I got a listen on Terry Gross' "Fresh Air" program yesterday. She spoke to Jeremy Scahill who has written a book about the huge private security and combat firm, Blackwater USA. They have in their employ thousands of ex-soldiers and they contract with our government to do the things regular soldiers used to do.
I had heard of this outfit before, mainly in connection to the atrocious loss of several Blackwater employees at Fallujah in Iraq. Mr. Scahill's remarks only made me more apprehensive at the thought of such a large private corps of well-equipped soldiers who owe their loyalty (and their paychecks) to a private company. Although they don't appear to threaten civil liberties within our country now, the whole idea of "contracting" our security could have far-reaching effects.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA
Yes, Jeremy Scahill writes for The Nation and, that said, it may be easy at this point to dismiss the critics of this company as a bunch of left-wing fraidy cats. But I'm not so sure that a large standing private army in our military affairs and emergency plans (such as the Katrina flooding) is such a good idea for a republic. Police power I believe best resides in the public sphere, where potential abusers of such power could be disciplined or removed from harming the public good. I don't know whose keeping a good eye on these guys--Scahill reported their Representatives managed recently to stonewall a Congressional Committee under Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Ca) with a claim of "national security" in regards to Iraqi operations.
I do think people of all political stripes owe it to themselves to get lots of info on Blackwater and other private-forces-for-hire contractors.
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