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U.S. Military Contractors Return In Droves to Iraq
America’s mercenaries smell the blood (and the money) and are returning to Iraq.
Mercs are a great thing for the U.S. government, in that they aren’t counted as “troops,” or as “boots on the ground,” even while they are both. The Defense Department can disavow any mischief the contractors get up like, such as murdering civilians, and keep the headcount low and the body count low when things are going well, or bad. It only costs money, and that America has a bottomless pool of, as long as it being spent on something violent abroad instead of helping Americans at home (which is socialism, sonny.)
So let’s look at some numbers.The number of private contractors working for the U.S. Defense Department in Iraq grew eight-fold over the past year, a rate that far outpaces the growing number of American troops training and advising Iraqi soldiers battling Islamic State militants.
As of January, 2,028 military contractors were in Iraq, up from just 250 one year earlier, according to the Pentagon. There are another another 5,800 State Department contractors in Iraq, plus an unknown number of Americans working as trainers and repairpeople who are employed by the U.S. weapons manufacturers themselves.
So that’s 7,828 known U.S. government contractors with their boots on the ground in Iraq. There are roughly 3,700 American troops there now alongside them.
(But let’s keep it real — there are 30,455 contractors for the U.S. government in Afghanistan playing their Mad Max games)
Many of the contractors in Iraq are from well-known warzone profiteers like KBR, DynCorp, and Fluor Corporation, the three firms hired by the Army’s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program.The State Department still employs personnel from whatever Blackwater is now known as. The company changes names more often than a stripper.
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John Poole said...
1Man, I’m slow. I finally get it!-that 2nd Amendment thingee. Our Founders were thinking ahead for sure. A well regulated (well paid) militia to use for foreign adventures. Brilliant!
03/2/16 8:26 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
2“The State Department still employs personnel from whatever Blackwater is now known as. The company changes names more often than a stripper.”
Strippers EARN their money.
03/2/16 11:38 AM | Comment Link
Bruce said...
3Well, HELL; they Mean WELL! Right?!
03/2/16 12:31 PM | Comment Link
jhoover said...
4This not big deal Peter for today
Did you read theis:
State Dep’t: ‘Vast Majority’ of Shi’a Militia in Iraq Not Linked to Iran, IRGC
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/state-dept-vast-majority-shia-militia-iraq-not-linked-iran-irgc
Are those in State depart not stopping ling on own themselves?
One man prove they are wrong:
Hadi Alamiri
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/iran-news-site-profiles-badr-org.html#
Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-militias-specialreport-idUSKCN0IW0ZA20141112
03/2/16 6:32 PM | Comment Link
Kyzl ORda said...
5jhoover,
The horse left that coral in 2003, and that’s the point of this whole site pretty much. It started with State’s INR being slapped down by the neo-cons for refusing to go with the baked intel driving our country to invade Iraq, and went down the toilet from there. Part of the fun is, betting how much lower things can sink. The surprises don’t seem to stop, do they??
03/3/16 2:24 AM | Comment Link
Kyzl ORda said...
6Sorry, ‘corral’ not coral
03/3/16 2:26 AM | Comment Link
Kyzl ORda said...
7Jhoover part 2
In addition to the above article’s reference to the Badr Brigades, you previously posted an article containing an old photo of Nuri al Maliki standing with the hostage takers of the American TWA flight crew back in the 80s. Most people here will remember what happened, namely the killing of navyman Robert Stethem. The Dept’s claim is a blight on itself for failing to recall this
03/3/16 2:39 AM | Comment Link
Kyzl ORda said...
8Think it was Hizbollah and ISlamic Jihad behind that event, both tied to Iran.
03/3/16 2:41 AM | Comment Link
Links 3/3/2016: GNU/Linux in Estonian Schools, Shippable 4.0 | Techrights said...
9[…] U.S. Military Contractors Return In Droves to Iraq […]
03/3/16 6:31 AM | Comment Link
teri said...
10Off-topic:
PVB,
What’s it mean that Pagliano has been granted immunity by the DoJ?
“The Justice Department has granted immunity to the former State Department staffer who set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server. The immunity deal comes as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information.
“A law enforcement official told the Washington Post that Bryan Pagliano has agreed to work with the FBI in exchange for not facing any possible criminal charges.[…]”
https://www.rt.com/usa/334366-doj-immunity-clinton-staffer/
The fact that he won’t face any criminal charges in exchange for ratting sort of indicates that someone else might be. Right? Maybe?
As an amusing and VERY weird aside, the above article states that Larry King interviewed Anthony Weiner – of all the freaking people – to ask his opinion on whether the war-pig Hillary is, in fact, a criminal and whether she ought to be worried.
