Private military company: Difference between revisions

The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental [[security]], [[military]], or [[police]] but most often on a smaller scale. PMCs often provide services to train or supplement official [[armed forces]] in service of governments, but they can also be employed by private companies to provide [[bodyguards]] for key staff or protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories. However, contractors that use armed force in a [[war]] zone may be considered [[unlawful combatant]]s in reference to a concept that is outlined in the [[Geneva Conventions]] and explicitly stated by the 2006 American [[Military Commissions Act of 2006|Military Commissions Act]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Julian E. |date=2007-10-15 |title=America's own unlawful combatants? |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-blackwater15oct15,1,6804674,full.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=2&cset=true |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20081220162617/http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-blackwater15oct15,1,6804674,full.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=2&cset=true |archive-date=2008-12-20}}</ref>

The company's first assignment was to go to [[Yemen]] to report on the state of the royalist forces when a cease-fireceasefire was declared. At the same time, Stirling was cultivating his contacts in the [[Iran]]ian government and exploring the chances of obtaining work in [[Africa]]. The company eventually operated in [[Zambia]] and in [[Sierra Leone]], providing training teams and advising on security matters. Stirling also organised deals to sell weapons and military personnel to other countries for various privatised foreign policy operations. Contracts were mainly with the [[Persian Gulf|Gulf States]] and involved weapons supply and training. The company was also linked with a failed attempt to overthrow Colonel [[Muammar Gaddafi]] from power in [[Libya]] in 1971. Woodhouse resigned as Director of Operations after a series of disagreements and Stirling himself ceased to take an active part in 1972.<ref name="sas">''The SAS: Savage Wars of Peace: 1947 to the Present'', by Anthony Kemp, John Murray, 1994, pp. 88-89<!-- ISBN needed --></ref>

Stirling also founded KAS International (aka KAS Enterprises) and was involved in a collaboration with the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] to forcibly reduce the illegal poaching and smuggling of [[elephant tusk]]s in various countries of [[Southern Africa]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 January 1996 |title=Pretoria inquiry confirms secret battle for the rhino |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/pretoria-inquiry-confirms-secret-battle-for-the-rhino-1324553.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090810095652/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/pretoria-inquiry-confirms-secret-battle-for-the-rhino-1324553.html |archive-date=10 August 2009}}</ref> Other groups formed by ex-SAS servicemen were established in the 1970s and '80s, including [[Control Risks Group]] and Defence Systems, providing military consultation and training.

In 1989, the [[United Nations Mercenary Convention]] banning the use of [[mercenaries]] was initiated and it entered into force on 20 October 2001.<ref name="UN-Mercenary-Convention">[https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209231529/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm |date=February 9, 2008 }} A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention) [http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/mercenaries.htm Entry into force: 20 October 2001]→ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209231529/http://www.wikipedia.org/ |date=9 February 2008 }}</ref> As of August 2021, the convention had been ratified by 37 states, and signed but not ratified by 9 states.

===Post ColdPost–Cold War ===

Dramatic growth in the number and size of PMCs occurred at the end of the [[Cold War]]. The exodus of over 6 million military personnel from Western militaries in the 1990s expanded the recruiting pool for PMCs. Some of the larger corporations were:included [[Vinnell]] and [[Military Professional Resources Inc.]] in the [[United States]]; [[G4S]] and Keeni-Meeny Services in the [[United Kingdom]]; and Lordan-Levdan in [[Israel]] and [[Executive Outcomes]] in [[South Africa]].

Some commentators have argued that there was an exodus from many [[special operations forces]] across the globe towards these private military corporations. Units that were allegedly severely affected included the [[British Armed Forces|British]] [[Special Air Service]],<ref name="dtcrisis">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/14/nsas14.xml Crisis as SAS men quit for lucrative Iraq jobs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422042555/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2005%2F02%2F14%2Fnsas14.xml |date=2008-04-22 }}, The Daily Telegraph article dated 15/02/2005</ref><ref name="dtguards">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/23/nirq123.xml Soldiers to be allowed a year off to go to Iraq to earn £500 a day as guards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422042530/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2004%2F05%2F23%2Fnirq123.xml |date=2008-04-22 }}, The Daily Telegraph article dated 23/05/2004</ref> the [[US Special Operations Forces]]<ref name="dtelite">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/07/welite07.xml $150,000 incentive to stay in US elite forces] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422042550/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2005%2F02%2F07%2Fwelite07.xml |date=2008-04-22 }}, The Daily Telegraph article dated 07/02/2005</ref> and the [[Canadian Army|Canadian]] [[Joint Task Force 2]].<ref name="npraise">[http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=1109da57-944c-45a4-962d-9f89d591341a Special forces get pay raise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111636/http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=1109da57-944c-45a4-962d-9f89d591341a |date=2007-09-29 }}, [[National Post]] article dated August 26, 2006</ref>

