Reorganization of Contractors Supporting Defense Efforts for Afghanistan - Term Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages The proliferation of private military companies and private security companies in the 1990s directly correlated to the downsizing of armed force supplies in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War. This resulted in a new political order in the international arena with novel conflict scenarios, thereby creating a demand for military manpower and expertise. The redefinition of these security strategies has left gaps in the core functions of the armed forces, which have been supplemented by alternative military service delivery via Private military companies (PMCs) and Private Security Companies (PSCs) to support US defense efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US defense effort heavily relies on private contractors in Iraq in particular for multifarious services such as security, transport, convoys, and operating bases. Whilst military analysts highlight that such contractors are essential to the US in international efforts to stabilise Iraq, contentious issues arising from the privatisation of the military and security sector relate to the implications of their use in warfare, contractual problems and dilemmas, their ambiguous legal status and concurrent impact on civil-military relations. Moreover, gaps in the international legal framework have fuelled concerns regarding accountability, transparency, human rights problems, issues of economic exploitation, and vested interests.

The role of PMCs and PSCs is further relevant to the complex relationship between state terrorism and non-state sector terrorism. This is compounded by the inherent difficulty in distinguishing between both forms of terrorism is the ambiguity concerning the definition of “terrorism” at an international law level. This is particularly evident with regard to the legal parameters of state-sponsored terrorism, which lacks any international consensus regarding enforceability and raises the risk of PMCs and PSCs being utilised as government proxies for circumventing government liability. ...Download file to see next pages Read More