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I wonder what would have Senator John McCain thought about this program? Miss him.

• adamnemecek 8y ago
  does his track record indicate he was particularly anti this?
  • forgotmysn 8y ago
    it does, yes. he was very against the privatization of the military and intelligence services
    • dragonwriter 8y ago
      He was against the privatization of certain US military and intelligence functions, but I'm not aware of him being against foreign states hiring US military or intelligence contractors for similar functions.
      • Balgair 8y ago
        Privatization of military functions was a key reason for the downfall of the Roman Republic. Troops became loyal to generals, not to the Republic herself, as the general became the paymaster/generator of funds. The echos are getting louder.
        • gnulinux 8y ago
          It's not clear to me why Roman Empire would be relevant in this case. Society, economy, politics, military, culture, technology, wars, the life of soldiers... a lot of things were different back then.
          • Balgair 8y ago
            Roman Republic, not the Empire. There are always lessons in history, even accounting for the differences between an agrarian and digital society. Private militaries have proven to be rather fickle when it comes to rights v. might.
            • dragonwriter 8y ago
              > Roman Republic, not the Empire. The fall of the former and rise of the latter seems to be the issue being raised, so either equally applies.
        • JumpCrisscross 8y ago
          > The echos are getting louder These mercenaries are closer to Crassus hiring legions to fight a foreign war moreso than Caesar or Sulla marching on Rome. American firepower is predominantly state owned and loyal to its civilian leadership. These mercenaries are a liability because they make America look bad, not because they pose even an intermediate threat to American military power.
          • Balgair 8y ago
            True! A good look into this further is Mike Duncan's The Storm before the Storm that leads into the Sulla era: https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Before-Beginning-Roman-Republic/dp/1610397215 https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Before-Beginning-Roman-Republic... Duncan's The History of Rome podcast is very good overall and very much worth a listen.
            • JumpCrisscross 8y ago
              Thank you! I have always had a strange fascination with Sulla–as a man, a politician and a general. Appreciate the book and podcast references.
    • ahoy 8y ago
      Privatization of US military function isn't what this article is about. (it's mentioned, but it's not the main narrative)
• creaghpatr 8y ago
  McCain was one of the most if not the most hawkish Senator in the US, particularly towards Iran and Hezbollah, if you wonder what he thought about this program, we are talking about the guy who came up with "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran" parody song. >McCain was considered a great friend of Saudi Arabia. >He endorsed arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition waging war on Yemen. Only when Trump became President did he regain his moral compass... >In June 2017, McCain campaigned to kill Congress’s “Stop Arming Terrorists Act”, aimed at banning Trump’s $510 million sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia. Just kidding. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/john-mccain-s-hawkish-legacy-leaves-mark-on-middle-east-1.3614061 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/john-mccai...
• deleted 8y ago
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