The [[Center for Public Integrity]] reported that since 1994, the [[United States Department of Defense|Defense Department]] entered into 3,601 contracts worth $300 billion with twelve U.S.US-based PMCs, specifically during the initial response after [[Hurricane Katrina]] in [[New Orleans]].{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Domestic operations are generally under the auspice of state or federal agencies such as the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] or the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] rather than the Department of Defense. Driven by increasing fears of domestic [[terror attacks]] and [[civil unrest]] and disruption in the wake of disasters, more conventional security companies are moving into operations arenas that would fall within the definition of a PMC. The [[United States State Department]] also employs several companies to provide support in danger zones that would be difficult for conventional U.S.US forces.

The October 2000 [[USS Cole bombing|USS ''Cole'' bombing]] proved a pivotal moment for private military companies at sea and directly led to the first contract between [[Blackwater (company)|Blackwater]] and the U.S.US military.<ref name="seablind">{{Cite journal |last1=Bueger |first1=Christian |last2=Edmunds |first2=Timothy |date=2017-11-01 |title=Beyond seablindness: a new agenda for maritime security studies |url=http://academic.oup.com/ia/article/93/6/1293/4111108 |journal=International Affairs |language=en |volume=93 |issue=6 |pages=1293–1311 |doi=10.1093/ia/iix174 |issn=0020-5850 |doi-access=free|hdl=1983/a9bb7d69-6274-4515-8db4-886079ca3668 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="scahill07">{{Cite book |last=Scahill, Jeremy. |title=Blackwater : the rise of the world's most powerful mercenary army |date=2007 |publisher=Nation Books |isbn=978-1-56025-979-4 |location=New York, NY |oclc=84897494}}</ref> Blackwater, and private military contractors in general, became notorious in the 21st century after their usage by the United States government in the [[Iraq war|American occupation of Iraq]].

Since the late 2000s, PMCs have become increasingly involved in [[anti-piracy measures in Somalia]] and other regions. PMCs remain active in this region, mainly providing security for private shipping through the [[Gulf of Aden]] and at times contracting to aid [[African Union Mission to Somalia|UN efforts]]. PMCs were hired to deter pirates from attacking vessels and taking the shipping crew and their transport hostage. While a large variety of international naval missions with the same goals such as the EU's [[Operation Atalanta|Atalanta]], NATO's [[Operation Ocean Shield|Ocean Shield]], and [[Combined Task Force 150]] are and were active in this region, it is still necessary for the shipping companies to have security personnel on deck. Due to their decentralized nature, it can be difficult for the UN or other international organizations to provide effective oversight over what happens on the seas. Whereas the UN showed that, between 2010 and 2015, there were over fifty encounters between the national sovereign navies that participated in the missions, resulting in over 1,200 detained pirates, only one PMC published information over this period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jarle Hansen |first=Stig |date=July 2012 |title=International Interventions, State-Building and Democratization: Justifying the Role of the Private Security Companies in Somalia? |journal=African Security |language=en |volume=5 |issue=3–4 |pages=255–266 |doi=10.1080/19392206.2012.732897 |issn=1939-2206 |s2cid=218645866}}</ref> Since the PMCs are so much more active in this area, covering a larger part of it through activities on board trading ships, this could be a low estimate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Affi |first1=Ladan |last2=Elmi |first2=Afyare A. |last3=Knight |first3=W. Andy |last4=Mohamed |first4=Said |date=2016-05-03 |title=Countering piracy through private security in the Horn of Africa: prospects and pitfalls |journal=Third World Quarterly |language=en |volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=934–950 |doi=10.1080/01436597.2015.1114882 |issn=0143-6597 |s2cid=155886392}}</ref> PMC presence in Somalia is an example of two [[violent non-state actors at sea]] engaged in combat with each other.

