No Mercenaries. Period!

Why are they holding trails for manslaughter for a Blackwater security unit? Because they are alleged criminals. It is my belief that the United States should never hire private security. The government should only attach government employees to foreign and domestic security operations.

There may be good reason for deploying private security contractors to rural Afghanistan, but it's hard to imagine worse optics. In the coming months, the U.S. will have to maintain a delicate balancing act in Afghanistan - doubling efforts, while still striving to keep the faith of it's people. -- Democracy Arsenal -- read more

Wrong. There is NO good reason for deploying private security contractors. We have a huge military, we have a large federal police force, we have the Secret Service. We do not need to hire legally questionable armed thugs to do our dirty work. I find it un-American to hire mercenaries. Yes, these guys in Blackwater are distinguished veterans, but now we're paying them more than we pay our soldiers without any clear legal rules of engagement. These guys are doing nothing out of service, or honor, or a dedication to the protection of the Constitution or America. They are only toting guns for the highest bidder. And ultimately they won't be held accountable to anyone. I would vote, encourage and lobby for a Constitutional Amendment banning the hiring of any private armed security force by the federal government for foreign or domestic service. If the job requires specialized security, then recruit people into the government agencies to do this. Then clarify rules of engagement and legal jurisdiction as they would apply to any government agency. This is a no-brainer, unless you have dirty work that we shouldn't be doing in the first place. That's a whole other issue.