Violence Begets Violence

How will the US public respond to today's grisly pictures of "jubilant" Iraqis burning and mutilating dead US contractors? According to reports, the Iraqis dragged US corpses through the streets and hung them from a bridge spanning the Euphrates River.

Comparisons with Somalia are inevitable. In that case, the US was involved in a humanitarian mission and it was US soldiers from a downed helicopter, not private contractors, who were mutilated in the streets. Clinton's response was to urgently withdraw all US forces from the country. Don't hold your breath waiting for Bush to do the same.

Hopefully the publicity these images generate will help US voters understand the extent of privatized contracting work in Iraq, and question the number of US firms and contractors involved in rebuilding that country with US taxpayers' dollars. No wonder the US Army says no more troops are needed - it's more profitable to hire private contractors from Halliburtons R Us.