tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post7567673345111574443..comments2024-03-11T10:20:01.582-07:00Comments on The Rehearsal Studio: We Have Nothing to Fear Except Our Own Contractors!Stephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-18231337848711029392008-03-21T10:45:00.000-07:002008-03-21T10:45:00.000-07:00I decided that it was more appropriate to reply to...I decided that it was more appropriate to reply to this comment with a new <A HREF="http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2008/03/euphemism-or-trivialization.html" REL="nofollow"><BR/>post</A>; but I think that any subsequent discussion would probably be further informed by yesterday's <I>Mother Jones</I> <A HREF="http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/03/blackwaters-world-of-warcraft.html" REL="nofollow"><BR/>article</A> by Bruce Falconer and Daniel Schulman.Stephen Smoliarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-15406919099828525282008-03-21T02:35:00.000-07:002008-03-21T02:35:00.000-07:00Too often quality insight is wasted on bad informa...Too often quality insight is wasted on bad information. When someone claims the 180,000 contractors in Iraq a 'mercenaries' they are <BR/><BR/>1. Using a derogatory term which trivializes a serious issue, <BR/><BR/>2. Ignoring a internationally-recognized legal definition in the interests of sensationalism, and <BR/><BR/>3. Ignoring the reality of who the contractors really are and what they do. <BR/><BR/>Using ‘mercenary’ in any sort of academic context is silly. Why don’t we use the ‘egghead’ term when discussing academics in any sort of serious manner? ‘Quacks’ for doctors? ‘Ambulance Chasers’ for the legal profession? <BR/><BR/>And can an Iraqi doing security in Iraq truly be called a ‘mercenary’? What if the Iraqi is pouring concrete on a reconstruction project? If not, then 120,000 of those 180,000 ‘mercenaries’ are not mercs after all. The overwhelming majority of the rest of the contractors are providing support functions for the U.S. military. The reality is hidden by too many academics and pundits who know better: less than 2,000 are Americans doing private security work in Iraq (mostly diplomatic security under State Department’s WPPS contract).<BR/><BR/>Too many smart folks looking at this industry rely on highly unreliable and partisan sources like the award-winning (!) best-seller author Jeremy Scahill. Too few bother to look at reality.<BR/><BR/>Doug Brooks<BR/>IPOAHoosier84https://www.blogger.com/profile/11539992294058088564noreply@blogger.com