HOW MANY MERCENARIES IN IRAQ

it was reported today, that according to jeremy scahill, probably the best student of mercs, in an interview on cbc's the currents today, the number is at least 100,000.

why do i bother bringing this up? because someone at the left coaster site went crazy when i used the figure 100,000 - 200,000. he insisted that the figure was closer to 20,000. i found that insistence pretty astonishing - clearly that poster was trying to minimize the roles of mercenaries in iraq.

since scahill also asserts that these mercenaries are not controlled by the us iraqi commmand structure, the big question is still out there: who do the mercenaries report to? george walker bush?

how do they fit into the us order of battle?

hearings need to be held concerning these issues. i have no congressperson that i can write to concerning this issue. i live in metro-Houston. senators are reptiles. as is my congressman.

but, perhaps some of you out there with a democratic rep/senator might write urging hearings into the mercenary issue.

here are some of the mercenary outfits that are operating in iraq...

blackwater, aegis[formerly sandline], dyncorp. undoubtedly there are others.