Soldiers of Misfortune?

This book examines the role of PMSCs in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to derive general lessons on employment of security contractors in future contingency operations, particularly COIN campaigns. Three broad questions underlie this analysis. First, what tasks can be safely outsourced to private companies? Second, how should the government manage contractors in conflict zones? Closely related to the issue of oversight is the third analytical question: Under what laws should PMSCs be held legally accountable for their actions? Based on these questions, the author identifies areas in which armed contractors seem to create the most problems. Convoy escorts and personal security details have frequently become involved in escalation-of-force incidents. He also raises serious concerns about employment of security guards from the local population and discusses the several legal frameworks under which all civilian security contractors might fall.