Tweet
Via Andrew Tilghman at TPMm, the Congressional Budget Office has identified over a division’s worth of private security contractors working in Iraq:
Total spending by the U.S. government and other contractors for security provided by contractors in Iraq from 2003 through 2007 was between $6 billion and $10 billion, CBO estimates. As of early 2008, approximately 25,000 to 30,000 employees of private security contractors were operating in Iraq. Those contractors worked for the U.S. government, the Iraqi government, other contractors, and other customers. private security contractors (PSCs).
Now, the report doesn’t break it down further. Just because someone’s an employee of a PSC doesn’t meant s/he’s performing mercenary quasi-combat functions. Could be a driver or something. But still — that’s a lot of private security contractors.
Crossposted at — where else? — The Streak.
3 Comments
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About ATTACKERMAN
RSS/XML Feed
Good call on PSC employees not ALL being quasi-Soldiers. Blackwater has a significant contingent of private passenger aircraft and pilots to transport people and cargo around Afghanistan. I’m sure its the same in Iraq. Is much as I despise Blackwater, those things were much more comfortable to ride in than a C-130.
Oh, forgot to add this: the fact that a divisions worth of mercenaries in Iraq includes not-mercenary employees doesn’t make PSCs any better. After all, a military combat division also includes non-combat arms staff as well.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but Republicans really do turn every thing they touch to shit. At lease past Republican administrations have been smart enough to know that while they are trying to turn everything good about America over to private corporations with their own interests, those regimes were smart enough to keep certain services under government control (libraries, police, military). This so-called “Government”, however, has mobilized a private army that is accountable to no system of law or regulation.
Hey, look at that. Someone left of centre passing up the chance to lie about private military contractors and claiming there are 200000 trigger pullers in Iraq, for no apparent reason. What’s that, the first time ever ?
If you use bittorrent there’s an awesome video of Scahill doing a prepared university presentation where he laughingly recounts how Blackwater objects to being called mercenaries. He then states what the definition of a mercenary is… realises he can’t justify the subtitle of his book… and just moves his lying arse on to another topic. It’s hilarious.