Letters to the Editor
AndrewH
Published Letters: 2 Editor's Choice: 1
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Mercenaries or lawful combatants
[Read the article: The dark truth about Blackwater]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My initial reaction was exactly the same as petralyn: these people are mercenaries and should be called by that name, with all of its pejorative connotations.
Sadly though, it seems the Geneva Conventions disagree with us: http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/protocol1.htm
Article 47: "A mercenary is any person who ... is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict"
In other words, so long as Blackwater is careful to only use US nationals, and so long as the US can be defined as a "party to the conflict", Blackwater get to do pretty much whatever they want with impunity.
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It's called arrogance
[Read the article: It's 3 a.m. Who do you want answering the phone?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The last person the world wants answering that phone is someone who believes anything that happens is automatically the purview of the US military and its Commander in Chief.
Clinton or McCain, will it really make a difference? We need a President who knows when to leave the phone ringing.