On April 5, 2005, Jamie Smith, CEO of [[SCG International Risk]] announced the expansion of services from the traditional roles of PMCs of protection and intelligence to military aviation support. SCG International Air would provide air support, [[medevac]] (medical evacuation), [[rotary aircraft|rotary]] and [[fixed-wing aircraft|fixed-wing]] transportation, [[cargo plane|heavy-lift cargo]], armed escort, and executive air travel to "any location on earth." That marked an expansion of services to rival the capabilities of some countries's armies and air forces.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

==== International Code of Conduct (2008) ====

In 2008, the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]], the [[Swiss government]], and contributors from private security companies and the civil society/[[NGO]] sector developed and proposed the [[Montreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies]], detailing international legal obligations and specific recommendations related to PSC services procurement practices and operational oversight, as well as clarifying the obligations of Statesstates pertaining to the hiring of such entities during armed conflicts.<ref>International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), [http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/ montreux-document-170908.htm "The Montreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies"] (accessed 8 February 2013)</ref> As of December 2018, fifty-four states had signed the Montreux Document.<ref name="adach">{{Cite web |title=The Montreux Document |url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/foreign-policy/international-law/international-humanitarian-law/private-military-security-companies/montreux-document.html |access-date=2019-09-27 |website=www.eda.admin.ch |language=en}}</ref>

As revealed in 2009 by Stoddard ''et al.'', the use of private security contractors by [[NGO]]s in dangerous regions is a highly sensitive subject.<ref name="ODI">Abby Stoddard, Adele Harmer and Victoria DiDomenico (2009) [http://www.odi.org/publications/2816-private-security-contractors-humanitarian-operations Private security providers and services in humanitarian operations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215165231/http://www.odi.org/publications/2816-private-security-contractors-humanitarian-operations |date=2016-02-15 }} [[Overseas Development Institute]]</ref> Quite often, the contractors hired are local companies and mostly are unarmed personnel guarding facilities; only rarely are international contractors or mobile armed security personnel used.<ref name=ODI/> Many NGOs have sought the services of private security contractors in dangerous areas of operation, such as [[Afghanistan]], [[Somalia]] and [[Sudan]], due to lack of knowledge, skills, and time to adequately meet the challenges of deteriorating security environments; and administrative costs of managing security in-house and potential to outsource the liability.

The result is that many NGOs are not open about their use of PSPs and researchers at the [[Overseas Development Institute]] have found that sometimes statements at NGOs central headquarters contradict those given by local staff.<ref name=ODI/> This prevents informative knowledge sharing and debate on the subject needed to improve NGO decisions regarding this issue, though there have been some notable exceptions; namely, the Afghanistan NGO Security Office and the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq m.<ref name=ODI/>

The private security contractor fulfills many different needs in the private and public sectors. While some nations rely heavily on the input of governments of such nations as the United States, other countries do not trust the U.S.US, so they tend to look for private contractors who will have a [[fiduciary obligation]] to them.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In 2012, were published the [[ISO/PAS 28007:2012]] Guidelines for [[Private Maritime Security Companies]].<ref name="Siebels">{{Cite news |last=Siebels |first=Dirk |date=2014-02-23 |title=New ISO Standard for Private Maritime Security Companies |publisher=Piracy-law.com |url=https://www.academia.edu/7728567 |access-date=2015-04-17}}</ref>

* In December 2009, the [[Congressional Research Service]], which provides background information to members of the [[United States Congress]], announced that the deployment of 30,000 extra US troops into Afghanistan could be accompanied by a surge of "26,000 to 56,000" contractors. This would expand the presence of personnel from the US private sector in Afghanistan "to anywhere from 130,000 to 160,000." The CRS study said that contractors made up 69 percent of the Pentagon's personnel in Afghanistan in December 2008, a proportion that "apparently represented the highest recorded percentage of contractors used by the Defense Department in any conflict in the history of the United States." In September 2008, their presence had dropped to 62 percent, and the US military troop strength increased modestly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ELISE CASTELLI |date=2009-12-16 |title=Projected contractor surge in Afghanistan: Up to 56,000 |url=http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20091216/DEPARTMENTS01/912160309/1009/ACQUISITION |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729192611/http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20091216/DEPARTMENTS01/912160309/1009/ACQUISITION |archive-date=2012-07-29 |access-date=2011-12-22 |publisher=Federaltimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pincus |first=Walter |date=2009-12-16 |title=Up to 56,000 more contractors likely for Afghanistan, congressional agency says |work=Washingtonpost.com |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504850.html?hpid=topnews |url-status=live |access-date=2011-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030161847/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504850.html?hpid=topnews |archive-date=2010-10-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=ELISE CASTELLI |date=2009-12-16 |title=Projected contractor surge in Afghanistan: Up to 56,000 |url=http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20091216/DEPARTMENTS01/912160309/-1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122185643/http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20091216/DEPARTMENTS01/912160309/-1/ |archive-date=2013-01-22 |access-date=2011-12-22 |publisher=Federaltimes.com}}</ref>

