Privateers: Outsourcing U.S. Sovereignty

[babylonsister]

http://musingsandmutterings.com/2007/03/25/privateers-outsourcing-us-sovereignty/

Privateers: Outsourcing U.S. Sovereignty

Posted on March 25, 2007

Jeremy Scahill exposes in his video for The Nation the alarming and little-known outsourcing of security and military operations supported by the Bush administration. In government rhetoric and that of the individual contractors, they are referred to as “private security.” In a militarized area in the midst of conflict, protecting clients by means of armed battle, the distinctions between security and military can be all but lost.

The cryptic words of the 2nd amendment come to mind.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

With these “security” contractors, we’re hardly talking about a well-regulated militia, in the sense of anything close to adequate government regulation. PBS’s Frontline highlights, Erinys, a British firm as well as Blackwater and the larger question of war contractors. Blackwater may be the largest, but is far from alone among these firms. Most disturbing is the unclear accountability of these (mostly) men with guns.

In the world of government contracting, the man on the ground might be the sub of a sub of a subcontractor. Somewhere there is a government official who is the contract manager. The employee of the subcontractor likely will have no idea who or where that person is. The government manager can only control

* what they know about,
* what is required or prohibited in the contract.

The contract document cannot cover all contingencies. When things go wrong, to whom is the contractor accountable? The current answer seems to be no one. Men with guns answerable to nobody: It might be an anarchist’s dream, but such a situation can hardly serve the stated goals of the U.S. or Iraqi governments.

What are some of the issues regarding this movement toward raising private-sector armies?

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