Faced with a choice between a draft, withdrawal, and hiring mercenaries, I've got a nasty feeling that the Bush administration will choose mercenaries. One of the major reasons that I dislike our hiring mercenaries in Iraq is that it creates an environment which invites corporate control of military capabilities. In the past, when they've obtained such control, corporations have used it to
punish those who dare to criticize them:
The bodies of the dead Nigerian villagers had not yet grown cold when the Navy captain presented Chevron with a bill: 15,000 naira, or $165 for responding to ``attacks from Opia village against security agents.''
Within 24 hours Chevron paid up.
Creating a military-for-hire equipped with modern equipment, and prepared to operate at the behest of American corporations in Iraq all but guarantees that it will remain available after the war.
I shudder to imagine a living in America if we allow those with the wealth and resources behind them to quash dissent not through SLAPP or swift boat type campaigns, but through actual military action against citizens.