* Also in December 2009, a [[US House of Representatives]] oversight subcommittee stated that it had begun a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that American [[private security companies]] that were hired to protect Defense Department convoys in Afghanistan would be paying off warlords and the [[Taliban]] to ensure safe passage. That would mean that the United States unintentionally and indirectly engaged in a protection racket and might be indirectly funding the very insurgents it is trying to fight. A preliminary inquiry determined that the allegations warranted a deeper inquiry and focused initially on eight trucking companies that share a $2.2 billion Defense Department contract to carry goods and material from main supply points inside Afghanistan (primarily [[Bagram air base]]) to more than 100 [[Forward operating base|forward operating bases]] and other military facilities in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pincus |first=Walter |date=2009-12-17 |title=Congress investigating charges of 'protection racket' by Afghanistan contractors |work=Washingtonpost.com |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121604126.html |url-status=live |access-date=2011-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820132112/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121604126.html |archive-date=2011-08-20}}</ref>

* In 2000, [[ABC Television (Australian TV network)|ABC Television]]'s international affairs program "''Foreign Correspondent"'' broadcast a special report, "Sierra Leone: Soldiers of Fortune", focusing on the exploits of South African pilot [[Neall Ellis]] and his [[Mi-24 Hind]] gunship.<ref name="ABCFC">{{Cite news |title=SL:SoF Synopsis |work=Foreign Correspondent |publisher=[[ABC Television (Australian TV network)|ABC Television]] |url=http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/s220036.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007171906/http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/s220036.htm |archive-date=2008-10-07}}</ref> The report also investigated the failures of the UN Peacekeeping Force and the involvement of mercenaries/private military contractors in providing vital support to UN operations and British military Special Operations in Sierra Leone in 1999–2000.<ref name="SL:SoF">{{Cite news |title=Sierra Leone: Soldiers of Fortune, Script |work=Foreign Correspondent |publisher=[[ABC Television (Australian TV network)|ABC Television]] |url=http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s433773.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707192354/http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s433773.htm |archive-date=2009-07-07}}</ref>

* In mid-May 2006, police in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] arrested 32 alleged mercenaries of different nationalities;: 19 from [[South Africa]], 10 from [[Nigeria]] and three from the [[United States]]. Half of them worked for the South African company [[Omega Security Solutions]], and the Americans worked for [[AQMI Strategy Corp]]. The men were accused of plotting to overthrow the government, but charges were not pressed. The men were deported to their home countries.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/24/AR2006052401591.html Congo Holding 3 Americans in Alleged Coup Plot] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026021746/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/24/AR2006052401591.html |date=2017-10-26}}, [[Washington Post]] article from May 25, 2006</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/29/AR2006052900556.html Congo Deports Nearly 3 Dozen Foreigners] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218024301/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/29/AR2006052900556.html |date=2018-02-18 }}, Washington Post article from May 29, 2006.</ref>

* Due to strain of [[United States Armed Forces]], the [[United States Department of State|U.S.US State Department]] and [[The Pentagon]] hashave also outsourced the expanded military training in Africa to three companies: [[Military Professional Resources Inc.]], DFI International, and Logicon (now owned by [[Northrop Grumman]]).<ref name="auto" />

* The Central African-based park- ranger organization [[African Wildlife Defence Force]] contracts former servicemen and law enforcement personnel to protect national parks and private game ranches in Africa. Candidates must undergo additional retraining to become park rangers. They are also referred to as Private Ranger Contractors or PRC.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

* According to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), since 2017, the Russian-based PMC, Wagner Group, has been operating continuously in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, as well as in other African countries. Under the guise of helping government'sgovernments defeat violent insurgencies or fight Islamic extremist movements, the Russian Wagner Group is believed by several U.S.US and African government sources, to be responsible for significant [[crimes against humanity]]. It is reportreported that hundreds of contractors from the Russian PMC enter these countries each year. The Wagner Group has been accused of extreme violence against African civilians and human rights violations by the U.S.US State Department and most European governments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Africa, Here's How to Respond to Russia's Brutal Wagner Group |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/04/africa-heres-how-respond-russias-brutal-wagner-group}}</ref>

* According to the ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'', the South African PMC, Executive Outcomes (Founded in 1989), was committing atrocities in Sierra Leone up until the early 2000s, when they left the country and refocused their business on providing domestic security services in their native South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 3, 2020 |title=Africa awaits: Mercenary outfit Executive Outcomes is reborn |url=https://www.upstreamonline.com/people/africa-awaits-mercenary-outfit-executive-outcomes-is-reborn/2-1-921836}}</ref><ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/daily/oct99/sierra16.htm {{bare URL inline|date=May 2023}}</ref>

