Private military company 1

Private military company

A private military company (PMC) or (Private Military or Security
Companies) provides staff and services of military and sometimes
security natures. The hiring of professional soldiers is a common
practice in the history of armed conflict. Historically, these soldiers are
commonly known as mercenaries. However, modern-day PMCs prefer
to call their active staff security contractors, private military
contractors or private security contractors, and prefer themselves to
be known as private military corporations, private military firms,
private security providers or military service providers. Private Blackwater Security guarding U.S. State
Military Companies refer to their business generally as the private Department employees at the Republican Palace
in Baghdad.
military industry, in order to avoid the negative stigma often
associated with mercenaries.

The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental military or police forces,
most often on a smaller scale. While PMCs often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in
service of governments, they can also be employed by private companies to provide bodyguards for key staff or
protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories. However, contractors who use offensive force in a
war zone could be considered unlawful combatants, in reference to a concept implied{wrong word?] in the Geneva
Conventions and explicitly specified by the US Military Commissions Act.[1]

Private military companies carry out many different missions and jobs. These include things such as supplying
bodyguards to the Afghan president Hamid Karzai and piloting reconnaissance airplanes and helicopters as a part of
Plan Colombia.[2] [3] They are also licensed by the United States Department of State, they are contracting with
foreign governments, training soldiers and reorganizing militaries in Nigeria, Bulgaria, Taiwan, and Equatorial
Guinea.[4] The PMC industry is now worth over $100 billion a year.[5]

United States
Throughout US history, civilian contractors have supported the US Army on the battlefield and have become an
essential part of its war fighting and peacekeeping capabilities.
In 1985, LOGCAP was established primarily to preplan for contingencies and to leverage the existing civilian
resources. However, it was not until three years later before it was first used. In support of a United States Third
Army mission, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) used LOGCAP to contract for the construction
and maintenance of two petroleum pipelines systems in Southwest Asia.
Later, USACE awarded the first contract under LOGCAP umbrella concept to Brown and Root Services (now KBR)
in August 1992 as a cost-plus-award-fee contract, which was used in December that year to support the United
Nations forces in Somalia.
Some contractors have served in advisory roles that help train local militaries to fight more than effectively instead
of intervening directly. Much of the peacekeeper training the United States provides to African militaries is done by
private firms, and with the increasing absence of Western military support to international peace operations, the
private sector is commonly utilized to provide services to peace and stability operations from Haiti to Darfur.
The Center for Public Integrity reported that since 1994, the Defense Department entered into 3,601 contracts worth
$300 billion with 12 U.S. based various PMCs within the United States, specifically during the initial response after
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Private military company 2

Domestic operations are generally under the auspice of state or federal agencies such as the Department of Energy or
the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense. Driven by increasingly greater fears of
domestic terror attacks and civil unrest and disruption in the wake of disasters, more conventional security
companies are moving into operations arenas that would fall within the definition of a PMC.
The United States State Department also employs several companies to provide support in danger zones that would
be difficult for conventional U.S. forces.

Bush Administration policy on PMCs

On December 5, 2005, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld held a lecture dubbed "The Future of Iraq" at
Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.[6] During a Q&A session afterwards he was
asked a question by graduate student Kate Turner regarding PMCs:
Turner: "There are currently thousands of private military contractors in Iraq and you were just
speaking of rules of engagement in regards to Iraqi personnel and US personnel. Could you speak to,
since the private contractors are operating outside the Uniform Code of Military Justice, can you speak
to what law or rules of engagement do govern their behavior and whether there has been any study
showing that it is cost effective to have them in Iraq rather than US military personnel. Thank you."
Rumsfeld: "Thank you. It is clearly cost-effective to have contractors for a variety of things that military
people need not do, and that for whatever reason other civilians, government people, cannot be deployed to do.
There are a lot of contractors, a growing number. They come from our country but they come from all
countries, and indeed sometimes the contracts are from our country or another country and they employ people
from totally different countries including Iraqis and people from neighboring nations. And there are a lot of
them. It's a growing number. Of course we've got to begin with the fact that, as you point out, they're not
subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. We understand that. There are laws that govern the behavior
of Americans in that country. The Department of Justice oversees that.
There is an issue that is current as to the extent to which they can or cannot carry weapons, and that's an issue.
It's also an issue, of course, with the Iraqis. But if you think about it, Iraq’s a sovereign country. They have
their laws and they're going to govern, the UN resolution and the Iraqi laws, as well as U.S. procedures and
laws govern behavior in that country depending on who the individual is and what he's doing. But I personally
am of the view that there are a lot of things that can be done for a short time basis by contractors that
advantage the United States and advantage other countries who also hire contractors, and that any idea that we
shouldn't have them I think would be unwise."[7]

