It is November 4th, 2008. An American woman, chartered by the U.S. Army, is talking to an Afghan man in a small town 80 kilometers from Kandahar about the price of fuel. Suddenly, he ignites the pitcher of gas he is holding, and throws it on her. She is set aflame. He is immediately captured, held by American contract and uniformed security forces for the ten minutes it takes to get a report on the woman’s condition. She is alive, but horribly burned. A U.S. security contractor presses his pistol against the side of the Afghan’s head and pulls the … Continue reading Mercenaries and Other ‘Heroes’