tibbs.
wow. the jerk is being called stupid by a man who can not spell “you’re”. if the jerk paid someone to teach you how to spell with his tax dollars; say public school teachers, instead of paying mercenaries to protect the interests of oil companies, couldn’t we all just dance around in circles and make our own food and grow our own furniture?
anyway, fuck it. the jerk wants those new gerolsteiner aero-bars. what do you think about that?
oh, yeah. by the way, just to prove to you that the jerk is wise and not stupid he will share with you his poignant cultural observation: ass crack is the new cleavage.
jerk
These private contractors are professionals providing a service that is needed over there (and elsewhere). It is not their fault that they have the equipment that they need and are paid well. Many (if not all) are former military members who have discovered that their knowledge and experience is still valuable after leaving government service. If these contractors weren’t deployed, more military personnel would be.
“We didn’t like it when the brits”… The English were our enemy, we didn’t like much of what they did… that’s why we were at war with them.
“Mercenaries have been out of favor”… Maybe so, but they have always been extremely effective; the UN doesn’t like them… go figure they don’t like anything they don’t have absolute control over.
We don’t call them mercenaries today, at least not these professionals, because that word conjures up images of uncontrolled, untrained, barbarians. An image that is not whole deserved. These professionals come from the crème of the military community (not just from the US) and they serve along side US Soldiers to accomplish the mission they were all sent to do; free Iraq and establish a democratic government and rebuild the country ruined by the former régime. You don’t have to believe in the righteousness of this mission, but please respect that many have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.
I have lost more than a few friends since September 11th 2001, many were private contractors. All knew what they were risking, but did the job the only way they knew how…
alan-
you’re right about everything you said. it just doesn’t sit well with the jerk that the american government hires mercanaries to fight its fight. it somehow further mutates the true cost of war (human life) into a commodity to be bought and sold. the american armed forces should be the armed expression of american policy, not the highest bidder. it reeks of cronyism, is inherantly anti-democratic and reduces everything to an immoral market value. at least our volunteer armed forces pay lip service to something higher than the almighty dollar.
jerk
Perhaps they didn’t see the show or are not clear as to the different types of contractors in Iraq. Blackwater teams are a different contractor than the guy trying to get good water in a bottle in Iraq. Of those caught and beheaded, it would be interesting to see who is who. I talked with a marine who was approached to be on a blackwater team, the money was out of this world but he decided to come home and get married. I was surprised to see we are hiring assasination squads to put it plainly.
I was surprised to see we are hiring assasination squads to put it plainly.
I don’t get pissed off very often, but that did it. The Blackwater dudes that were killed were guarding a convoy of empty F*cking trucks on their way to pick up kitchen equipment from a US Goverment base, for a food service company supplying meals to US combat troops. If you don’t have your facts straight don’t go there. In defrence to Slowman i have toned down my reply from what i feel right now.
“We didn’t like it when the brits”… The English were our enemy, we didn’t like much of what they did… that’s why we were at war with them.
How times have changed. The French fought with us as we revolted against the Brits. And just a few years later the Brits conspired to supply the slave holding states (or the resistance to the Northern Aggression depending on your accent) with arms. And where is our allegiance now? Would you like some Liverpool fries with your shake?
Every war has profiteers. You can paint them with red, white, and bleu but they are still profiteers. Educate them in Annapolis or Charleston and their intentions remain the same. Make 100k for the same job that Sam pays you a pittance for. And they will never suffer the indignity of a military tribunal.
Ned
if the service is needed they should either recruit more soldiers or start the god damn draft.
jerk
You are extremely ill informed. Assasins? Do some research before you type! If your friend told you that they are performing assasinations than he doesn’t understand what it is that they do!
jerk, Your right… I am a firm believer that are military is a fraction of the size it should be. I also believe that our military should be paid better for their service. But, that is easier said than done. It seems that Military Contractors are a fact of modern warfare, especially with the proliferation of terrorism). It is an effective way to return highly trained and experienced experts to where they are needed most.
word.
One of them was a triathlete and adventure racer. Scott I think his name was. Tom D knew him.
His name was Scotty Helverson and this ‘mercanary’ as some have referred to the contrators was a loving father, police officer, and like nearly all of the ‘contractors’, a decorated former member of the US military (Navy SEAL). Several of the forum particpants here had either known him or worked with him at some point in the past and they would know better than I but I am sure that Scotty felt there was much more to gain than to lose when he made his decission to accept a position in Iraq and therefore I will not debate the wisdom or consequences of his choice.
You mean to track down and kill an individual or small group is not a definition of assasin. Thats what they do, that’s the name they wear.
OK, my turn.
“Jimmy can dunk. Jimmy’s new in town. Jimmy always refers to himself in the third person. Jimmy runs a business selling plyometric shoes. George ends up going in on a case of the shoes with Jimmy, hoping to profit based on Jimmy’s proven sales method: he jumps. Kramer gets on board with the exercise shoes, but ends up taking the bread out of Jimmy’s mouth when his Novocain-induced drool causes Jimmy to slip while displaying some new moves in the health club locker room. Jimmy may have had a compound fracture. Jimmy wants to get Kramer, and Jimmy holds grudges. Jimmy goes into shock, and is taken off by the paramedics.”
Man, I love it when people talk in the third person. First time I’ve seen this on ST. Cracks me up every time.
You need to take a break from the Michael Moore movie marathon. “It just doesn’t sit well with the jerk that the american government hires mercanaries to fight its fight.” I thought this discussion was about private contractors “aka mercenaries” providing security for various (public & private) entities in Iraq. Maybe I missed the part about these contractors being employed directly by the US government.
“It reeks of cronyism, is inherantly anti-democratic and reduces everything to an immoral market value. at least our volunteer armed forces pay lip service to something higher than the almighty dollar.” So all the private companies (US and other countries) & governmental officials should rely solely on the US military for their protection?
Oh, and if you’re going to notice that someone can’t differentiate between the use of “your” and “you’re”, perhaps you should learn a thing or two about capitalization. And spelling, “inherantly”.
So what do these peace loving “contractors” do exactly?
Hug therapy
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Gentlemen. Lavender Room. Now.