Application of UCMJ to PMCs

The FY2007 Defense Budget appropriation bill, amended the UCMJ to allow for prosecution of military contractors
who are deployed in a "declared war or a contingency operation."
"SEC. 552. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE
DURING A TIME OF WAR.
Paragraph (10) of section 802(a) of title 10, United States Code (article 2(a) of the Uniform Code of Military
Justice), is amended by striking 'war' and inserting 'declared war or a contingency operation'." [8] [9]
Farah Stockman of the Boston Globe, (7 January 2007) wrote:
"Previously, the code applied to 'persons serving with or accompanying an armed force in the field' only
during a war, which US courts interpreted to mean a war declared by Congress. No such declaration was made
in the Iraq conflict. Now, Congress has amended the code to apply to persons accompanying an armed force
during a 'declared war or contingency operation.'
Private military company 3

But the provision might also have unintended consequences, if the military chooses to use its new power to
court-martial civilians. For instance, the language in the law is so broad that it can be interpreted as saying that
embedded journalists and contract employees from foreign countries would also be liable under the military
code. Other punishable offenses under the code include disobeying an order, disrespecting an officer, and
possession of pornography in a combat zone."[10]

International legal issues

In October 2007, the United Nations released a two-year study that stated, that although hired as "security guards",
private contractors were performing military duties. The report found that the use of contractors such as Blackwater
was a "new form of mercenary activity" and illegal under International law. Many countries, including the United
States and the United Kingdom, are not signatories to the 1989 United Nations Mercenary Convention banning the
use of mercenaries.[11]

Recruitment
Discharged military personnel make up the majority of Western contractors. The boom of the private security
industry that took place in the 1990s can be traced back to the over 6 million military personnel that were discharged
in that decade. Post Cold War military reduction has also expanded the recruiting pool for PMCs. In some cases,
entire elite units, such as the South African 32nd Reconnaissance Battalion and the former Soviet “Alfa” unit have
been reorganized into private military companies.[12]
Some commentators have argued that there has been a recent exodus from many special operations forces across the
globe towards these private military corporations. Units that have allegedly been severely affected include The
British Special Air Service,[13] [14] the US Special Operations Forces [15] and the Canadian Joint Task Force 2.[16]
Finding work in the industry is not difficult for most former soldiers as their personal network of fellow and
ex-soldiers is enough to keep them informed of available contracts.

PMC activities in Iraq

In December, 2006, in Iraq there are thought to be at least 100,000 contractors working directly for the United States
Department of Defense which is a tenfold increase in the use of private contractors for military operations since the
Persian Gulf War, just over a decade earlier.[17] The prevalence of PMCs has led to the foundation of trade group the
Private Security Company Association of Iraq. In Iraq, the issue of accountability, especially in the case of
contractors carrying weapons is a sensitive one. Iraqi laws do not hold over contractors. Just before leaving office as
head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Paul Bremer signed Coalition Provisional Authority Order 17 where it is
stated that:
Contractors shall not be subject to Iraqi laws or regulations in matters relating to the terms and
conditions of their Contracts, including licensing and registering employees, businesses and
corporations; provided, however, that Contractors shall comply with such applicable licensing and
registration laws and regulations if engaging in business or transactions in Iraq other than Contracts.
Notwithstanding any provisions in this Order, Private Security Companies and their employees
operating in Iraq must comply with all CPA Orders, Regulations, Memoranda, and any implementing
instructions or regulations governing the existence and activities of Private Security Companies in Iraq,
including registration and licensing of weapons and firearms.[18]
PMCs supply support to U.S. military bases throughout the Persian Gulf, from operating mess halls to providing
security. They supply armed guards at a U.S. Army base in Qatar, and they use live ammunition to train soldiers at
Camp Doha in Kuwait. They maintain an array of weapons systems vital to an invasion of Iraq. They also provide
bodyguards for VIPs, guard installations, and escort supply convoys from Kuwait. All these resources are called
Private military company 4

upon constantly due to the war in Iraq.[5]

