Private Security Contractors at War
Source: Human Rights First (.pdf), 2008
This report examines the dramatic and expanded use by the United States of private security contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and the abject failure of the U.S. government to control their actions or hold them criminally responsible for acts of excessive violence and abuse. As the ranks of private security contractors have grown and the number of serious incidents has increased, the U.S. government has failed to establish a workable accountability mechanism. In Iraq in particular the interplay between private security contractors, international military forces and local populations has exposed severe problems. But these issues are not unique to Iraq, and they will continue after Iraq.