The Rise of a New Kind of Military, the Private Military Company.

In this article, BBC News writes about the use of a common practice throughout history, but people seem to complain about it more now than ever, the private contractor, or as some people call it, soldiers for hire. In recent years, the private military contractor has become a massive industry. In 2011, the UK's private security contractor industry boomed into a one billion pound business. In the last few years, the United States has also jumped largely on the contractor bandwagon. The U.S.A. had cut its own military's spending, limiting its ability to fight as productively as it had been able in the past, so to fill that gap, the United States hires companies such as Blackwater (now known as Academi) and other PMC companies. In 2004, the U.S. had hired Blackwater to aid in Fallujah. Four Contractors were killed while escorting a convoy and their burned bodies were hung over a bridge by angry Iraqis. A few years later, in 2007, a group of contractors opened fire on a group of vehicles at Nisour Square, starting with a truck that would not respond to requests to stop. There was an outrage when it was found out that there was a nine-year old boy was among the people killed. Contractors respond by saying that the Iraqis shot first, but there was no proof to say which side shot first when the scene was investigated. The field of private security has not collapsed because of situations such as Nisour Square. According to CNN, there are approximately 104,000 contractors in Afghanistan, and that number has the possibility to increase at a later date. Personally, I believe the use of contractors makes sense. If the military lacks the ability to perform specific jobs, there are contractors willing to get paid to do the same job that the U.S. Military does, with a lot less restrictions due to the lack of PMCs being involved in Middle Eastern laws.