Quote:
Originally Posted by Muck
Handy note of the day folks:
Having an opinion and knowing what in the hell you are talking about are often inversely proportional to one another.
On a completely unrelated note:
I would like to thank ORD for telling me where my loyalty and that of men that I've worked closely with lies. Clearly his experience on the matter of my loyalty is greater than my own.
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You're welcome. A mercenary can be the biggest flag waver this side of Major Frank Burns, but it doesn't negate the fact that a private for-profit corporation is the source of both his livelihood and chain of command. The US government has no direct control over these men other than relying on their best intentions and hoping for the best. Give it up already. Even the administration, which has yet to admit a single fault or error these past seven years, is racing to distance itself from Blackwater.
Handy note of the day #2: Being a grunt on the ground doesn't give one any insight or knowledge into any issues beyond those related to being a grunt on the ground. It is not an automatic passport to an understanding of any of the larger political, military or diplomatic issues at play. If it were, every grunt would end up a damned general.
As someone who served in our embassies in apartheid era South Africa as well as Eastern Europe, I'm damned glad that it was during an era when the protection of those embassies was not outsourced to politically connected, no-bid contract mercenary firms.