Daily Kos has also made a similar point to Steve Gilliard's which I highlighted in the last post. Kos feels even more strongly about the issue than Gilliard. The whole post is very worth reading: Mercenaries, war and my childhood 04/02/04.
I was angry that five soldiers -- the real heroes in my mind -- were killed the same day and got far lower billing in the newscasts. I was angry that 51 American soldiers paid the ultimate price for Bush's folly in Iraq in March alone. I was angry that these mercenaries make more in a day than our brave men and women in uniform make in an entire month. I was angry that the US is funding private armies, paying them $30,000 per soldier, per month, while the Bush administration tries to cut our soldiers' hazard pay. I was angry that these mercenaries would leave their wives and children behind to enter a war zone on their own violition.
What does his childhood have to do with it?
Unlike the vast majority of people in this country, I actually grew up in a war zone. I witnessed communist guerillas execute students accused of being government collaborators. I was 8 years old, and I remember stepping over a dead body, warm blood flowing from a fresh wound. Dodging bullets while at market. I lived in the midsts of hate the likes of which most of you will never understand (Clinton and Bush hatred is nothing compared to that generated when people kill each other for politics or race or nationality). There's no way I could ever describe the ways this experience colors my worldview.
Go read the whole thing.
2 comments:
I see that Kos' post that I quoted here has got the warbloggers gnashing their teeth and rending their garments. But his point is straightforward and legitimate: why should the lives of American soldiers be put at risk to avenge the deaths of mercenaries? Especially if the ensuing action winds up inflaming the armed opposition in Iraq? - Bruce
Apparently the particular comment for which Kos took flak was a different one than this, an earlier one in the comments section of another post on his site. He apologized for the earlier one, which I'm not sure I've seen, and took it off his site. The post quote here is an expansion and clarification of his position. - Bruce
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