* In the mid-2000s, a group of self-proclaimed former ANC [[Resistance movement#Freedom fighter|freedom- fighters]], known as the TRAKboys, began to emerge in fringe political circles within Johannesburg and Cape Town. They gained national attention in South Africa when they began calling upon leaders to demand an investigation by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development into the foreign and domestic activities of Executive Outcomes. Failed assassination attempts on several high -profile members of the TRAKboys, such as former Cape Town-based manufacturing tycoon, Dylan4K, have led to speculation, conspiracy theories and public outrage directed towards Apartheid-era, Afrikaner-owned PMC'sPMCs operating in southern Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A complex History of Executive Outcomes, a South African mercenary organisation.#mercenaries |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w34L4Qu2Deg |website=[[YouTube]]| date=March 6, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Howe |first=Herbert M. |year=1998 |title=Private security forces and African stability: The case of Executive Outcomes |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/abs/private-security-forces-and-african-stability-the-case-of-executive-outcomes/2CA0FBC697D26E09F5D9F998F4BE92B8 |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=307–331 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X98002778 |doi-broken-date=August 21, 2024 |s2cid=154459157}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=David |date=April 14, 2015 |title=South Africa's ageing white mercenaries who helped turn tide on Boko Haram |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/14/south-africas-ageing-white-mercenaries-who-helped-turn-tide-on-boko-haram}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dusty Capetown Gang leader threatens Mozambican OG Abdullah + Trakboys respond |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxg2RmHqHrU |website=[[YouTube]]| date=July 25, 2022 }}</ref>

On 5 December 2005, U.S.US [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]] justified the use of PMCs in Iraq on the basis that they were cost effective and useful on the ground. He also affirmed that they were not subject to the [[Uniform Code of Military Justice]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secretary Rumsfeld's Remarks to the Johns Hopkins, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1361 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201095105/http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1361 |archive-date=2009-12-01 |access-date=2011-12-22 |publisher=Defenselink.mil}}{{dead link|date=April 2023}}</ref>

Two days before he left Iraq, [[L. Paul Bremer]] signed "[[CPA Order 17|Order 17]]" giving all Americans associated with the [[Coalition Provisional Authority|CPA]] and the American government immunity from Iraqi law.<ref name='Newsweek 2007-09-20'>{{Cite news |last=Hirch |first=Michael |date=2007-09-20 |title=Blackwater and the Bush Legacy |page=2 |work=Newsweek |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20892483/site/newsweek/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2007-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001161845/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20892483/site/newsweek/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=2007-10-01}}</ref> A July 2007 report from the American [[Congressional Research Service]] indicates that the Iraqi government still had no authority over private security firms contracted by the U.S.US government.<ref name="CNN.com 2007-09-23">{{Cite news |date=2007-09-23 |title=Blackwater staff face charges |work=CNN.com |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/23/blackwater.probe/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=2007-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009192059/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/23/blackwater.probe/index.html |archive-date=2007-10-09}}</ref>

After the [[Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2007–2011)|withdrawal of U.S.US troops from Iraq]], the [[United States Department of State|U.S.US State Department]] is reportedly planning to more than double the number of its private security guards, up to as many as 7,000. Defending five fortified compounds across the country, the security contractors would operate radars to warn of enemy rocket attacks, search for roadside bombs, fly reconnaissance [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drones]] and even staff quick reaction forces to aid civilians in distress. Its helicopter fleet, which will be piloted by contractors, will grow from 17 to 29.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Michael r. gordon |date=August 18, 2010 |title=Civilians to Take U.S. Lead as Military Leaves Iraq |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/world/middleeast/19withdrawal.html?_r=1&ref=private_military_companies |url-status=live |access-date=2 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027023401/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/world/middleeast/19withdrawal.html?_r=1&ref=private_military_companies |archive-date=27 October 2011}}</ref>

PMCs supplied support to U.S.US military bases throughout the [[Persian Gulf]], from operating mess halls to providing security. They supplied armed guards at a U.S.US Army base in [[Qatar]], and they used live ammunition to train soldiers at Camp Doha in [[Kuwait]]. They maintained an array of weapons systems vital to the invasion of Iraq. They also provided bodyguards for VIPs, guard installations, and escort supply convoys from Kuwait. All these resources were called upon constantly.<ref name="Soldiers of Good Fortune" />

# Employees of private military company [[CACI]] and [[Titan Corp.]] were involved in the Iraq [[Abu Ghraib prison scandal]] in 2003, and 2004. The U.S.US Army "found that contractors were involved in 36 percent of the [Abu Ghraib] proven incidents and identified 6 employees as individually culpable",<ref name="PWS">[[P. W. Singer]] (March/April 2005) ''Outsourcing War''. [[Foreign Affairs]]. [[Council on Foreign Relations]]. New York City, NY</ref> although none have faced prosecution unlike US military personnel.<ref name="PWS" />

