At Blackwater USA's paramilitary training camp, private security guards prepare to work in Iraq, where they serve as commando teams, give strategic advice, even operate a military's supply lines - all for a price. The scene from the training camp was eerily echoed weeks later, when three former Army Rangers and a former Navy SEAL employed by Blackwater USA's security consulting subsidiary were killed in Fallujah.
Experts say even the grisly news photos of the Fallujah attack are unlikely to deter people eager to collect some of the estimated $1 billion being spent on private security in Iraq. he U.S. occupation is "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to make big bucks," said Daniel Biran, a former Israeli special forces soldier who is associate managing director for security practice at Boston's Citigate Global Intelligence.
Privatization advocates say outsourcing security makes financial sense for the government given that it takes 18 months and costs about $250,000 to train an entry-level Green Beret, while an outsourced security operative can be hired when needed. Singer, however, says the ranks of corporate warriors are swelling because they are politically more palatable than increasing military force strength, he said. "What's really driving this in Iraq is trying to displace the political costs," he said.
http://22.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D81S9T300
So it all comes down to Bush and company using these private mercs to "displace" the political costs. They can do things that ordinary soldiers aren't allowed to do and it doesn't have to look like the administration is forcing too many of our military boys overseas. If Bush, Rummy, and company had any sense whatsoever they would remember that one of the biggest steps toward the destruction of the Roman Empire was when the emperors turned their army into a mainly merc. force. But, then again Bush and Caligula do seem to share may things in common.