Read Pratap Chatterjee's article on the role of military contractors KBR and Blackwater. This is my response to the issues he raises.

If a war can't be fought with citizen soldiers, it is a war of imperialism.

We can quibble about details, but KBR/Blackwater is an army of mercenary auxiliaries. The U.S. military are beholden to them in the same way the Roman legions were beholden to their barbarian auxiliaries. When the barbarians decided that keeping a puppet emperor on the throne was too much unnecessary overhead, the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist over night.

We'd better hope our mercenaries' overlords don't get a counteroffer.

By the way, I'm sorry if this offends anyone who has worked for KBR/Blackwater and put their life on the line for them. Please know that I never asked you to fight for me; you did that on your own dime.

I didn't ask the men and women of our military to fight this war for me either, but I owe them something that can't be repaid--our country breaks faith with its citizen soldiers every time it sends them in harm's way to further its imperial designs. 

    There are some things we should do even if the admittedly absolute wisdom of the Free Market doesn't make them profitable. Clearly this war was never one of them.

    The face of the U.S. government and its people is now the face of KBR and Blackwater. This is what Iraqis and the Fijian driver that Chatterjee interviewed think of when they think of the America. Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the world--check.