Outsourcing Iraq

April 29, 2004 9:46 PM

Indian mercenaries serving in Iraq. Can you really outsource a foreign occupation?
posted by rks404 (9 comments total)

yes
posted by zekinskia at 10:00 PM on April 29, 2004

Gurkhas and Fijians, too
posted by y2karl at 10:08 PM on April 29, 2004

Sure. Ask Hannibal, or any of a whole bunch of Italian Rennaissance princes. It will end up costing you a fortune, though, and you may end up not having the control over them that you hope for.
posted by moonbiter at 10:10 PM on April 29, 2004

$750 a month for a private is pretty cheap. India is the WallMart of outsourcing.
posted by stbalbach at 11:38 PM on April 29, 2004

Also not the first time soldiers from India have been in Iraq--the British invasion of Mesopotamia during World War I was carried out primarily by Indian troops.
posted by gimonca at 5:48 AM on April 30, 2004

Can you really outsource a foreign occupation?

Ask King George. Any King George.
posted by trondant at 7:36 AM on April 30, 2004

In other news, the torture reported this week in the Iraqi prison by US "soldiers" was also outsourced.
posted by VulcanMike at 8:21 AM on April 30, 2004

Sorry. That link should have gone here to Atrios. I've switched to RSS, so I'm getting all my sources mixed up!
posted by VulcanMike at 8:36 AM on April 30, 2004

"Sure... you may end up not having the control over them that you hope for.
posted by moonbiter at 12:10 AM CST on April 30"

^_^ mid Tang dynasty China. it cost the empire
posted by firestorm at 8:48 AM on April 30, 2004