• Employees of private military company CACI and Titan Corp. were involved in the Iraq Abu Ghraib prison
scandal in 2003, and 2004. The U.S. Army "found that contractors were involved in 36 percent of the [Abu
Ghraib] proven incidents and identified 6 employees as individually culpable",[19] although none have faced
prosecution unlike US military personnel.[19]
• On March 31, 2004, four American private contractors belonging to the company Blackwater USA were killed by
insurgents in Fallujah as they drove through the town. They were dragged from their car in one of the most
violent attacks on U.S. contractors in the conflict. Following the attack, an angry mob mutilated and burned the
bodies, dragging them through the streets before they were hung on a bridge. (See also: 31 March 2004 Fallujah
ambush, Operation Vigilant Resolve)
• On March 28, 2005, 16 American contractors and three Iraqi aides from Zapata Engineering, under contract to the
US Army Corps of Engineers to manage an ammunition storage depot, were detained following two incidents in
which they allegedly fired upon U.S. Marine checkpoint. While later released, the contractors have levied
complaints of mistreatment against the Marines who detained them.
• On June 5, 2005, Colonel Theodore S. Westhusing committed suicide, after writing a report exonerating US
Investigations Services of allegations of fraud, waste and abuse he received in an anonymous letter in May.
• On October 27, 2005, a "trophy" video, complete with post-production Elvis Presley music, appearing to show
private military contractors in Baghdad shooting Iraqi civilians sparked two investigations after it was posted on
the Internet.[20] [21] [22] The video has been linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services. According to the
posters, the man who is seen shooting vehicles on this video in Iraq was a South African employee of Aegis
Victory team named Danny Heydenreycher. He served in the British military for six years. After the incident the
regional director for Victory ROC tried to fire Heydenreycher, but the team threatened to resign if he did. As of
December 2005, Aegis is conducting a formal inquiry into the issue, although some concerns on its impartiality
have been raised.
• On September 17, 2007, the Iraqi government announced that it was revoking the license of the American
security firm Blackwater USA over the firm's involvement in the deaths of eight civilians in a firefight that
followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade. Blackwater is currently one of the most
high-profile firms operating in Iraq, with around 1,000 employees as well as a fleet of helicopters in the country.
Whether the group may be legally prosecuted is still a matter of debate.[23]

Legal position
Two days before he left Iraq, L. Paul Bremer signed "Order 17"[24] giving all Americans associated with the CPA
and the American government immunity from Iraqi law.[25] A July 2007 report from the American Congressional
Research Service indicates that the Iraqi government still had no authority over private security firms contracted by
the U.S. government.[26]
The new status-of-forces agreement makes it clear that Contractors are under the jurisdiction of Iraqi law.

Plans for the future

After the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq the US State Department is reportedly planning to more than double the
number of its private security guards, up to as many as 7,000. Defending five fortified compounds across the
country, the security contractors would operate radars to warn of enemy rocket attacks, search for roadside bombs,
fly reconnaissance drones and even staff quick reaction forces to aid civilians in distress. The State Department plans
to acquire 60 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) from the US military to expand its inventory of
armored cars to 1,320 and to create a mini-air fleet by buying three planes to add to its lone aircraft. Its helicopter
fleet, which will be piloted by contractors, will grow from 17 to 29. [27]
Private military company 5

PMC activities elsewhere

• In 1994 and 1995 South African based PMC Executive Outcomes was involved in two military actions in Africa.
In the first conflict, EO fought on the behalf of the Angolan government against UNITA after a UN brokered
peace settlement broke down. In the second action EO was tasked with containing a guerrilla movement in Sierra
Leone called the Revolutionary United Front. Both missions involved personnel from the firm training 4-5
thousand combat personnel for the Angolan government and retaking control of the diamond fields and forming a
negotiated peace in Sierra Leone.
• In 1999, an incident involving DynCorp in Bosnia was followed by a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit being filed against DynCorp employees stationed in Bosnia. It alleged that:
"employees and supervisors from DynCorp were engaging in perverse, illegal and inhumane behavior and were
illegally purchasing women, weapons, forged passports and participating in other immoral acts."
• In 2000, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Television international affairs program "Foreign
Correspondent" broadcast a special report "Sierra Leone: Soldiers of Fortune", focusing on the exploits of South
African pilot Neall Ellis and his MI-24 Hind gunship.[28] The report also investigated the failures of the UN
Peacekeeping Force, and the involvement of mercenaries/private military contractors in providing vital support to
UN operations and British military Special Operations in Sierra Leone in 1999-2000.[29]
• In 2001, AONN DSI interchangeably known as AONN DSIN and USDSIN (United States Defense Security
Intelligence Network) materialized with an overtly secret charter enacted among numerous CIA Alumni, various
former and active U.S. intelligence professionals, a cadre of private sector intelligence experts and Pentagon
officials at the C3I Command and Control Communications echelon level.[30] The counterintelligence and special
activities divisions of the larger private military company focused on and engaged in foreign intelligence
gathering activities in many countries and regions including but not limited to Africa, Oceania, the Middle East,
China, Central Asia, both Eastern and Northern Europe and Russia. Several years later, AONN DSI came under
media scrutiny for a relatively short period of time given the private military company's both overt and covert
intelligence gathering activities which some members of the media had considered questionable.[31] Robert
Taylor, CEO of a media company known as AONN Records turned out to be also one of the chief architects of
the AONN DSI Special Access Program which involved such activities as foreign intelligence gathering, PSYOP
(Pyschological Operations Warfare), Electronic Cyberwarfare, counterterrorism and defense scientific research
and development.
• On April 5, 2005, Jamie Smith, CEO of SCG International Risk announced the expansion of services from the
traditional roles of PMCs of protection and intelligence to military aviation support. SCG International Air [32]
would provide air support, medevac (medical evacuation), rotary and fixed-wing transportation, heavy-lift cargo,
armed escort and executive air travel to "any location on earth." This marks a unique addition and expansion of
services to rival the capabilities of some country's armies and air forces.
• On March 27, 2006, J. Cofer Black, vice chairman of Blackwater USA announced to attendees of a special
operations exhibition in Jordan that his company could now provide a brigade-size force for low intensity
conflicts. According to Black, "There is clear potential to conduct security operations at a fraction of the cost of
NATO operations".[33]
• In mid-May 2006, police in the Democratic Republic of the Congo arrested 32 alleged mercenaries of different
nationalities; 19 South Africans, 10 Nigerians and three Americans. Half of them worked for a South African
company named Omega Security Solutions and the Americans for AQMI Strategy Corp. The men were accused
of plotting to overthrow the government but charges were not pressed. The men were deported to their home
countries.[34] [35]
• In 2006, a U.S. congressional report listed a number of PMCs and other enterprises that have signed contracts to
carry out anti-narcotics operations and related activities as part of Plan Colombia. DynCorp was among those
contracted by the State Department, while others signed contracts with the Defense Department. Other companies
Private military company 6

