SA man killed by Shi'a radicals - report

[dArKeR]

Baghdad - A South African working for a British security company was killed by Iraqi Shi'a radicals in the southern Iraqi city of Kut on Wednesday, coalition sources said.

The sources said he had died when the house he was living in with other contractors was attacked by Shi'a militia forces.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=qw108134568092B262&set_id=1

[alittlelark]

1. mercenaries....'guns for hire'

I have ALMOST no sympathy for these creatures.

Who cares what country they come from?
They are hired thugs...and should be ashamed of themselves.

Warfare in the name of a country is one thing, warfare for profit is quite sick and different.:puke: :puke:

[Chicago Democrat]

5. No sympathy, but no scorn...

They are tools. They are pawns. They are victims, just like every American is a victim of the crime of this war.

Bush should be tried for war crimes.

[whatelseisnew]

11. SA mercs may well be criminals, SA has laws against it

Chilean mercs are pinochet death squad members

Guatemalan mercs may well be negraponte death squad members

they are not necessarily victims

[el_gato]

13. they are not "victims"

they are mercenaries and scum of the earth

[daleo]

2. I suppose I am jumping to conclusions a bit

But it is natural to wonder what the background of a South African working for a British security company might be. There must be a fairly large number of ex-soldiers from the apartheid days who can no longer find gainful 'government employment'.

[legin]

3. I don't think you are jumping to conclusions

I've read up a bit on this.

There is quite a lot of South Africans over there. Third largest foreign contingent over there if I remember rightly.

[legin]

6. A piece of trivia

Harry Legge-Bourke who runs Olive Security a security company currently in Iraq is the brother of Tiggy Legge-Bourke who was the nanny to Prince William and Prince Harry the children of Prince Charles (in britain).

[saigon68]

9. Spot on

They are mostly white and since the SA govt changed they Can't torture Blacks anymore. They need a new outlet for Cash and Arousal.

[aquart]

4. Mercenaries or not......

Probably most of them have taken up this hellish profession because there was no other available work for them in their countries, and this pays so well if you live...

And they have families at home.

It all sucks.

[Oreegone]

7. The American "Security" Companies wink wink nod nod

Train them here and then send them over as assassins. They can do things the military can't and if they get wounded you don't have to support them forever, in whatever shitty way you can't get out of.

[aneerkoinos]

8. Professional thugs

It may shock your naive sensibilities, but most of them have a calling and talent for the job - starting from shcoolyard bullies onwards. They are not cut for peacefull, civilian life without comraderie of armed band of men.

I cannot bring myself to feel sympathy when they collect their Darwin awards.

[saigon68]

10. Thugs and Bullies

Like the bodybuilder who told the reporter at the Palestine hotel in Baghdad that he liked hand to hand combat. Then unfortunately was invited to the barbecue in Fallujah last week.

[rfkrocks]

12. I have a confession to make

I thought maybe our government would hire a few mercs to do minor things-now it looks like there are tons of mercs over there who are not bound by our civilian governments and to add icing to the cake-we have SA mercs too (RIP Biko)-obviously my sense that the us would not rent-a-warrior is now completely shattered-the whole defense establishment is corrupt-we are looking more and more like the British in the revolutionary war-Hessians anyone?