Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Christopher Kinsey is a senior lecturer in international security at King's College London, based in the Defence Studies Department at the Joint Services Command and Staff College.Malcolm Hugh Patterson teaches international law and international relations at Macquarie University in Sydney.

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CONTRACTORS AND WAR

Stanford University Press

Contents

Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................................................viiIntroduction Christopher Kinsey and Malcolm Hugh Patterson..................................................................................................11 Overview of American Government Expeditionary Operations Utilizing Private Contractors Robert Mandel.....................................................132 Attitudes on the Ground: What Soldiers Think about Civilian Contractors Ryan Kelty and Darcy Schnack.....................................................363 Looking Beyond Iraq: Contractors in US Global Activities Renée de Nevers............................................................................604 The Elephant in the Room William J. Flavin...............................................................................................................855 Sharing the Same Space: The Evolving Relationship between US NGOs, Battlefield Contractors, and US Armed Forces Samuel A. Worthington.....................1126 PMSCs and Risk in Counterinsurgency Warfare Kateri Carmola...............................................................................................1347 Contractors and the Law Geoffrey S. Corn.................................................................................................................1578 Contractors' Wars and the Commission on Wartime Contracting Allison Stanger..............................................................................1849 Private Contractors, Public Consequences: The Need for an Effective Criminal Justice Framework David E. Price............................................20510 How to Decide When a Contractor Source Is Better to Use Than a Government Source Frank Camm.............................................................23311 Reforming the US Approach to Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations Stuart W. Bowen, Jr............................................................25512 Contractors Supporting Military Operations: Many Challenges Remain Jacques S. Gansler and William Lucyshyn..............................................278Conclusion Christopher Kinsey and Malcolm Hugh Patterson...................................................................................................297Contributors................................................................................................................................................323Index.......................................................................................................................................................327

Chapter One

1. Introduction

The recent expanded reliance by the United States on private contractors in military operations overseas has reached unprecedented levels, so much so that "the scope of today's wartime contracting dwarfs that of past military conflicts." Indeed, today the United States seems to be totally unable to engage in expeditionary operations without using private contractors: in particular, in 2007, over 190,000 contractors worked in Iraq on US-funded contracts, making the number of private contractors roughly equal to that of American government soldiers; in 2008, the Department of Defense spent around 316 billion dollars on contracted services, about as much as the total amount it spent on weapons systems and equipment; and in 2009, private contractors outnumbered military personnel in Afghanistan and nearly equaled the number of military personnel in Iraq. No longer does the United States even attempt to achieve military self-sufficiency by maintaining enough government troops to fulfill its global security objectives.

This chapter's explicitly conceptual analysis provides an explanation of why the American government chose recently to rely more on private contractors, the controversies surrounding this reliance, arguments identifying the strengths and weaknesses associated with American government use of private contractors, and the future course of private contractors in American expeditionary operations. The central purpose is to provide a deeper and more balanced perspective on well-publicized trends. In the process, this chapter carefully situates the private contractor issue within the broader security context.

2. Motivation for American Government Use of Private Contractors

This escalating use of private contracting has many roots. The supply and demand changes surrounding military personnel after the Cold War, the foreign policy limitations associated with exclusive reliance on government forces, and the reluctance by the government to undertake operations that risk significant citizen casualties have combined to foster a groundswell of interest and activity in this area. Private contractors have been adept recently at realizing and taking advantage of opportunities presented.

One of the pivotal causes is the post-Cold War downsizing of the American military. Since the mid-1990s, "the Department of Defense (DOD) has increasingly viewed contracted support as a 'force multiplier' that supplements existing U.S. force structure capacity and capability":

The Department of Defense (DOD) has a long history of relying on contractors to support troops during wartime and expeditionary operations. Generally, from the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War, contractors provided traditional logistical support such as medical care, transportation, and engineering to U.S. armed forces. Since the end of the Cold War there has been a significant increase in contractors supporting U.S. troops—in terms of the number and percentage of contractors, and the type of work being performed. ... According to DOD, post-Cold War budget reductions resulted in significant cuts to military logistical and support personnel, requiring DOD to hire contractors to "fill the gap."

Between 1989 and 2002, the Department of Defense's total civilian workforce shrunk by 38 percent. Shortages of trained personnel still hamper American expeditionary operations, as the United States has assumed security responsibilities in multiple parts of the world without enough qualified government personnel to support these far-flung responsibilities. The post-Cold War downsizing of government military personnel, which occurred not just within the United States, released onto the global market sizable numbers of people with soldiering skills looking for employment, and thus provided private contractors with ready manpower and an ability to supply requisite services on the battlefield.

At the same time the American military has been downsizing, global disruptions and threats to US interests abroad have appeared to multiply and diversify. The end to the Cold War opened the door to different kinds of foreign threats, including an increasing number of domestic insurgencies, internal civil wars, failing states, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, transnational organized crime, and violent acts perpetrated by transnational terrorists. Emerging threats have been typically covert, dispersed, decentralized, adaptable, and fluid, with threat sources relatively difficult to identify, monitor, target, contain, destroy, and with these sources' past actions not necessarily a...