from different countries, including Israel, have also signed contracts with the Colombian Defense Ministry to
carry out security or military activities.[3]
• In December 2009, the Congressional Research Service, which provides background information to members of
the United States Congress, announced that the deployment of 30,000 extra U.S. troops into Afghanistan could be
accompanied by a surge of "26,000 to 56,000" contractors. This would expand the presence of personnel from the
U.S. private sector in Afghanistan "to anywhere from 130,000 to 160,000". The CRS study said contractors made
up 69 percent of the Pentagon's personnel in Afghanistan in December 2008, a proportion that "apparently
represented the highest recorded percentage of contractors used by the Defense Department in any conflict in the
history of the United States." In September 2008 their presence had dropped to 62 percent, while the U.S. military
troop strength increased modestly.[36] [37] [38]
• Also in December 2009, a House oversight subcommittee said that it had begun a wide-ranging investigation into
allegations that American private security companies hired to protect Defense Department convoys in
Afghanistan would be paying off warlords and the Taliban to ensure safe passage. That would mean that the
United States is unintentionally and indirectly engaged in a protection racket and may be indirectly funding the
very insurgents it were trying to fight. A preliminary inquiry determined that the allegations warranted a deeper
inquiry, focused initially on eight trucking companies that share a $2.2 billion Defense Department contract to
carry goods and material from main supply points inside Afghanistan (primarily Bagram air base) to more than
100 forward operating bases and other military facilities in the country.[39]

NGOs and Private Security Contractors

NGOs' rare use of private security contractors in dangerous regions is highly sensitive subject.[40] While rare, many
NGOs have sought the services of private security contractors in dangerous areas of operation, such as Afghanistan,
Somalia and Sudan due to the following reasons[40] :
• Lack of knowledge/skills and time to adequately meet the challenges of deteriorating security environments; and
• Administrative costs of managing security in-house and potential to outsource the liability.
Quite often the contractors hired are local companies and mostly are unarmed personnel guarding facilities, only
very rarely are international contractors used or mobile armed security personnel.[40]

Contracted security services used by % of organizations contracting from % organizations contracting from
humanitarians international PSPs local PSPs

Unarmed guards for facilities/residences/project 29% 77%

sites

Physical security for premises 31% 55%

Security management consulting 37% 9%

Security training for staff 41% 4%

Risk assessment/threat analysis 36% 7%

Information services 26% 12%

Armed guards for facilities/residences/project 17% 14%

sites

Standby security 13% 16%

Mobile escorts (armed) 9% 13%

However, there are a great many voices against their use who cite the following problems[40] :
• Outsourcing security left NGOs reliant on contractors and unable to develop their own security thinking and make
their own decisions
Private military company 7

• Perceived association of PSPs with state security, police or military services in turn compromises the ability of
NGOs to claim neutrality, leading to increased risk;
• Outsourcing may not necessarily lead to lower costs, and the cost of middlemen may result in more poorly paid
and poorly trained personnel who turn over frequently and cannot adequately perform the job; and
• NGOs have obligations beyond strictly legal liability that include political, ethical and reputational implications -
if the organisation’s responsibility to prevent and mitigate any possible negative outcomes is better achieved
through in-house security, this should be their choice.
The result is that many NGOs are not open about their use of PSPs and researchers' at the Overseas Development
Institute studies have found that sometimes statements at NGOs central headquarters contradict those given by local
staff.[40] This prevents informative knowledge-sharing and debate on the subject needed to improve NGOs decisions
regarding this issue, though there have been some notable exceptions (Afghanistan NGO Security Office (ANSO)
and the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI)).[40]

List of PMCs

U.S.A. & Inter Americans companies

Name HQ Portfolio Notes

Africor LLC Pretoria Africor LLC, Pretoria, South Africa. Specializes in Security
operations, mission
operational, training,
logistical support in Africa.

