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Blackwater

In his provocative book, Blackwater: The Rise of the Most Powerful Mercenary Army, (72) journalist Jeremy Scahill has several key goals. He principally seeks to expose the conduct of Blackwater Worldwide (formerly called Blackwater Security Consulting), a private contractor that provides security services to the U.S. government in Iraq and elsewhere. Scahill sees Blackwater, which has now secured over $1 billion in diplomatic security contracts from the U.S. government, as thoroughly lawless, and he argues that Blackwater's employees should face criminal charges for a variety of incidents. Second, Scahill condemns the Departments of State and Justice and the Bush administration more generally for their collective "refusal to hold mercenary forces accountable for their crimes in Iraq" (p. 47). Finally, Scahill presents several powerful arguments against the United States' heavy reliance on private contractors in carrying out its foreign policies and its military operations.
While both books have much to say, they each are remarkably silent on what I consider--especially in view of the facts recited in Blackwater--one of the most serious problems with the United States' heavy reliance on private military companies. Quite simply, these contractors may have become our nation's Achilles heel. Essential and yet extremely vulnerable, contractors and the institution of contracting present a perfect target for opponents of America's foreign policy. By successfully attacking prominent security contractors like Blackwater Worldwide, whether through law or public opinion, an opponent could paralyze American diplomatic and military initiatives.
Before discussing the main themes of Blackwater, one important, initial point requires mention. Although Blackwater is a well-researched book, it is not a scholarly work but a polemic, through and through. And while the book is often entertaining, it is also frequently annoying in tone and rhetoric. "Blackwater is a private army,"...