We shouldn't fire Blackwater. We should draft them.

[jgraz]

I just listened to Rachel Maddow interviewing Paul Rieckhoff about Blackwater, and he raised one more point against them that I hadn't realized before. Yes, they are gutting the treasury; yes, they are committing war crimes; and yes, they are undermining whatever mission we allegedly have in Iraq.

But Blackwater and other mercenaries are also poaching from our military. They're taking the best and the brightest, offering to triple their salaries (or more) and stealing them away from the military as soon as their obligations are up. We pay millions of dollars to train these guys, and then the mercenary contractors snap them up so we can pay millions more for their services.


So I was thinking: these mercenaries are bleeding us dry, they aren't subject to any law, and they exist only because they've received training at our expense. So...why not draft them back into the military?

We need soldiers, and they're basically ready from day one to serve. We can pay them standard military wages (and give all of our G.I.s a healthy raise), subject them to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and put them under the command and control of people actually running the mission.

I'd love to see people start pushing this idea:

Draft Blackwater

[Richard Steele]

1. I like that idea.

Not only would we get the same soldiers for a fifth the cost,
they'd finally be subject to laws again!

Recommending.

[ProSense]

2. We could also indicted them and send them to jail where they belong! n/t

[rusty quoin]

3. You can draft some of them,

but not the Serbian war criminals.

[jgraz]

4. Yeah, maybe we'll pass on the war criminals

Not just the Serbians, but the criminals from this occupation as well.

[Didereaux]

5. That is the PROBLEM we already paid for their training...

They recruit heavily, and I mean heavily from the active ranks of the Special Warfare Operations units (SEALS, Rangers etc) They talked two members of the team my son is in, to not re-enlist and join up with them. One had 12 years and the other i believe had eight years in the service. SO as bright as some of these guys are, some are stupid money-wise. They gave up a lifetime pension, lifetime medical and other bennies for a lousy couple hundred grand a year with no bennoes and no real future.

But back to the point, Vlackwater is tapping the US treasury twice, once for the several hundred thousand dollars for training of the troops they steal, and again for the millions they cahrge to rent them back to us.

But all 'patriotic 'Muricans are good honest folks, and by gum these guys are true blue patriots! So's its alright, and y'all can jus shut your commie pinko wimpy rubber-spined yaps if'n you don't agree. ..or when we get dun with these camel-jockeys we'll send these gud ol' boys down your way an shut it for ya!


Sheesh!

[Hutzpa]

6. Hmmm.........There's alot of Cuckoo flying around tonite..n/t

:yoiks:

[jgraz]

7. Can you explain why this is a bad idea? Or are you just here for the snark?

[ConsAreLiars]

8. Continuing to slaughter Iraqis is not the answer to anything.

Well, other than enriching the war corpororations and increasing human misery. If those are your goals, then your suggestion makes sense. Unleashing mass murderers on the people of Iraq (and Iran, which you may also have in mind) would also definitely further the PNAC plan for unending war, which you may also support.

(edit to add a phrase.)

[jgraz]

11. Who says we keep them in Iraq?

I just said that we draft them into the military, or the national guard. Put them to work rebuilding the Gulf Coast at $30/day.

They've taken so much from us at such a high cost in lives, don't you think we should use them to clean up some of their own mess?

[haroldgiowa]

9. Blackwater loyalties?

I question where Blackwater loyalties lie. Are they loyal to the dollar or the cause. It worries me if push came to shove, which direction they might point their weapons. I give you this for food for thought.

[daninthemoon]

10. We should jail them.

[jgraz]

12. We could, but that would be less productive than putting them to work

And we could always jail them when they're done.

[seriousstan]

13. "They're taking the best and the brightest"?? And these are the men you are accusing of "war crimes"

You can't have it both ways.

Or are you going to tell me Blackwater stole their souls and changed them?

[jgraz]

15. See, there's more than one person working for Blackwater

Some are war criminals, some are just out for a buck. Putting them all under the UCMJ will help curtail the criminals.

[C_U_L8R]

14. War Profiteers

the worst sort of leeches

traitors.

[tom_paine]

16. I can't help but remember that's what Hitler did with the Brownshirts.

Do we really want our military even more flooded by Loyal Bushies? I think we are already in enough danger from our own military and LE that we don;t need to make it worse with an injection of nazi-Lite.

Just my two cents.