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The United States' global strategic outlook has shifted markedly since the end of major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the United States' strategic posture shifts, the nature of military operations is simultaneously changing rapidly. Many analysts predict that cyber-operations, autonomous weapons systems, artificial intelligence, and clandestine special forces operations will be central features in future conflicts. Although often overlooked by scholars and policy analysts, defence contractors are integral to the development and implementation of these emerging categories of warfare. This inquiry examines the evolving nature of the American defence industry and the roles corporations play in current theatres of conflict. Surprisingly, rather than becoming less reliant on defence contractors after their much-maligned performance in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American military and intelligence agencies have become more dependent on the private sector as technology becomes increasingly central to warfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Iraq War was a watershed regarding the scope of battlefield support by Private Security Companies (PSC). Skeptics soon raised concerns about these new actors being an impediment to the success of the very same operations they are meant to support. According to the critics, PSCs are grist to the mill for insurgents as they employ aggressive tactics and thereby alienate the population, cause credibility problems because they enjoy impunity, and increase coordination problems since they are not subordinated under the military chain of command. This article argues that this is not a necessary result of their employment, but rather the consequence of a lack of preparedness to operate alongside PSCs. However, the military is accustomed to adapting to new unexpected circumstances. Hence, when problems occurred, the armed forces underwent a trial and error learning process that improved PSC employment. The empirical picture supports this view. Initially, the counterinsurgency effort did indeed suffer from the actions, lack of oversight, and lack of coordination of PSCs. However, over the course of the Iraq War, most of the shortfalls were either improved significantly or even resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the large increase in the use of private military contract firms in the Iraq theater of war. The conditions under which policy was changed to allow for growth in this area make it an interesting case study to apply Kingdon's multiple streams framework. This theoretical framework, typically applied to policy-making within the legislative branch, is used in this study to examine policy change within the executive branch. By focusing on the administration of George W. Bush, Kingdon's framework allows for insight into agenda setting and policy formulation/adoption. By identifying the elements of each of the streams in the framework, an understanding can be reached regarding how and why the policy of increased use of private military firms emerged as a viable option after the attacks of 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. Further, in uncovering the rationality behind the policy adoption, ethical concerns and the impact of these decisions on the U.S. Army are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study draws attention to one of the most significant but least examined aspects of the global security environment: the transnational private security business. The importance of private military companies (PMCs), which have tactical warfare capabilities equivalent to those of the militaries of developed countries, has increased since the inception of the Iraq War in 2003. The weakness of state security forces in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with the need to downsize and outsource an already overtasked US military, has left security gaps in these countries. Some argue that filling these gaps with PMCs is an economically feasible, politically viable, and flexible option for US policymakers. Our study tests this argument by asking about the political effects of PMCs, profit-focused corporations that operate largely outside national and international law, on the sovereignty and legitimacy of the fragile states in which PMCs operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the allegation that private military firms in Iraq are hiring people from Latin America to become mercenaries. Erik Prince, chief executive officer (CEO) of private security company Blackwater Worldwide, has pointed out that the company's employees in Iraq who had killed 17 Iraqi civilians were not mercenaries. Peter Singer of Brookings Institution has claimed that there are citizens from 30 countries employed as security contractors in Iraq. It is said that Latin America is a fertile recruiting ground for military companies.