Reply #7: An Empire does what an empire does...

[Ozymanithrax]

We pay mercenaries because it is convenient, because they perform a service that an empire needs, that being a blunt instrument.

The State department uses mercenaries for two reasons: (1) it frees up military personel for other mission. (2) Paid bodyguards give rockstar status to the state department personel. (3) They don't trust the military to keep them safe.

In a world where the US government does not want to dobule the size of its military forces because civilians would complain, mercenaries are an alternative.

Also, remember that the Republicans who believed in their heart and soul that all government is bad and wasteful went to the next logical step to privitize war. Obama will continue to use them because they are an existing institution that an empire needs.