This study reports the results of a systematic, empirically based survey of opinions of U.S. military and State Department personnel with Iraq war experience to shed light on the costs and benefits of using private security contractors (PSCs) in the Iraq war. For the most part, respondents did not believe that PSCs were 'running wild' in Iraq, but they held mixed views on PSCs' contribution to the U.S. military operation and U.S. foreign policy objectives.

At peak utilization, private security contractors (PSCs) constituted a larger occupying force in Iraq and Afghanistan than did U.S. troops. Yet, no book has so far assessed the impact of private security companies on military effectiveness. Filling that gap, Molly Dunigan reveals how the increasing tendency to outsource missions to PSCs has significant ramifications for both tactical and long-term strategic military effectiveness--and for the likelihood that the democracies that deploy PSCs will be victorious in warfare, both over the short- and long-term. She highlights some of the ongoing...

At peak utilization, private security contractors (PSCs) constituted a larger occupying force in Iraq and Afghanistan than did U.S. troops. Yet, no book has so far assessed the impact of private security companies on military effectiveness. Filling that gap, Molly Dunigan reveals how the increasing tendency to outsource missions to PSCs has significant ramifications for both tactical and long-term strategic military effectiveness--and for the likelihood that the democracies that deploy PSCs will be victorious in warfare, both over the short- and long-term. She highlights some of the ongoing...