Agence France Presse September 18, 2007
Blackwater incident spotlights private role in military ops
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Baghdad's decision to revoke Blackwater's license put the spotlight on the key role played in Iraq and other conflicts by powerful, high-paid security contractors, part of a controversial sector that usually likes to keep a low profile.
The increasingly common practice of outsourcing military contracts has sparked debate, with critics saying the battlefield contractors are often trigger-happy mercenaries.
But the private firms insist they deliver critically needed supplies, services and security in areas of the world torn by conflict or recovering from strife -- a global business worth an estimated 100 billion dollars.
"In essence, contractors are now a de facto third force, 'a support force' integral to the conduct of modern warfare," the Lexington Institute think-tank said in a recent report.
Iraq is at the heart of the lucrative business and the United States is the main client.
In what could be a blow to US operations in Iraq, Baghdad on Monday canceled Blackwater's operating license after the US firm was involved in a shootout that killed eight people.
One of the most prominent companies in its field in Iraq, Blackwater provides personal security to US civilian officials.
There are more than 100,000 private contractors in Iraq, whose jobs range from servicing portable toilets at US bases to escorting cash deliveries and protecting officials.
The majority are involved in logistical operations. Peter Singer, an expert at the Brookings Institution, who wrote "Corporate Warrior: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry," says between 20,000 and 48,000 are involved in tactical operations, more than the combined strength of US foreign allies in Iraq.
The companies say they provide essential services at a lower cost than the military.
John Pike of the GlobalSecurity.org defense and intelligence information company believes the fact they do not work under the same constraints as the armed forces can be an asset.
"One of the reasons they make good money is that they will kill assailants without blowing up the whole neighborhood," says Pike. "These people are killers. You can't say that of ordinary soldiers."
But such independence from the military chain of command has caused some concern in Washington.
"Private security providers continue to enter the battle space without coordinating with the US military, putting both the military and security providers at a greater risk for injury," the US Government's Accountability Office said in a report last year.
The risks are high -- an estimated 1,000 contractors have been killed in Iraq -- but the pay is well above what the US army offers or what employees from developing nations could make at home.
"This entrance of the profit motive onto the battlefield opens up vast, new possibilities, but also a series of troubling questions -- for democracy, for ethics, for management, for law, for human rights, and for national and international security," says Singer.
Blackwater says it paid its contractors between 450 and 650 dollars a day.
But the private firms generally cringe at the use of the term "mercenary" to describe their activities.
"Blackwater is a team of military and law enforcement veterans and other motivated, capable Americans who protect diplomats, provide training, and offer logistic services. Blackwater only conducts defensive missions," the security firm says on its web site.
While Iraq has the largest and most visible deployment of security contractors, the dozens of companies specialized in that field are active across the globe, training the Afghan police force, clearing landmines in Lebanon, and flying anti-drug missions in Colombia's rebel territory.
Singer says the growing military outsourcing trend marks a change of ideology for the US armed forces, and gained momentum with what he calls the "privatization revolution" of the 1980s.
Pike says things have changed since 1973, when the United States stopped drafting young men in the military to fight in Vietnam.
"When the United States had a draft, military personnel were abundant and cheap. Now, with a professional military, they are expensive."
© Copyright 2007, Agence France Presse
