Blackwater Out of The Security Business

This qualifies as good news, I guess:

Blackwater to leave security business following problems in Iraq | World news | guardian.co.uk via kwout

And it was also able to operate with immunity in Iraq, which is what made it controversial. Ultimately, the US Congress passed a law to have military codes apply to private military contractors.

But let’s not feel too bad for Blackwater. It has operations all over the world and a major training facility in North Carolina.

Hopefully, this would trigger a serious discussion of the role of private military contractors in contemporary conflicts and the whole trend toward privatization that accompanies militarization.

For starters, it would be a great idea to revisit the following:

• P. W. Singer, Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry
• Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army
• Robert Greenwald, Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers