Blackwater

Apparently the private security firm Blackwater and its sisters have not had to obey Iraqi law. Nor the universal code of military justice (UCMJ), and it seems that they are not even accountable under American law.

Contractors build buildings, or repair pipelines. Once a contractor is carrying a sub-machine gun or flies helicopters which have machine guns mounted it is no longer a contractor. They are a private militia. Or perhaps the correct description is a private army or mercenaries.

Neither fits in with what us Americans believe about ourselves.

If the top officials of the American Government do not trust the military to protect them, and they need to hire their own private army to do so, then our country is in more serious trouble than I thought.

All private security contractors, all private militias, and all mercenaries need to be removed from the picture in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact the American government should never employ such an immoral and unethical ruse again.