US to Spike Private Mercenaries in Iraq Amid Expanding War, Says Senior Official

[RiverLover]

US to Spike Private Mercenaries in Iraq Amid Expanding War, Says Senior Official
12/25/14

The U.S. government is preparing to hike the number of private mercenary forces in Iraq, as part of the expanding war in that country and neighboring Syria, an anonymous senior U.S. official told Reuters.

There are currently at least 1,800 private contractors in Iraq, and the official said it is not immediately clear how many additional mercenaries will be sent, according to Reuters.

Nonetheless, journalists Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart note, the plan to boost numbers "underscores Obama's growing commitment in Iraq. When U.S. troops and diplomats venture into war zones, contractors tend to follow, doing jobs once handled by the military itself."

The mercenary forces will add to the approximately 1,750 U.S. troops currently in Iraq, a number that is slated to climb past 3,000 after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered more deployments last week.

The push to increase U.S. military service members and private contractors comes at a time when little information is being released to the public about the wars in Iraq and Syria, including data on civilian deaths.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/12/25/us-spike-private-mercenaries-iraq-amid-expanding-war-says-senior-official

See also~

As U.S. troops return to Iraq, more private contractors follow
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/24/us-usa-iraq-contractors-idUSKBN0K20AW20141224

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Never thought I would see the day

the USA would start to look like South Africa with the Belgium Mercenaries doing their dirty work. This isn't going to play out very well me thinks. Pentagon neo cons at their finest.

[RiverLover]

3. We're outsourcing everything these days.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Mercenaries aren't called the scum of the earth for no reason.

[linuxman]

8. Is this a saying?

I'm unfamiliar.

[on point]

4. Incredibly bad idea. More costly, free from legal constraints, still reps the USA.

Either get in, or not. But don't try to employ the mercenary fiction. It will just bring bad news.

Can anyone say fall of Roman Empire 2.0?

[ManiacJoe]

5. Not just security contractors.

Food service contractors, laundry service contractors, maintenance contractors, etc.

[grasswire]

6. more money for Halliburton and Carlyle Group, no doubt

Bushco forever.

[aspirant]

10. Why are "We The People" paying for this again?

Where are the corporate WAR TAX (fees) so every American person is paying their share?

ORRRR, just stop this war nonsense WAR,NO MORE

When budget cuts are proposed, start at these wars for oil!

[ManiacJoe]

11. Apparently the client is the government.

As soon as the military is not spread so thin, we can put some of the marines back on embassy duty.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

7. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Albert Einstein

[nationalize the fed]

9. Einstein never said that.

It has been repeated so many times that if it's not corrected it will never be. I don't mean to nitpick but the truth is the truth. Many quotes going around on the net are misattributed- or just completely made up.

Source 1

Source 2

Ironically, the earliest known occurrence, and probable origin, is from a 1981 text from Narcotics Anonymous.