> that these 4 men were security guards for an American contract company being > paid to do rebuilding in Iraq, taking jobs that Iraqi's are desperate for > themselves. This in no way justifies what was done, but any motive beyond "they > were Americans" was not mentioned. They weren't just "security guards". The company is Blackwater ( http://blackwatersecurity.com )and the fellows were probably ex-Navy Seals, Green Berets, or some sort of highly trained ex-military. One can read about these men at http://blackwatersecurity.com/staff.html None of these fellows are mall cops. The message is pretty bad: if Iraqi can set up an ambush and take out four highly-skilled, experienced, heavily armed ex-military types, then it's not safe for anyone who is being protected by these security guards. To put it another way: If the bad guys are hunting cops, then not even the cops are safe. None of that was covered in the media. yrs, andreas www.andreas.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html