The military should be one of the few things that are exclusively the responsibility of the federal government (I think I read that in the Constitution). When the government has to hire private firms to perform operational tasks, that strikes me as (1) an inappropriate delegation of the government's role and (2) a pretty good sign that we've bitten off more than we can chew.

Creating these massive private security firms also creates a huge talent drain on our military. When the military guys realize that they can triple their salary by going to a private firm where they don't have to put up with a lot of military B.S. it's pretty much a no brainer. In the end the pool of senior NCO's are cleaned out, and they are the backbone of any military unit, so we become more and more dependent on the contractors because they are the only ones who can really get the job done.

Actually, we could (and should) have used a contractor to whack Osama Bin Ladin had anyone in the Bush White House thought to use the Constitution for anything but toilet paper. The Constitution gives Congress authority to grant "Letters of Marque" to whack bad guys, like the folks who committed the terrorist crimes on 9/11.
Going to war -- twice -- was playing right into the hands of the jihadis and it's destroying America.

http://www.progress.org/fold232.htm

One alternative to U.S. military action against terrorists who have attacked the U.S. and other countries, and are threatening further attacks, is to enact Letters of Marque and Reprisal. Article I, Section 8, paragraph 11 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to "grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water." A "reprisal" means an action taken in return for some injury. A reprisal could be a seizing of property or guilty persons in retaliation for an attack and injury. It could include forced used against the perpetrators for the redress of grievances. A reprisal could even involve killing a terrorist who is threatening further harm and cannot be captured.

George, you make a good point.

My only beefs are that Blackwater isn't exactly the same as a privateer with a letter of marque, they don't seem to be involved in the kinds of limited engagements (i.e., having a specific goal or target, capturing a pirate, recovering stolen treasure), and Congress hasn't even declared a war in decades, let alone issued letters of reprisal. It'd be nice to have a declaration that identified the enemy, the purpose (kill people and break things, usually, but not always), and hopefully spelled out general boundaries for the conflict.

I am reading a book about Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill right now. Very interesting. I got it from the Borders discount rack for $5.99. I recommend it if you want to know more about how it became so powerful, what they are into, etc.

Oh dear. Letters of Marque and Reprisal.

Mr. Jefferson, we're sorry. we just want to make war. A lot. It's really profitable.

Folks, governments use contractors and their own agencies to covertly kill and subvert all the time. In the international arena, the US is infamous for it. We've put every other modern government to shame when it comes to subbing out our dirty work. Getting fancy with "letters of marque" isn't necessary--it's being done.

All that happened here was one of the dirty arrangements got found out.

And if *that* isn't scary enough for you, consider what even Tony Blair knew to be true: al Qaeda doesn't exist.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/july2005/150705blairadmits.htm

Eco, you miss my point. When you say

Folks, governments use contractors and their own agencies to covertly kill and subvert all the time. In the international arena, the US is infamous for it. We've put every other modern government to shame when it comes to subbing out our dirty work.

We've already agreed that it's being done, but it's not being done right. My point is simply that if you had a Congress who had authorized such letters against OBL and his minions, there would have been a lot of steam let out of the War Express (which is of course why Bush would never have suggested such a thing, since Dick and Rummy were already figuring out how to use the 9/11 attacks to slam Iraq).

If we agree that we're already doing it, then what's the harm in doing it above board where everyone can see it and there would be less grounds for killing hundreds of thousands of innocents with the military?

We've already agreed that it's being done, but it's not being done right.

My mistake. I didn't realize there was a "right" way to secretly kill land subvert.

My point is simply that if you had a Congress who had authorized such letters against OBL and his minions, there would have been a lot of steam let out of the War Express (which is of course why Bush would never have suggested such a thing, since Dick and Rummy were already figuring out how to use the 9/11 attacks to slam Iraq)

Okay, I see where you're trying to go with this one. I'd say--the CIA and other organizations simply find it too easy to do it the "below board" way. I mean--creating the legend of a massive, global "al Qaeda" organization might be one of the most brilliant disinformation campaigns in recent history.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that the "al Queda disinformation campaign" is still moving in full force and effect with a DEMOCRAT in the White House. Why is Bin Laden a boogeyman for Bush, but not for Obama?

Just shows how much graft and influence there is by the CIA and others with a private interest ($$$) in the making of war.

Why is Bin Laden a boogeyman for Bush, but not for Obama?

Well, for one, Obama's only been in office for eight months. Give bin Laden some time. By this point in the Bush presidency, 9/11 hadn't happened yet. So far, Obama has neither announced "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED," said he'd get bin Laden "dead or alive," or said that he doesn't really think about him all that much.

For another reason, the multiple wars that Bush started with no plan for success provide plenty of drama without bin Laden's involvement. Increased terrorist activity in Iraq, instability in Afghanistan, the Taliban that never went away and is now openly active in Pakistan; bin Laden could be taken out by a Predator drone tomorrow and Obama would still have to deal with that mess.

Proof once again the facts and public opinion mean nothing to the folks running our government.