Reply #11: Well, realistically, we are not going to start paying our troops that--

[TwilightGardener]

and they don't sign up for the money anyway (my husband is active-duty military, so I know this!). If these civilian contractors want to gamble their lives for big bucks, let them. They're not defending our freedom and our way of life, they're just guarding diplomats and facilities. Our troops are the ones who really don't belong there--and they don't have a choice either. Let our troops come home first, or get sent somewhere where they can have a real impact on our security. I'm not too worried about the mercenaries--it's a privatized, profit-earning occupation, let the money boys have Iraq all to themselves.