ARTICLE: Mercenary Impulse, by Michael Walzer, The New Republic, March 12, 2008

Walzer is a maddeningly intelligent guy. I say "maddeningly" because he forces you to think from uncomfortable angles.

Great piece.

Blackwater represents the gap between "say" and "do" right now in U.S. national security policy inside the Gap. Yes, they need to tighten up their act considerably, but they will have a role and it will be sizable, because this gap will not go away any time soon. Indeed, it is likely to grow larger in coming years because the Bush Admin's seven years of high consumption of the U.S. military is likely to trigger an equally long lean period of use.

(Thanks: BWJones)