No the U.S military does not kill dogs because they keep people safe. The U.S military exterminates dogs in their camps and outposts because strays are attracted by food and the more often than not kind Soldiers who feed and pet them. The dogs in these 3rd world and developing countries are the worst kept animals on the face of the earth in general and carry disease and sickness. That is why they are exterminated and the orders normally come down from Medical commands. On several camps I have seen a few of the very few Veterinarians the Army has in Iraq on their own initiative go to camps and vaccinate these animals so that they could live. However it is next to impossible because of the sheer number of stray dogs that are attracted to the camps and outposts. So the end result is a culling. As much as I hate to say it, it is for the best. If you have ever been to the Middle East, you would have to agree that the dog is considered the filthiest of beasts and scant care is given to them if any at all. And if the locals give any mind to the dogs around at all it is to mistreat them, tease them, or if the dog is lucky, kill them. Though I have seen a few very rare dog lovers in the middle east. These are most often more educated urban types that have a middle class or above existence. I have witnessed a couple of well taken care of GSD's in Baghdad and at least one gangster I knew kept a few vicious Dobies that he used to guard his small home compound. Baghdad ran the gamut though from the best to the absolute worst I have seen. Western Iraq on the other hand was pretty much all bad for dogs. There were more pet owners in the villages than in the city. With fairly big Anatolianish/Caucasian looking scatter breeds. I think they were kept more than anything as a poor mans alarm system. Their care was scant however and every dog I saw was in horrid condition. And since many of them were free to roam as they would, they were scarred from many turf battles. Every dog that I encountered were very fearful of people but would bark their head off if they seen you coming. And not one time did I ever see dogs used to herd. In the rural communities and even in Baghdad itself, there were many shepherds with goats. Once more I think it boils down to Islamists considering dogs to be the filthiest of creatures. Which is funny because that kind of thinking even penetrates the Christian communities there. The Christians hold on fervently to their way of life, but the Chaldean and Assyrian's close contact with their Muslim conquerors has left an indelible mark on their culture and psyche. Some of the Christians will not even eat pork due to Islamic influence, but most will and they love it! I wish I would've kept pictures of a dog that lived on my outpost. He was some kind of mixed breed GSD that was named Anson. I lived on an Iraqi Combat Outpost as a member of a small team of U.S advisers that lived and worked with the Iraqi Army. The Iraqi's at one time had tried to acquire GSD type of dogs to use as bomb sniffers. They even tried to get U.S military K9 personnel to train them and their handlers. Apparently the program for dog training washed out for whatever reason. And the dog Anson was a little on the man aggressive side. So the Iraqi Soldiers in their ignorance would tease the dog. Teasing the dog became a test of bravery for the Iraqi's. One Soldier would show how brave he was and show off for his companions by agitating the dog in some manner and running off when the dog had enough and committed to attack. When American advisers showed up to live and train the Iraqi's Anson took immediately to the U.S personnel. He associated our uniforms as people that would feed him and treat him kind. When my team arrived later on Anson stayed on our porch and would follow us out on foot patrols. He would follow us out into some of the nastiest and most hostile areas of Baghdad warning all stray dogs off along the way. Several of the Soldiers wanted to try and take the dog home as he was a great guard dog and wouldn't hesitate to warn and then full out attack a man. He was the size and build of a medium sized Mal. However luck never smiled on Anson. We ended up having to put Anson down to keep the peace between us and the Iraqi's. The Iraqi's hated Anson because Anson hated them and would warn them off or attack them if any Iraqi came close to our building. This caused a lot of frustration between our Soldiers and the Iraqi's. One time almost causing a fist fight between us and them over the dog. The Iraqi's threatened to kill the dog at the first opportunity and constantly argued, harassed, and threatened saying the dog had bitten another person every other day and wanting money for harm from the dog. All of this was really funny in a way because we knew that Iraqi's were lying. We knew they just wanted money, they wanted us to pay for the dog biting Iraqi Soldiers. The dog who was brought here, trained, and owned by the Iraqi Army :) Our medics even looked at the so called victims and exposed the lie, though I still took some small pleasure in informing the "victims" that we needed to give them at least 20 shots in the stomach or they would die from rabies. Of which they replied that they would be ok and no such thing was needed but wanted money for personal hardship and suffering....no more American T.V for these guys!!!! Regardless end result was that we had to kill the dog to keep the peace. They Iraqi's wouldn't let it rest and the situation was growing worse, when we killed the dog they were appeased. Sad but true. Ok enough of my stories.