Temporary Archive: Suzanne Brockmann's Message Board

Going back to WWII, that was a sad way for U.S. to be pulled out of a terrible economic depression, right on through LBJ and his 'Guns and Butter programs' and into the present. But I think Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has far over reached his authority by what amounts to outsourcing a war! I can swallow using private companies to provide support to the military this has been a long going thing. But there is, to me, something wrong with a private contractor being a transportation provider to troops in a war zone. Also with them being the ones providing security to U.S. civilian government officials who are stationed in a war zone. It's become a numbers shell game of how many military people are needed to do the operations (operation such and such, he!! they are wars!!) and are counted as officially killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A well paid private contractor is just as dead, but somehow DOD isn't responsible for him so his death does not go into the 'official' count. Sec. of Defense is trying to do this on the cheap, so we the taxpayers & Congress don't complain too much. Sorry for this rant. This use of private contracting companies, in the present war in Iraq and Afghanistan just really disgusts me.