AirScan Titusville, US Department of Defense, US Air Force, NASA, US Forest Service, National Provides airborne
FL Test Pilot School, National Response Corporation, US Department of the surveillance and security
Interior, Bureau of Land Reclamation, Maximum Protective Services, Ecopetrol:
the national oil company of Colombia, Occidental Petroleum Corporation,
Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (Angola), SONANGOL: national oil company of
Angola

AONN USDSIN McLean, VA United States Intelligence Community Operates in conjunction

DBA AONN with oversight from various
Records CIA Alumni

Custer Battles McLean, VA Iraq and oil sector (at present, have ceased operations in Iraq) Extinct?

Defion Peru company

Internacional

DynCorp Falls Church, Iraq, Afghanistan

VA

GlobalEnforce, Wilmington,
Inc. DE

IANO Group Inc New Jersey Consulting, Electronics, R & D

ITT Corporation White Plains, Kosovo

NY

KBR Houston, TX Formerly a Division of

Halliburton

MPRI, Inc. Alexandria,

VA

MTCSC, Inc. Chula Vista, Department of Defense, Marine Corps Systems Command, Marine Corps Provides flexible
CA Intelligence Agency, SPAWAR, NAVSEA Warfare Centers, DISA, National engineering and systems
Security Agency integration services.
Private military company 8

MVM, Inc. Vienna, VA CIA and NSA contractor

Northbridge Turkmenistan, Somalia, Nigeria Dominican Republic, offices

Services Group in United Kingdom &
Ukraine

Northrop Los Angeles,

Grumman CA

Pathfinder Security Casper, WY Oil, gas and mining sector; mainly in the US
Services

Raytheon Cambridge,
MA

Red Star Aviation Quonset Military Aircraft Operator

Point, RI

Triple Canopy, Herndon, VA South America, Iraq

Inc.

Sharp End Mainly uses Australian and New Zealand ex-special forces instructors
International

Titan Corporation San Diego,

CA

Vinnell Fairfax, VA Turkey, Saudi Arabia

Corporation

Versar, Inc Springfield, Iraq, Afghanistan

VA

Xe Services LLC Moyock, NC Iraq & Afghanistan Formerly Blackwater

Worldwide

Xeros Services Lexington, Belize, Kuwait, South Korea, Pakistan-Iran border International operations
KY specialising in security,
logistics, surveillance,
intelligence, and military
support.

UK companies

Name HQ Portfolio Notes

Aegis Defence Services London Iraq, Afghanistan, and

others

ArmorGroup International London Branch of G4S plc

Blue Hackle London

Control Risks Group London Provider of security and armed guards for British Embassies and
Consulates

Edinburgh Risk Edinburgh

Erinys International Dubai Joint South African-British company

Hart Security London

International Intelligence Eastington, Specialist contracts

Limited Stroud

Sandline International London Ceased operations on April 16, 2004

Tecnodef London
Private military company 9

Others
• Asia Security Group, Afghanistan
• BlueSky, Australia
• Compass ISS, Switzerland
• Executive Outcomes, South Africa (ceased operations on January 1, 1999)
• PinPoint Security Group, Security Operations,Close Protection Services and Humanitarian emergency rapid
response.
• Орёл, Russia [41]
• Omega Group, Norway
• SIRAS Group, Denmark
• Tundra Security, Canada
• Unity Resources Group, Australia, based in Dubai - Special Forces and law enforcement veterans from Australia,
the US, New Zealand and Great Britain
• Watan Risk, Afghanistan
• Africor LLC, Africa, based in Pretoria, Nairobi,- Africor.com African Security Operations and Humanitarian
emergency rapid response
• Secopex, France, based in Carcassonne