# On March 31, 2004, four American private contractors belonging to the company [[Blackwater USA]] were killed by [[Insurgency|insurgents]] in [[Fallujah]] as they drove through the town. They were dragged from their car in one of the most violent attacks on U.S.US contractors in the conflict. Following the attack, an angry mob mutilated and burned the bodies, dragging them through the streets before they were hung on a bridge. (''See also'': [[31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush]], [[Operation Vigilant Resolve]])

# On March 28, 2005, 16 American contractors and three Iraqi aides from Zapata Engineering, under contract to the [[US Army Corps of Engineers]] to manage an ammunition storage depot, were detained following two incidents in which they allegedly fired upon [[United States Marine Corps|U.S.US Marine]] checkpoint. While later released, the contractors have levied complaints of mistreatment against the Marines who detained them.

# On June 5, 2005, Colonel [[Theodore S. Westhusing]] committed suicide, after writing a report exonerating [[USIS (company)|US Investigations Services]] of allegations of fraud, waste and abuse he received in an anonymous letter in May.

# On October 27, 2005, a "trophy" video, complete with post-production [[Elvis Presley]] music, appearing to show private military contractors in Baghdad shooting Iraqi civilians sparked two investigations after it was posted on the Internet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A movieclip containing the behavior of alleged Aegis Defence Services driving in Iraq |url=http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Aegis-PSD.mov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930224611/http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Aegis-PSD.mov |archive-date=2007-09-30 |access-date=2011-12-22}}</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/27/wirq27.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/11/27/ixworld.html 'Trophy' video exposes private security contractors shooting up Iraqi drivers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408170643/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2005%2F11%2F27%2Fwirq27.xml&sSheet=%2Fnews%2F2005%2F11%2F27%2Fixworld.html |date=2008-04-08 }}, [[Daily Telegraph]] article from 26/11/2005.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Discussion on a blog about Aegis trophy video |url=http://thedanreport.blogspot.com/2005/11/clearing-up-supposed-aegis-video.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306181631/http://thedanreport.blogspot.com/2005/11/clearing-up-supposed-aegis-video.html |archive-date=2008-03-06 |access-date=2011-12-22 |publisher=Thedanreport.blogspot.com}}</ref> The video has been linked unofficially to [[Aegis Defence Services]]. According to the posters, the man who is seen shooting vehicles on this video in Iraq was a South African employee of Aegis Victory team named Danny Heydenreycher. He served in the British military for six years. After the incident, the regional director for Victory ROC tried to fire Heydenreycher, but the team threatened to resign if he did. Aegis, the U.S.US Army, and the U.S.US State Department each conducted a formal inquiry into the issue. The Army determined that there was no "probable cause to believe that a crime was committed."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Finer |first=Jonathan |date=11 June 2006 |title=Contractors Cleared in Videotaped Attacks |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/10/AR2006061001011.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027151723/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/10/AR2006061001011.html |archive-date=27 October 2014 |quote="Keefe said that the 'alleged shooter' in the video was determined to be South African"}}</ref>

# On September 17, 2007, the Iraqi government announced that it was revoking the license of the American security firm [[Blackwater USA]] over the firm's involvement in the deaths of seventeen Iraqis in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 September 2007 |title=U.S. suspends diplomatic convoys throughout Iraq |url=http://www.ibil.ru/index.php?area=2&p=news&newsid=217 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018131956/http://www.ibil.ru/index.php?area=2&p=news&newsid=217 |archive-date=18 October 2014 |access-date=18 October 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=RISEN |first1=JAMES |last2=WILLIAMS |first2=TIMOTHY |date=29 January 2009 |title=U.S. Looks for Blackwater Replacement in Iraq |work=[[New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/world/middleeast/30blackwater.html?_r=1& |url-status=live |access-date=18 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923035113/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/world/middleeast/30blackwater.html?_r=1& |archive-date=23 September 2018 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The company was allowed to continue to operate in Iraq until January 2009 when the [[U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement|US–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement]] took effect. Blackwater was one of the most high-profile firms operating in Iraq, with around 1,000 employees as well as a fleet of helicopters in the country. In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried and convicted in U.S.US federal court over the incident; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges.<ref name="NYT_verdict">{{Cite news |last=APUZZO |first=MATT |date=22 October 2014 |title=Former Blackwater Guards Convicted in Iraq Shooting |work=[[New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/us/blackwater-verdict.html?_r=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101170245/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/us/blackwater-verdict.html?_r=0 |archive-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>

