An intellectual freedom blog with an emphasis on libraries and technology

Monday, October 25, 2004

Another view of conscription



A blog called "Under the Same Sun" views conscription as unnecessary in the current war as an impoverished Central American will work for even less than a U.S. Army private and no one in the U.S. media will notice when they die.

Take a look at We need cheaper lives. At first glance it looks, from the atavistic Bush Administration perspective, like a great idea. Mercenaries and the "security companies" that employ them operate largely free of accountability. And what about veterans of the counter-insurgeny forces in places like Guatamala and Honduras (and El Salvador!!) who are now out of work? Experienced counter-insurgency experts! And they're happy to be employed in Iraq! How could this go wrong? You would think that a President concerned about the belief in the rest of the world that we're at war with Islam would think twice about setting these dogs loose (again!). But not to worry. Most of the recruits will likely come from the impoverished peasant population. And after we employ desperate peasants as mercenaries in Iraq, what will happen when they return home after their tour of duty? There's probably nothing to worry about. We saw how well fighting with a proxy army worked in Afghanistan in the 80s. That hasn't come back to haunt us, has it?

No comments:

Post a Comment