President Obama thanked ''civilians'' for their "sacrifices" and ''service'' in Iraq. [View all]

[Octafish]

He also thanked the nation's men and women in uniform for their sacrifice and service.
I am all for giving thanks to them: They volunteered to defend the United States out of patriotism.

The problem is blurring the lines of who's who and what's what when it comes to matters of war.
Specifically, American civilians in Iraq are largely the mercenaries and contractors there to make a buck.



What the president said at a presser with Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki:

...So this is a historic moment. A war is ending. A new day is upon us. And let us never forget those who gave us this chance -- the untold number of Iraqis who've given their lives; more than one million Americans, military and civilian, who have served in Iraq; nearly 4,500 fallen Americans who gave their last full measure of devotion; tens of thousands of wounded warriors, and so many inspiring military families. They are the reason that we can stand here today. And we owe it to every single one of them -- we have a moral obligation to all of them -- to build a future worthy of their sacrifice...

Here's the link to the official White House transcript:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/12/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-al-maliki-iraq-joint-press-co

I have a problem with blurring the distinction. Apart from the civilians in government service (State Department, CIA, and so on), the contractors are not there out of patriotism. Like their corporate paymasters -- such as Halliburton, Blackwater and DynCorp -- they did it for the money.