* On March 27, 2006, [[J. Cofer Black]], the vice chairman of [[Blackwater USA]], announced to attendees of a special operations exhibition in [[Jordan]] that his company could now provide a [[brigade]]-size force for [[low intensity conflict|low-intensity conflict]]s. According to Black, "There is clear potential to conduct security operations at a fraction of the cost of NATO operations." Those comments were later denied.<ref>[http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/06/front2453824.0319444444.html U.S. firm offers 'private armies' for low-intensity conflicts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412014245/http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/06/front2453824.0319444444.html |date=2006-04-12 }}, WorldTribune article from March 29, 2006</ref> In March 2024, ''Intelligence Online'' reported that an ad was being circulated by former French special forces soldiers for around 3000–4000 foreign recruits. The ad was backed by Abu Dhabi-based Manar Military Company (MMC), which is run by a former French special forces officer, and is financially linked to a politically influential and wealthy Abu Dhabi family. The ad suggested that the UAE aimed to establish an elite foreign legion. Despite MMC claiming that the project was canceled and the ad was disinformation, experts said an Emirati foreign legion could be real. Since 2009, the UAE had been utilizing PMSCs, initially with [[Erik Prince]]. Investigations also revealed the UAE's involvement in hiring mercenaries for assassinations in Yemen and for supporting the Wagner Group.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schaer |first=Cathrin |title=Why is a 'French Foreign Legion' for the UAE problematic? |date=9 April 2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-a-french-foreign-legion-for-the-uae-problematic/a-68779047 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523195234/https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-a-french-foreign-legion-for-the-uae-problematic/a-68779047 |archive-date=23 May 2024 |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref>

The existence of Russian PMCs seems to go as far back as 2011, when the [[Syrian Civil War]] kicked off and violent unrest was felt in [[Libya]] before [[Muammar Gaddafi]] was eliminated in October. Russians had big investments in both of these countries.<ref name=rond19/> State-owned enterprise [[Rostec]] and its subsidiaries [[Rosboronexport]] and [[Technopromexport]], as well as privately- owned [[StroyTransGaz]] (STG) and [[Tatneft]] have billions of dollars invested in international affairs and like to hire from the Russian PMC sector.<ref name=rond19/>

In 2012, [[Vladimir Putin]] suggested to the [[State Duma]] to consider the legalization of PMCs,<ref name="ae14">{{Cite news |last=Eremenko |first=Alexey |date=28 October 2014 |title=2 Jailed in Russia's First-Ever Mercenary Conviction |publisher=The Moscow Times |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/10/28/2-jailed-in-russias-first-ever-mercenary-conviction-a40840}}</ref> although owners of Russian PMCs have claimed that because Russia inherited its legal system from the [[Byzantine Empire]], anything that is not explicitly prohibited is allowed.<ref name="wilson16">{{Cite news |last=WILSON |first=GREGORY |date=5 April 2016 |title=PROXY Capabilities – The History and Future of Russian Private Military Companies |publisher=King’s College London Department of War Studies |url=https://www.strifeblog.org/2016/04/05/the-history-and-future-of-russian-private-military-companies/}}</ref><ref name="fr24">{{Cite news |last1=Lovett |first1=Patrick |last2=Toble |first2=Elom Marcel |last3=CRAGG |first3=Gulliver |last4=BOLCHAKOVA |first4=Ksenia |date=28 July 2015 |title=Russia's private military firms operate in legal grey area |publisher=France24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20150728-video-russia-pmc-private-military-companies-mercenaries-slavonic-corps-ukraine-syria}}</ref>

[[Oleg Krinitsyn]] heads the [[RSB-Group]],<ref name=fr24/> reportedly in 2013 Russia's largest PMC.<ref name=fp13/> The Moscovite MSG was the focus of attention in 2013 for its failed and bloody [[Syrian]] involvement. It contracted employees through the Slavonic Corps shell company owned by [[Vadim Gusev]] and based in [[Hong Kong]], to work for the régime of [[Bashar al-Assad]], but the latter failed "to fulfill their financial obligations, which caused problems with the housing and feeding of the fighters from Slavonic Corps."<ref name="fp13">{{Cite news |last=Weiss |first=Michael |date=21 November 2013 |title=The Case of the Keystone Cossacks |work=Foreign Policy |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/11/21/the-case-of-the-keystone-cossacks/}}</ref> Meanwhile, 100 of the 267 men hired in spring 2013 by Slavonic Corps perished in October 2013 in a firefight with [[ISIS]].<ref name="rond19">{{Cite book |last=Rondeaux |first=Candace |url=https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/reports/decoding-wagner-group-analyzing-role-private-military-security-contractors-russian-proxy-warfare/forward-operations-from-deir-ezzor-to-donbas-and-back-again/ |title=Decoding the Wagner Group: Analyzing the Role of Private Military Security Contractors in Russian Proxy Warfare |date=7 November 2019 |publisher=New America |chapter=Forward Operations: From Deir Ezzor to Donbas and Back Again}}</ref> Out of the ashes of the Slavonic Corps was born the [[Wagner Group]].<ref name="toima">{{Cite news |last=ANTONOVA |first=MARIA |date=17 February 2018 |title=Russian mercenaries, a secretive weapon in Syria |publisher=THE TIMES OF ISRAEL |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/russian-mercenaries-a-discrete-weapon-in-syria/}}</ref>