Resources

Academic publications
• Arnold, Guy. Mercenaries: The Scourge of the Third World. Palgrave Macmillan, 1999. ISBN 9780312222031
• Brooks, Doug/ Rathgeber, Shawn Lee: The Industry Role in Regulating Private Security Companies, in:
Canadian Consortium on Human Security - Security Privatization: Challenges and Opportunities, Vol. 6.3,
University of British Columbia, March 2008. [42]
• The Market for Force: The Consequences of Privatizing Security, by Deborah D. Avant, George Washington
University, August 2005. ISBN 0-521-61535-6
• Armies Without States: The Privatization of Security, by Robert Mandel, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002.
• Private Armies and Military Intervention, David Shearer, April 1998. ISBN 0-19-829440-9
• Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, Peter W. Singer, Cornell University Press,
March 2004. ISBN 0-8014-8915-6
• Brillstein, Arik: Antiterrorsystem. Engel Publishing 2005 - ISBN 393854700
• Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. 1532. See ch. 12.
• "Privatising Security: Law, Practice and Governance of Private Military and Security Companies" [43] by Fred
Schreier and Marina Caparini, DCAF Occasional Paper 6, The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of
Armed Forces, March 2005.
• "Private Military Firms and the State: Sharing Responsibility for Violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian
Law", Filipa Guinote, Collection Ricerche, "Series E.MA Awarded thesis", Vol. VII, Marsilio Editori Srl.,
Venice, Italy, 2006
• "Soldiers of Misfortune – Is the Demise of National Armies a Core Contributing Factor in the Rise of Private
Security Companies?" by Maninger, Stephan in Kümmel, Gerhard and Jäger, Thomas (Hrsg.) Private Security
and Military Companies: Chances, Problems, Pitfalls and Prospects, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften,
Wiesbaden, 2007. ISBN 978-3-531-149011
• "Leashing the Corporate Dogs of War: The Legal Implications of the Modern Private Military Company" by
Hin-Yan Liu, 15(1) Journal of Conflict and Security Law 141-168, 2010. (doi:10.1093/jcsl/krp025)
Private military company 10

• Woolley, Peter J. “Soldiers of Fortune [44],” The Common Review, v. 5, no. 4 (2007), pp. 46–48.

Non-academic publications
• Making A Killing, James Ashcroft. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-311-9
• Licensed to Kill : Privatizing the War on Terror, Robert Young Pelton ISBN 1-4000-9781-9
• Three Worlds Gone Mad: Dangerous Journeys through the War Zones of Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific,
Robert Young Pelton, August 2006. ISBN 1-59228-100-1
• An Unorthodox Soldier, Tim Spicer, September 2000. ISBN 1-84018-349-7
• Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, Jeremy Scahill, Nation Books. February
2007. ISBN 978-1560259794
• Contractor, Giampiero Spinelli Mursia Editore 2009 ISBN 978-88-425-4390-9
• Guns For Hire: The Inside Story of Freelance Soldiering, Tony Geraghty, Portrait. 2007. ISBN 978-0749951450
• Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Legal Issues [45], Jennifer K. Elsea, Congressional
Research Service, January 7, 2010
• Irak, terre mercenaire : les armées privées remplacent les troupes américaines [Iraq, mercenary land: private
armies replace US troops], by Georges-Henri Bricet des Vallons, Favre (Lausanne:Switzerland), January 2010.
ISBN 978-2828910952. Only in French.

References
[1] Barnes, Julian E.. (2007-10-15). "America's own unlawful combatants?" (http:/ / www. latimes. com/ news/ printedition/ front/
la-na-blackwater15oct15,1,6804674,full. story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage& ctrack=2& cset=true). Los Angeles Times. .
[2] Vieira, Constanza (2007-07-17). "COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: Coca Spraying Makes for Toxic Relations" (http:/ / www. ipsnews. net/ news.
asp?idnews=38576). IPS. .
[3] Private Security Transnational Enterprises in Colombia (http:/ / www. colectivodeabogados. org/ article. php3?id_article=1253) José Alvear
Restrepo Lawyers' Collective February, 2008.
[4] Shishkov, Viktor (2009-03-02). "Private military companies to supersede regular armies" (http:/ / www. informationliberation. com/
?id=26599). informationliberation. .
[5] Yeoman, Barry (2003-06-01). "Soldiers of Good Fortune" (http:/ / www. motherjones. com/ news/ feature/ 2003/ 05/ ma_365_01. html).
Mother Jones. . Retrieved 2007-05-08.
[6] Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to Speak at JHU SAIS (http:/ / www. sais-jhu. edu/ pubaffairs/ media_events/ Media_Advisories/
MA2005/ rumsfeld05. html), press release December 2, 2005
[7] Secretary Rumsfeld's Remarks to the Johns Hopkins, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (http:/ / www. defenselink. mil/
transcripts/ transcript. aspx?transcriptid=1361)
[8] Bill Number H.R.5122 for the 109th Congress (http:/ / thomas. loc. gov/ cgi-bin/ query/ z?c109:h5122:)
[9] H.R. 5122 109th: John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (http:/ / www. govtrack. us/ congress/ billtext.
xpd?bill=h109-5122)
[10] Farah Stockman (01-07-2007). "Contractors in war zones lose immunity" (http:/ / www. boston. com/ news/ world/ middleeast/ articles/
2007/ 01/ 07/ contractors_in_war_zones_lose_immunity/ ). The Boston Globe. .
[11] Higgins Alexander G. US rejects UN mercenary report (http:/ / www. usatoday. com/ news/ world/ 2007-10-17-3392316246_x. htm) USA
Today, October 17, 2007 (syndicated article by Associated Press)
[12] Zabiki, Feliz "Private Military Companies: Shadow Soldiers of Neo-colonialism" (http:/ / web. ebscohost. com/ ehost/ pdf?vid=5& hid=9&
sid=4d40ba1c-96af-446e-ad9b-13cd8366bc88@sessionmgr12), Capital & Class, Summer 2007, issue 92 p1-10, Retrieved on 2010-3-22.
[13] Crisis as SAS men quit for lucrative Iraq jobs (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/ 2005/ 02/ 14/ nsas14. xml),
The Daily Telegraph article dated 15/02/2005
[14] Soldiers to be allowed a year off to go to Iraq to earn £500 a day as guards (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/
2004/ 05/ 23/ nirq123. xml), The Daily Telegraph article dated 23/05/2004
[15] $150,000 incentive to stay in US elite forces (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/ 2005/ 02/ 07/ welite07. xml),
The Daily Telegraph article dated 07/02/2005
[16] Special forces get pay raise (http:/ / www. canada. com/ nationalpost/ story. html?id=1109da57-944c-45a4-962d-9f89d591341a), National
Post article dated August 26, 2006
Private military company 11

