For all the public hand-wringing private military and security contractors have essentially tactical wartime roles, fulfilling specific tasks ranging from logistical support to guarding infrastructure and people. But private intelligence contractors are part of a strategic role. They are part and parcel of the process that generates the intelligence that decides whether a nation should go to a war in the fist place. Think back to the debates over Iraq concerning aluminum tubes, uranium from Niger, and mobile biological labs and then imagine how confident you would feel if such intelligence was the product of firms whose primary motivation was making a profit.
Who benefits from the war? Certainly it's not the taxpayers. Tim Shorrock's new book, "Spies for Hire" examines the scope and impact of outsourcing military and intelligence functions to private contractors. Do you feel safer now?
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