Article

2007-09-29 Iraq

U.S. general: Security contractors use 'over-the-top' tactics in Iraq

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Posted by gorb 2007-09-29 04:11|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 Just wondering...has anyone, anyplace ever used "under-the-bottom" tactics?

Posted by tu3031 2007-09-29 10:19|| 2007-09-29 10:19|| Front Page Top

#2 See: Barney Frank

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-09-29 10:39|| 2007-09-29 10:39|| Front Page Top

#3 The responses are "over the top" only after combat and from someone else's perspective. I can guarantee you that the people who were there that were ambushed saw things VERY differently.

When you are under fire from a pile of masked black turbans intent on ambushing you and your protected, you tend to use the best of your ability and equipment. If this seems to call for throw everything you have at them, then thats what happens. Look to the 4 on the bridge in Fallujah a few years ago or the kidnapped soldiers who were mutilated and gutted, to see what a lack of sufficiently severe response does.

Their enemies choose not to observe the Geneva conventions, so these guys are not bound by Geneva convention either. And unlike the Army with lawyers restricting the ROE, these folks WILL get deadly on you in a hurry. Thats their job - to protect their charges, not to be nice or PC.

In this instance, the harsher and worse response they give, the less likely it is that someone triggers said response another time, either out of fear, or because they are dead. And unlike US troops, these people are NOT formally representing our nation, they are representing their employers - usually the Iraqi government.

So some of this is the press and a few politicians and REMFs criticizing people who are out there doing the job on the edge that US troops cannot do for political reasons, and that the Iraqis are incapable of doing for themselves, yet.

Posted by OldSpook 2007-09-29 11:32|| 2007-09-29 11:32|| Front Page Top

#4 And the leading contender for the "Dry Snark of the Day" award is ... Frank!

Posted by lotp 2007-09-29 12:40|| 2007-09-29 12:40|| Front Page Top

#5 I think the difference is that security contractors aren't traveling in Bradleys and Strykers and don't have on-call access to JDAM's. So they have to be a little more aggressive. Security contractors also don't have major league death benefits for casualties, unlike the military. Anderson shooting off his mouth isn't helpful to the mission in Iraq. Without security contractors to take care of logistics, we could need a lot more troops to carry out the mission. Troops we don't have, given the current political climate.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2007-09-29 14:01|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2007-09-29 14:01|| Front Page Top

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