[17] Merle, Renae (2006-12-05). "Census Counts 100,000 Contractors in Iraq" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/
2006/ 12/ 04/ AR2006120401311. html). Washington Post. .
[18] "Coalition Provisional Authority Order 17 (revised)" (http:/ / www. cpa-iraq. org/ regulations/
20040627_CPAORD_17_Status_of_Coalition__Rev__with_Annex_A. pdf) (PDF). . Retrieved 2008-12-30.
[19] P. W. Singer (March/April 2005) Outsourcing War. Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. New York City, NY
[20] A movieclip containing the behavior of alleged Aegis Defence Services driving in Iraq (http:/ / movies. crooksandliars. com/ Aegis-PSD.
mov)
[21] 'Trophy' video exposes private security contractors shooting up Iraqi drivers (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/
2005/ 11/ 27/ wirq27. xml& sSheet=/ news/ 2005/ 11/ 27/ ixworld. html), Daily Telegraph article from 26/11/2005.
[22] Discussion on a blog about Aegis trophy video (http:/ / thedanreport. blogspot. com/ 2005/ 11/ clearing-up-supposed-aegis-video. html)
[23] Blackwater license being revoked in Iraq (http:/ / news. yahoo. com/ s/ ap/ 20070917/ ap_on_re_mi_ea/ iraq)
[24] http:/ / www. cpa-iraq. org/ regulations/ 20040627_CPAORD_17_Status_of_Coalition__Rev__with_Annex_A. pdf
[25] Hirch, Michael (2007-09-20). "Blackwater and the Bush Legacy" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20071001161845/ http:/ / www. msnbc.
msn. com/ id/ 20892483/ site/ newsweek/ ). Newsweek: p. 2. Archived from the original (http:/ / www. msnbc. msn. com/ id/ 20892483/ site/
newsweek/ ) on 2007-10-01. . Retrieved 2007-09-23.
[26] "Blackwater staff face charges" (http:/ / edition. cnn. com/ 2007/ WORLD/ meast/ 09/ 23/ blackwater. probe/ index. html). CNN.com.
2007-09-23. . Retrieved 2007-09-23.
[27] MICHAEL R. GORDON (August 18, 2010). "Civilians to Take U.S. Lead as Military Leaves Iraq" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2010/ 08/
19/ world/ middleeast/ 19withdrawal. html?_r=1& ref=private_military_companies). The New York Times. . Retrieved 2 September 2010.
[28] "SL:SoF Synopsis" (http:/ / www. abc. net. au/ foreign/ s220036. htm). Foreign Correspondent (ABC Television). .
[29] "Sierra Leone: Soldiers of Fortune, Script" (http:/ / www. abc. net. au/ foreign/ stories/ s433773. htm). Foreign Correspondent (ABC
Television). .
[30] "CIA Correspondence" (https:/ / sites. google. com/ site/ intelligenceoperations/ home/ cia-correspondence). True Origins of AONN DSI.
United States Defense Security Intelligence Network. . Retrieved November 9, 2010.
[31] "Feds pull suspicious .gov site" (http:/ / news. cnet. com/ Feds-pull-suspicious-. gov-site/ 2100-1028_3-983384. html). True Origins of
AONN DSI. CNET News. . Retrieved November 9, 2010.
[32] http:/ / www. scgair. com/ index. html
[33] U.S. firm offers 'private armies' for low-intensity conflicts (http:/ / www. worldtribune. com/ worldtribune/ 06/ front2453824. 0319444444.
html), WorldTribune article from March 29, 2006
[34] Congo Holding 3 Americans in Alleged Coup Plot (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2006/ 05/ 24/
AR2006052401591. html), Washington Post article from May 25, 2006
[35] Congo Deports Nearly 3 Dozen Foreigners (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2006/ 05/ 29/ AR2006052900556.
html), Washington Post article from May 29, 2006.
[36] "Projected contractor surge in Afghanistan: Up to 56,000" (http:/ / www. federaltimes. com/ article/ 20091216/ DEPARTMENTS01/
912160309/ 1009/ ACQUISITION)
[37] "Up to 56,000 more contractors likely for Afghanistan, congressional agency says" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/
article/ 2009/ 12/ 15/ AR2009121504850. html?hpid=topnews)
[38] "Projected contractor surge in Afghanistan: Up to 56,000" (http:/ / www. federaltimes. com/ article/ 20091216/ DEPARTMENTS01/
912160309/ -1/ )
[39] "Congress investigating charges of 'protection racket' by Afghanistan contractors" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/
article/ 2009/ 12/ 16/ AR2009121604126. html)
[40] Abby Stoddard, Adele Harmer and Victoria DiDomenico (2009) Private security providers and services in humanitarian operations (http:/ /
www. odi. org. uk/ resources/ details. asp?id=2844& title=private-security-providers-humanitarian-operations) Overseas Development
Institute
[41] (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=afLLkEd_4pU)
[42] http:/ / www. humansecurity. info/ #/ vol-63-brooks-rathgeber/ 4527827401
[43] http:/ / www. dcaf. ch/ publications/ kms/ details. cfm?lng=en& id=18346& nav1=4
[44] http:/ / www. thecommonreview. org/ fileadmin/ template/ tcr/ pdf/ WoolleyRev54. pdf
[45] http:/ / assets. opencrs. com/ rpts/ R40991_20100107. pdf
Private military company 12

