Testimony

The term, "Virginia Hessians" comes to mind.

US contractors in Iraq reportedly have their own motto: "What happens here today, stays here today."

I'd like to say I'm shocked...but this really isn't a surprise. The only thing worse than hundreds of thousands of soldiers being forced to serve in...admittedly IMO...an unjust war is forcing those same brave, poor bastards to watch as their own government and leadership repeatedly give them the cold shoulder and a kick to the junk.

So...what do you all think....outlaw...or privatize war completely? Or is that just a bit too creepy and "pre-sci-fi nightmare"?

Well, that depends - we already have a mix of mercenaries and governments for war - and while governments only sometimes benefit from wars, mercenaries *always* do.

So, given that, hell no.

On the flipside, just to be fair, at least the mercs get good equipment. <chuckles> Of course, I agree, it would be creepy and there would definitely be a conflict of interests.

Add proper responsible accountability and maybe "If you win the war within ___ days you get bonuses" so it's not prolonged, and it might be an interesting option.

Like either of those would ever happen....but still, if you could, then mercs wouldn't be nearly as scary.