Forgive me if this has already been posted, but I just noticed it and I'd like to talk about it a little. Woody notes a Truthout piece about the mercs in Iraq which now outnumber our troops.

The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the government's capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns.
More than 180,000 civilians - including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis - are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times. Read more…