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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jackielalanne who wrote (69417)	12/23/2004 5:28:07 PM
From: jackielalanne	Respond to of 89467

It's estimated that we have 4000-6000 military contractors in Iraq. Military contractors are now recruiting many of them from poor countries, and many joining are ex-soldiers in their native country. They do everything from driving supply trucks to guard duty at embassies and all kinds of security work, jobs that typically were done by our own military officers. There are companies reportedly even recruiting from Chile, men who were once part of the human rights abusive government in Chile. There's a lot to be concerned about here, accountability being a biggie. Morally, offering money to poorer people in other nations to work and die in a U.S. war zone is pretty sickening, but people do it because it's more than they can make in their country (and the Military contractors love it because they can pay these people a 1/4 of what they would pay an American). But then again, this whole war is sickening. A New Poverty Draft: Military Contractors Target Latin America For New Recruits Thursday, December 23rd, 2004 you can watch/listen to the whole segment here... democracynow.org Halliburton and other private military contractors have begun advertising campaigns in El Salvador, Colombia and Nicaragua to recruit ex-soldiers to work in Iraq. With the situation in Iraq becoming more and more deadly and the resistance gaining increasing popular support inside the country, the Bush administration has begun sending thousands more US troops to Baghdad. But many question how many more troops the administration can afford to send, or more important, how many soldiers it can send. The US military is facing an unprecedented crisis in recruiting numbers and new enlistments. Meanwhile, new Pentagon statistics show that more than 5,000 soldiers have now been charged with desertion from bases in the U.S. and overseas since the invasion of Iraq in early 2003. In some circles, there is talk of a return to the draft, though most analysts say that is unlikely in the near future. But it is not just the military that is facing difficulty in recruiting people to deploy to Iraq. Private contractors are also facing a serious personnel crisis, particularly given the danger of the situation and the fact that kidnappings and beheadings have become a regular part of the reality in occupied Iraq. Now, private US corporations have begun recruiting outside of the country. In recent months companies like Halliburton have launched ad campaigns and recruiting drives in several Latin American countries, promising huge salaries for fighting age men and women to serve in Iraq. Among the countries being targeted are El Salvador, Colombia and Nicaragua. Geoff Thale , senior associate for Central America and Cuba at the Washington Office on Latin America.