Quote Originally Posted by SWCAdmin View Post
Nope.

This is a serious fact-gathering effort by an organization that is a legitimately interested and involved party in the greater discussion around the practice and conduct of small wars.

Feel free to ignore the survey if you wish. But those who choose to respond, please do so with due consideration. It is beneath this professional forum to belittle this effort.

FYI, in the interest of disclosure, Human Rights Watch conducted us about a paid advertising placement on Small Wars Journal. We encouraged them to participate in this forum for free. They chose to do both. We're OK with that.
While this comment is certainly old news, I find it hard to believe that this is a "serious fact-gathering effort." It sounds like they're searching for specific information to support a belief they already have.

The opening statement on the survey is as follows:

"We are very concerned about the ways in which the actions of certain contractors - acting with impunity and outside the chain of command - are undermining the work of the military. Sadly, the Iraqi and Afghan public sees an American acting recklessly, does not distinguish been military and private contractor, and it hurts all of us. We want to ensure that private contractors are held to the same standards that apply to the military – and held to account for irresponsible behavior. First, however, we need to understand the nature and scope of the problem. Current and former members of the armed services could help by filling out this very short questionnaire. All of your answers (including the fact that you answered) will be treated as confidential."

Sure sounds like leading questions to me.