External links
• Privatisation of war and international humanitarian law (http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/
privatisation-war)
• Shadow Company (http://www.shadowcompany.com) award winning documentary on PMCs with footage of
Blackwater, 2007
• Riding Shotgun in Baghdad with Blackwater's Security Detail (http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/
defense/1506812.html) Robert Young Pelton's article in Popular Mechanics about his month spent with
Blackwater running Route Irish between the Green Zone and Baghdad International Airport.
• " Making a Killing: The Business of War (http://www.icij.org/report.aspx?aid=177&sid=100)", Center for
Public Integrity, October 2002.
• " The Private Military Industry and Iraq : What Have We Learned and Where To Next? (http://www.dcaf.ch/
publications/kms/details.cfm?lng=en&id=18405&nav1=4)", DCAF Policy Paper 6, 2005
• The Strategic Contractor - op-ed 19 September 2007 by The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (http://www.
hcss.nl/en/publication/389/The-Strategic-Contractor---Iraq,-Blackwater-and-Pr.html)
• U.S. Army Sustainment Command. A site to accumulate and offer materials helpful to the resolution of legal
issues arising from the in-theater use of contractor support to military operations (http://www.aschq.army.mil/
gc/battle2.asp).
• The UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee agreed to the following (Ninth) Report: On Private Military
Companies (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmfaff/922/92202.htm) on 23
July 2002.
• Human Rights First; Private Security Contractors at War: Ending the Culture of Impunity (2008) (http://www.
humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/08115-usls-psc-final.pdf)
Article Sources and Contributors 13

Article Sources and Contributors

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Filippof, Fionamangan, Firsfron, Fish and karate, Forcedtocreateanaccount, Forenpsycho, Forties, Frontlinesecurity, Fuglewarrior, Fuzheado, Gaius Cornelius, Gamer112, Gbleem, Geo Swan,
Get-back-world-respect, GhostSCG, GlobalEnforce, Godheval, Gogo Dodo, Grafen, Grantyboy14, Gregbard, Ground Zero, Gsmooth97, Guaka, Guttlekraw, Halda, Hayabusa future, Hcheney,
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MVNdude, Mac canccce, Macdaddy54, Maffei18, Majorly, MakeBelieveMonster, Mandarax, Maopaz, Marc Feldmann, Marekzp, Marskuzz, Marsuitor, Martha p, Materialscientist, Matt Heard,
Max Mayr, Mennonot, Mervyn, Micheal Robunder, Midnight2034, Mirv, Mokaroux, Moonkystink, Moooster, Morpheuspictures, MrOllie, Mrg3105, Murbash, NEMT, NawlinWiki, Nescio,
NeuronExMachina, Neutrality, New Hampshirite, Nickluft, Night Gyr, Nobunaga24, Nogburt, Nohomers48, Ohnoitsjamie, Old Guard, Olegwiki, Omegatron, Opksrj, Ormondroyd, Overwatch,
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Republican Palace, Baghdad.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Republican_Palace,_Baghdad.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0  Contributors:
Edward, MB-one, Navigator84, Tmaull

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