"Privatization of America's Wars" To Be Debated in Defense Forum

ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. (April 5, 2008)—Who controls America's private armies in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are U.S. defense contractors operating there merely as "guns for hire?" Who is responsible for contractor oversight, and who should take the blame when disasters like Abu Ghraib occur? "The Privatization of National Defense" forum will explore these complex and controversial issues on Wednesday, April 9 and Thursday, April 10 at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

The forum will also examine the international legal ramifications of privatizing national defense. Speaker Guy Seidman of the Radzyner School of Law at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzilya, Israel, will be part of a distinguished panel that will discuss the complexities involved. The forum's keynote speech will take place on Wednesday evening at the State House in Historic St. Mary's City. Peter W. Singer of the Brookings Institution will discuss his views on the changing nature of U.S. military involvements. Singer is director of the institute's 21st Century Defense Initiative.

The trend toward out-sourcing U.S. military operations accelerated after the Cold War ended and has ballooned since the invasion of Iraq. Battlefield functions heavily privatized in the last five years include intelligence gathering, logistics, security, and rebuilding infrastructure. According to Louis Hicks, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at the College and author of Systems of War and Peace, the U.S. public has been led by the media to believe "happy stories" that American contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan are still performing mostly passive roles, such as providing supplies. In fact, they are now crucial to the battle-responsible for security and reconnaissance, for example. Many deployed contractors are former highly skilled special operations personnel, who can earn $1,000 a day in the war zone.

While contractors are asked to provide more vital functions in defense and intelligence, U.S. government oversight of their actions is often lax. One glaring example was the debacle at Abu Ghraib prison. According to some reports, the private U.S. contractors who helped the military operate the prison had almost no accountability to the military leadership. The result was a human rights and international relations disaster for the United States.

The two-day program is sponsored by the College, the Center for the Study of Democracy, and the Patuxent Partnership as part of the Patuxent Defense Forum. Attendees will earn 14 continuous learning points. The price for the two-day forum is $95.