Iraq's murky waters.

• Author: Howell, Llewellyn D.
• Position: Private security contractors

ALMOST NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW that American government officials in Iraq are not guarded by the U.S. military, but instead are protected by what are known as "private security contractors" or PSCs. The Baghdad incident on Sept. 16 in which Blackwater USA contract soldiers fired on civilians, killing 17 and wounding 27 while protecting a Foreign Service convoy outside the Green Zone, changed that to a limited degree only. Some Americans now have read or heard that Blackwater and other PSCs are in Iraq and Afghanistan in large numbers, but they still do not believe it. Thus, we have--and have had--a hidden army in Iraq, one equal in size to the formal military force of 160,000 or more.

Department of State (Foreign Service) personnel in Iraq are not protected by the Department of Defense (U.S. military), as most Americans assume. Instead, State employees are protected by three firms: Blackwater, USA; DynCorp; and Triple Canopy. Few of our citizens think through the complexities of governmental budgeting. The Defense budget includes defense of the U.S., but does not include defense of the Foreign Service. They have to protect themselves. To do this, they hired Blackwater, a private company, to provide security for them around the world.

What is a "private security contractor" anyway? In Blackwater, Jeremy Scahill uses the subtitle, The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. Mercenaries, or soldiers for hire, have a long history--thousands of years--including service for, and against, the U.S., but PSCs generally reject the term "mercenary" in favor of the less unsavory "private security contractor." PSCs indeed do operate on business contracts--for the companies that bring them together and for the individuals they hire. Most are former military personnel and the services they provide are a substitute for formal soldiers and airmen. Therein lies one of the major problems created by private armies--why fight for $100 a day when you can do the same thing in the private sector for $500 to $1,000 per day?

There roughly are 170 PSC companies in Iraq at this point. Daniel Schorr of National Public Radio estimates the number of PSC employees in Iraq at 180,000, considerably more than the amount of U.S. and Coalition military forces. Other estimates have been lower, but all are in the range of 150-160,000, with 40-50,000 under arms. These private armies have--and operate--helicopters and armored personnel carriers. Their behavior, including...