It is a well known inclination for the media to make things seem much more drastic or extreme than they really are. The Bush Administration complained about this kind of biased media coverage early in the war, making the situation seem worse than it really was. With the world on edge as much as it is lately, this gives the media ultimate power over everybody ~ investors run when acts of terror happen; terrorists are motivated to action when they see acts of other terrorists flashed around the world, making them an instant martyr. Governments cower when the media gets the public angry at something they have done. Soldiers get depressed to see how it’s all playing out state side, and have a hard time conducting their dangerous duties with the attentiveness necessary.
The military, like everybody else is outsourcing. Private security firms are making a fortune providing protection to contractors in Iraq. The contractors themselves are making easy money, under the less that vigilant auspices of the Army Corps of Engineers. Robots are being brought in to do as many jobs as possible. The U.S. forces are, in fact, doing everything possible but asking for help from the United Nations. A few nations have sent troops to help out, but always the U.S. demands to be in total control of the troops. That, of course, puts the non-American troops in far more danger than they need to be – if they were there as U.N. troops, or even under autonomous control, they would be quite safe. The British, for example, control 20% of the territory in Iraq and have suffered 2% as many fatalities or injuries as the American troops.
This is the military-industrial complex at its finest. The military holds the ground while industry moves in to rebuild all complex buildings destroyed during the invasion. It’s no wonder that the terrorists have started to perceive the civilian contractors as combatants themselves, because they are in fact just that – if not more so, because they are profiting from the situation far more than anybody else, especially the U.S. Army.
The medical-industrial complex is subtly behind the scenes as well. They are responsible for all the technological enhancements the soldiers have – cameras on their helmets, microphones with a small communication network with others in their squad; hand held GPS receivers; laser guided munitions, and remote piloted drones and robots. It’s likely that the medico’s are who keep the U.S. as the controlling military force there in Iraq, for just that reason – to field test a whole space of new medical technology designed to enhance the capabilities of soldiers on the battlefield.
Robot jet aircraft is the latest trend in military hardware. They can maneuver more deftly without having to worry about g-forces on fragile human flesh pilots, they have a higher payload because the human and all the life support systems are not necessary, and they exclude the cost of the pilot training – and pilot pay, benefits, and mortality expenses. Moreover, the general degradation of the human physiology can be allowed to progress as necessary, or even escalate. These are the same trends that have been driving the automation of factories, replacing expensive, undependable, inaccurate humans with machines and computerized controls. The greater the extent that any given process can be automated, the cheaper it is in the long run ~ even taking into account cheap overseas labor.