ASHINGTON
It is often said that war is too
important to be left to the generals. But what about the C.E.O.'s? The
Pentagon's plan to hire a private paramilitary force to guard sites in
Iraq may have surprised many Americans, but it was really just another
example of a remarkable recent development in warfare: the rise of a
global trade in hired military services.
Known as "privatized military firms," these companies are the corporate
evolution of old-fashioned mercenaries — that is, they provide the service
side of war rather than weapons. They range from small consulting firms
that offer the advice of retired generals to transnational corporations
that lease out battalions of commandoes. There are hundreds of them, with
a global revenue of more than $100 billion a year, operating in at least
50 countries.
Even the world's most dominant military has increasingly become reliant
on them. From 1994 to 2002, the Pentagon entered into more than 3,000
contracts with private military firms. Companies like Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former employer, now
provide the logistics for every major American military deployment.
Corporations have even taken over much of military training and
recruiting, including the Reserve Officer Training Corps programs at more
than 200 American universities. (Yes, private employees now train our
military leaders of tomorrow.)
Perhaps nothing better illustrates the industry's growing role than the
campaign against Iraq. Private employees worked on everything from feeding
and housing coalition troops to maintaining weapons systems like the B-2
bomber. Indeed, there was roughly one private military worker in the
region for every 10 soldiers fighting the war (as opposed to one for every
100 troops in the 1991 gulf war).
And companies will play an even greater role in the occupation. In
addition to the proposed security force, the new Iraqi military will be
trained by corporate consultants. Washington has also contracted DynCorp,
whose pilots have long helped the Pentagon destroy coca fields in
Colombia, to train the new police force.
In many cases, privatizing war has allowed for greater military
capacities and cost efficiency. A problem, however, is that while the
industry has developed at a breakneck pace, governments and global bodies
have responded at a bureaucratic crawl. There are almost no international
laws or national regulations that have significant bearing on the
industry.
This mix of profit motive with the fog of war raises several concerns.
First, the good of private companies may not always be to the public good.
All the normal worries one has with contractors (overcharging, overbilling
hours, poorly trained workers, quality assurance) raise their ugly head;
but in this case one is not dealing with a new plumber — lives are at
stake. For example, a former DynCorp employee has accused the company of
cutting costs by hiring former waiters and security guards to work as
mechanics on Army helicopters.
Second, just like lawyers, some military contractors work only for
ethical clients while others choose to make money from less savory types.
As a result, some companies have helped save democratic regimes and aided
humanitarian groups while others have supported dictators, rebel groups,
drug cartels and terrorists.
In addition, foreign and military affairs are the government's domain.
Undertaking public policy through private means can mean that some
initiatives that might not pass public approval — such as the increasing
American involvement, outside Congressional oversight, in Colombia's civil
strife — still get carried out.
Also, privatized operations do not always go as planned. In 1998 the
Colombian Air Force, working from intelligence supplied by an American
company, mistakenly bombed a village, killing 17. In 2001 a plane carrying
missionaries was shot down over Peru after private workers under contract
to the Central Intelligence Agency alerted the Peruvian military that the
plane seemed suspicious.
International and national laws must be updated so that governments
gain some control over whom military firms are allowed to work with and
can be certain the companies can be held accountable when things go wrong.
Likewise, as governments come to rely more on private help, they must
become more business-savvy, establishing good competition and oversight in
their outsourcing. This is the only way to ensure that the public, not
just the industry, enjoys the benefits of military privatization.
P.W. Singer is a fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of
"Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military
Industry."