What a fucked-up country, man! On some “news” show, they actually managed to find some out-of-control sexual pervert who had to resign from office in disgrace and pull him out of his basement, where he was probably sweating over porn-flicks, and bring him forth to proffer his “valued” opinion on how seriously Hillary needs to take all these investigations into her assorted, albeit dissimilar to his own, criminal activities. I hope they made him wash his hands first.
He allowed as to how there was no “there” there. (Shades of “Is that MY penis?”) Which is what he would say, of course, because he must be hoping that someone, anyone, will tell the Clintons how he is a real stand-up guy (heh, heh, couldn’t resist) and maybe when she wins the election she will remember his loyalty and give him a post in her cabinet somewhere. Surely, he can guard the latrines at the White House or SOMEthing.
03/3/16 6:35 AM | Comment Link
wemeantwell said...
11I’ve been doing most of my Hillary commenting on someone else’s site, mainly because they pay me a bit and that helps keep this one running for free, and because so many of We Meant Well readers are focused on national security, end of empire, the American apocalypse. I had something on Pagliano a few months ago (http://hillarydaily.com/peter/2015/09/17/more-questions-for-hillarys-email-guy-as-repubs-bore-in/) and will follow the story over on that site. Potentially he has the keys to the kingdom; as sysadmin, he may have known EVERYTHING. Could be a game changer, or he could chicken out. Or end up dead.
03/3/16 7:58 AM | Comment Link
teri said...
12Oh, my God. Weiner is married to Huma Abedin, Hillary’s primary camp follower and long-time aide.
That explains a lot.
03/3/16 6:43 AM | Comment Link
wemeantwell said...
13Oh yes, Weiner aka Carlos Danger and dearest Huma. Rumor is that Hillary begged her to dump him for the optics (and perhaps I agree with Hillary this once, she should have dumped him) but Huma stayed on, and went on to get preggy with him.
03/3/16 7:55 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
14Look on the bright side, if Pags blows the whistle on the email scandal, he can write for HillaryDaily. Or maybe Donald will make him Patrick Kennedy’s replacement.
03/3/16 8:04 AM | Comment Link
teri said...
15Why in the hell would any woman want to stay with a guy like that? Seriously. He is a walking insult to women. And he sent more penis pictures after being forced out of Congress and AFTER marrying her. (That she tolerated that shit makes her an insult to women, too.)
I’ll go check out the HillaryDaily site. Had no idea it existed.
03/3/16 8:34 AM | Comment Link
U.S. Military Contractors Return In Droves to Iraq | Eyes Open Report said...
16[…] By: Peter Van Buren | We Meant Well […]
03/3/16 10:21 AM | Comment Link
StarkNakedTruth said...
17PVB said…
“Or end up dead.”
My bet’s on ending up dead. If Pags is smart, he requested round the clock security protection, in addition to, immunity from prosecution.
03/3/16 11:47 AM | Comment Link
jhoover said...
18Kyzl ORda
The main story of all of this the relation between Iraqi gangs and Iran Genie undeniable and factually true.
So the core is this:
Whoever wins, ISIL or Shiites controlled Baghdad with the backing of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the peoples of eastern Syrian and Iraqis, minus the Kurds, face a Sharia future (not a liberalised governance of the type that is emerging in Iraqi Kurdistan).
For the Sunnis and Shiites of Iraq it’s therefore either an ISIL Caliphate or incorporation into an Iranian dominated Sharia orders.
Watch Hadi Alamiri:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKIC-rsN7k
In another video he talking about the Namey!! who is the enemy ? Iraqis were his enemy?
looks to his history In Iran Mullah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODEIHkvq-aU&ebc=ANyPxKqlW8oOA7Smzh4IZ142veGP5Y6kk_fzUXowmYZ_VWs6Ko-6yTFtqtn9hzrjGpsbuuc7t_Sh
03/3/16 6:45 PM | Comment Link
U.S. Military Contractors Return In Droves To Iraq | Ghosts Of Tom Joad - Peter Van Buren - Thought Crime Radio said...
19[…] More at U.S. Military Contractors Return In Droves To Iraq | Ghosts Of Tom Joad – Peter Van Buren […]
03/5/16 2:22 PM | Comment Link
U.S. Military Contractors Return In Droves To Iraq - Thought Crime Radio said...
20[…] More at U.S. Military Contractors Return In Droves To Iraq | Ghosts Of Tom Joad – Peter Van Buren […]
03/5/16 2:24 PM | Comment Link