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Old 01-15-2008, 09:28 AM
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Schizowallflower Schizowallflower is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rapid View Post
Pros
-private contractor mercenary armies like Blackwater have better guns, vehicles, and armor than the US Army, and Marines.
-it would greatly reduce the bureaucracy of the DoD and other agencies.
-operations would become more streamlined
-firms such as Blackwater have taken an oath to uphold the American constitution, and therefore have lessen their 'mercenary' identity
These are some great positives. Although some of these our military should already be doing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rapid View Post
Cons
-firms such as Blackwater was founded and funded by the Christian-right people and think tanks, with possibly an ulterior agenda
-many empires have seen the fall from hiring mercenaries, such as the Roman Empire
-Machiavellie was known to be strongly against the use of mercenary forces, arguing that they would never 'die for their nation'
-firms such as Halliburton became increasingly intertwined with executive offices such as the Vice Presidency under Cheney and practice operations in all states in order to take advantage of the Congress
I think there is definitely an ulterior motive, and I would love to know what it is. Because something like this is usually always "too good to be true." Also, I don't really think the "American Empire" can fall. If it does, it definitely will be with a bang, and not as easy as the Roman Empire. And as for the "not dying for their nation..." that's the code of the U.S. Military, privatized or not. So I don't think that's an issue.

All in all, I think the positives outweigh the negatives, but I still need a little more convincing before I vote on something like this.
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