It's well established that steroid use promotes violent and erratic behavior. Recall the pro wrestler who recently killed his family and himself.

This is why private security contractors need to be accountable under U.S. law. The same U.S. federal laws that apply in Ohio should apply in Baghdad.

how is this a surprise ... they call themselves "BLACKWATER"!

Well, if the Blackwater career doesn't work out for these guys there's always room for them in professional baseball!

Our thugs can bench press more than their thugs.

But I thought they were such nice boys.

What is the difference between use and abuse? Did the lawsuit mention that distinction?

Also, from the article:
Burke acknowledged, however, that the plaintiffs have no information to indicate that any of the guards involved in the September shooting were on or known to have used steroids or any other drugs. "That would be speculation," Burke told NBC News.

Should soldiers be abusing something like steroids... probably not. It has the potential to make even good people go into violent rages. That's not something we need over in the middle east. And what's worse, this kind of thing isn't being regulated, since none of these contracting companies are bound by the US standards of the occupation.

We really need to take the guns away from these guys. They have been stirring up far more trouble than they are worth. You want to cook and clean for the troops fine, but leave the security of Iraq in the hands of the troops, please. They can be held responsible for their actions. Sometimes I wonder if they let things like this slip by to increase the chances of contracting goofups in order to stir up more unrest in the region and therefore prolonging the time they are there to increase their profits.

What a sick dangerous practice...

A good example of exactly the type of soldiers America should have in such a sensitive position would be those stationed at the United Nations Joint Security Area in Panmunjom Korea - where North Korea and South Korea meet for talks and come in regular contact with each other.

The best and the brightest. High IQ's, rigorously psychologically tested and passed to be able to handle stressful situations calmly and wisely.

How the hell is this news? 8 people? I could go to pretty much any organization of size and find 8 people that have or are abusing steroids (and a multitude of other illegal substances); moreover, blackwater has a history of firing perps that do use steroids by firing over 140 employees that were caught. This is such a weak case - and even the attorney for the 5 iraqi plaintiffs admitted that they have no evidence that the contractors involved in the incident did any of these drugs.

"Roid Rage" - yes, there are sooo many documented cases of this worldwide that it's practically an epidemic. You guys that believe this are tools to the buzzword of the year. This is not news, this is bullshit that should be in a police blotter or on a 'to-fire' list in HR.

My apologies for the rant, I had just completed a cycle of Dianabol and Sustanon on Monday and it's, well, dammit I just can't get it all out in the gym even twice a day.

And were they a witness to people downing steroids?

What the heck is this article even printed?

More Iraq bashing I suppose...

Murphy