By Keith Johnson
Most U.S. troops may have left Iraq, but the occupation continues in ways that are far less transparent to the American people. An army of bureaucrats and mercenaries still occupies the Middle East country, despite claims from the White House that the Iraqis are free.
Late last year, Obama greeted returning veterans at Fort Bragg, N.C. and announced that the eight-year war had come to an end. “Over the last few months, the final work of leaving Iraq has been done,” Obama proclaimed. “Dozens of bases with American names that housed thousands of American troops have been closed down or turned over to the Iraqis.”
Though that may have been enough to satisfy some, Obama’s formal announcement of troop draw-downs hardly qualifies as a complete withdrawal. In its largest diplomatic mission since the end of World War II, the State Department now commands more than 16,000 civilian employees at four major diplomatic centers and seven other facilities throughout the country, as well as 5,500 armed mercenaries under contract by private security firms.
Of course, these are just official numbers that the government has been kind enough to divulge. The true proliferation of “private contractors”—a euphemism for mercenaries— working in the region is anyone’s guess. - [Full Article]
