I know kos has talked about his take on merenary contractors already but an AP story today brought it to my attention again.
http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=7&aid=D822R3L81_story
The whole idea of contract soldiers worries (chills) me. It feels just a little too close to militias for hire. What if any are the restrictions on where and to whom they can offer services? What if any are the restrictions on the type and extent of their services? Are their services available within the US? I don't like these contractors in Iraq and would not like to see them marketing their services in the good old homeland. Pinkertons were bad enough.
Maybe these are just headed for the NRA market. Maybe they are headed for some contractors who want to get their crew suited up for Iraq or wherever.
Anybody who can reassure me this is now big deal...that would be great.
ROME - Authorities in southern Italy seized about 7,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles and other combat-grade firearms from a ship headed for New York, officials said Tuesday.
The weapons - AK-47s, AKM rifles and machine guns worth more than $6 million - were found mixed in with properly labeled guns in cargo containers on board a Turkish-flagged ship that docked at the port of Gioia Tauro, a police official said.
Documents accompanying the cargo indicated the weapons were destined for a company in the U.S. state of Georgia, the official said, declining to name the company.
...
The AK-47 rifles had been altered so they couldn't be used for rapid fire, but the alteration could be easily reversed, police said.
A 1994 ban prevents the U.S. gun industry from making, importing or selling military style semiautomatic weapons because. But that law expires in September.