Essay 3

The Detrimental Effects of Using Private Military Contractors

                On March 31, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, the bodies of four Americans beaten and burned, with two of the bodies being suspended off of a bridge. This incident sparked a long and bloody campaign to pacify the city of Fallujah. This response would be expected of such an act toward U.S. soldiers, but this is  not the case. Those four men were private military contractors. Along with the short term negative effects of that incident, private military contractors have brought a longer lasting impact. The use of private military contractors has negatively affected the United States diplomatically, militarily, and fiscally.

                Using private military contractors affected the United States diplomatically by  turning the  Iraqi populace against the United States. Contractors performed actions that would enrage the poplace. They would drive counter flow of traffic, and force other vehicles off of the road(Fainaru 115; Rasor and Bauman 68). There are multiple instances of contractors firing on and even killing civilians (Fainaru 139). An unnamed Iraqi security official at the Ministry of the Interior sums up what negative connotations contractors bring other Americans:

They are part of the reason for all the hatred that is directed at Americans, because people don't know them as Blackwater, they know them only as Americans. Blackwater has no respect for the Iraqi people. They consider Iraqis like animals, although I actually think they have more respect for animals. We have seen what they do in the streets. When they're not shooting, they're throwing water bottles at people and calling them names. If you are terrifying a child or elderly woman, or you are killing an innocent civilian who is riding in his car, isn't that terrorism? (Fainaru 14)

One contractor even admitted he believes the actions of his company enrages the Iraqi populace (Rasor and Bauman 127).

                Even the United States military has suffered from the use of private military contractors. Troop morale was lowered due to the differences in pay and freedoms between the two groups (Singer 187). Gary Schaub Jr., a professor at the US Air Force War College, states, " a majority of officers… are uncomfortable with [contractor's] intrusion into the profession of arms, and are cognizant of their negative effects (Schaub)." Contractors also weaken the Armed Forces by maintaining and operating high tech equipment. These actions take the expertise out of the Armed Forces hands, and makes the Armed Forces reliant upon the contractors (Hedahl).  Contractors further weaken the military by enticing soldiers away with higher pay and benefits (Quirk). Soldiers were also demoralized by contractors' lack of accountability for their actions (Eviatar). Another way the Armed Forces were weakened was through contractors underperforming. These deficiencies ranged from to delivering the wrong supplies or not delivering supplies at all (Rasor and Bauman 66-67).

                Finally, the use of contractors has greatly affected  the Department of Defense budget.

Contractors are paid on a cost-plus contract system, which rewards high costs and punishes savings (Rasor and Bauman 142). This system has led to ballooning costs. Of these costs there is even a enormous waste attached to them. David Isenberg, author of Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq and an expert on private military contractors states, "If the $31-billion estimate is correct, that would mean that 15 percent of the total $206 billion spent on contracts to date was wasted, and $60 billion would be 29 percent. No matter how you slice it or inflation adjust it, that's real money (Isenberg)."

                Just as the Fallujah incident brought consequences to the United States, future conflicts can only bring  more effects to the table. Based on private military contractors track record,  the effects they cause will further impair the United States. Overall, the use of contractors led to an angered Iraqi populace, a weakened military, and a vastly over extended budget.

Works Cited

Eviatar, Daphne. " My Own Private Military: Private Military Contractors Turn to David Hammond When                They Get in Trouble for Their Work in Iraq. And They Get in a Lot of Trouble." American Lawyer.        29. 7 (July 2007): 17(3). Student Resource Center - Gold.Web. 31 Aug 2011.

Fainaru, Steve. Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq.Philadelpia: De Cape, 2008. Print.

Hedahl, Marcus. "Blood and Blackwaters: A Call to Arms for the Profession of Arms." Journal of Military                Ethics 8.1 (2009): 19-33. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.

Quirk, Matthew. "PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTORS." Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 294.2 (2004): 39.       Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.

Rasor, Dina and Robert Bauman. Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War. New                York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007. Print.

Singer, P.W. Corporate Warriors: The Rise of Privatized Military Industry. London: Cornell University,      2003. Print.

Isenberg, David." War and Private Contractors: Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them.”               Huffington Post ( 2  Sept. 2011). Web.6 Sept. 2011.