Mercenaries...

TheTelegraph has a disturbing story alleging very serious misconduct on the part of private security guards working for the US military in Iraq. I continue to find it baffling that our military subcontracts so much of the work that it should (and used to) do for itself. It's a situation that's ripe for serious abuses.

A "trophy" video appearing to show security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians has sparked two investigations after it was posted on the internet, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

The video has sparked concern that private security companies, which are not subject to any form of regulation either in Britain or in Iraq, could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent Iraqis.