In January 2018, Foreign Minister [[Sergei Lavrov]] said of PMC employees that legislation was needed to "protect these people",<ref name=toima/> while Duma member [[Mikhail Yemelyanov]] authored a bill to do just that "because private military companies are legal in many countries"; quoth hecontinuing: "We wrote in the bill that the defence ministry would coordinate and that participation in armed conflicts would only be with their permission."<ref name=toima/>

In February 2023, it was reported that [[Gazprom]] would form a PMC of its own, called [[Fakel (company)|Fakel]]. The law "On the Security of Fuel and Energy Facilities" appears now to state that companies in this field "may be granted the right to establish a private security organisation".<ref name="uptl">{{Cite news |last=LOZOVENKO |first=TETIANA |date=7 February 2023 |title=Russian Gazprom creates its own private military company |publisher=Ukrainska Pravda |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/02/7/7388311/}}</ref>

The organisation Molfar has investigated 37 private military companies in Russia, and found that all of them are or have been connected to Kremlin. Most of them are also funded by Kremlin. More than half of them are participating in the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. In total, they have activities in 34 different countries. Russian PMCs are involved in oil and mining operations in 19 countries in Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catalog of Russian PMCs: 37 private military companies of the Russian Federation |url=https://www.molfar.global/en-blog/catalog-of-russian-pmcs |access-date=26 June 2023 |website=Molfar - The next frontier in intelligence}}</ref>

In October 2007, the [[United Nations]] released a two-year study that reported that, although hired as "security guards", private contractors performed military duties. A spokesman for the American mission to the U.N.UN office in Geneva (UNOG) said that "Accusations that U.S.US government-contracted security guards, of whatever nationality, are mercenaries is inaccurate."<ref name="Higgins">Higgins Alexander G.[https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-10-17-3392316246_x.htm US rejects UN mercenary report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630165026/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-10-17-3392316246_x.htm |date=2012-06-30 }} [[USA Today]], October 17, 2007 (syndicated article by [[Associated Press]])</ref> An observer noted that the difficulty in separating private from public troops means that legal proceedings against these [[violent non-state actor]]s can be complicated, and stated that contracted combatants carry the legitimacy of the state that hires them.<ref name="onlinelibrary.wiley.com">{{Cite journal |last=Phelps |first=Martha Lizabeth |date=December 2014 |title=Doppelgangers of the State: Private Security and Transferable Legitimacy |journal=Politics & Policy |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=824–849 |doi=10.1111/polp.12100}}</ref>

Demands for specific PSC services have grown to record levels in recent decades, and private firmfirms's capabilities now include an array of services that are vital to the success of on-the-ground war fighting as well as other more traditional stability operations and contingency contracting. While past calls for corporate responsibility have heralded successes such as the [[Kimberley Process]] and the [[Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative]] in widespread international operations, there has also been a move within the PSC and contingency contracting industries to call for accountability and to implement a code of ethics for the retention of services and operations of such service providers. Existing credible accountability initiatives form a skeleton for governing the conduct of contractors, but much remains to be fleshed out to form a coherent and standardized framework from which to oversee such organizations and activities. Over the last decade there have been a number of initiatives to regulate the private security industry.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Siebels |first=Dirk |title=International Standards for the Private Security Industry |date=October 2014 |work=RUSI Journal |volume=159 |pages=76–83 |issue=5}}</ref> These include the [[ISO/PAS 28007:2012]] Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies<ref name="Siebels" /> and the [[ANSI]]/[[ASIS International|ASIS]] [[ANSI/ASIS PSC.1-2012|PSC.1]] and [[ANSI/ASIS PSC.4-2013|PSC.4]] standards.

Founded in 1955, [[American Society for Industrial Security]] (ASIS) is a society of individual security professionals dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of security professionals by developing educational programs and materials. ASIS is an [[ANSI]]-accredited Standards Developing Organization, and within ASIS, the ASIS Commission on Standards and Guidelines works with national and international standards-setting organizations and industry representatives to develop voluntary standards and guidelines for security professionals. With funding from the U.S.US Department of Defense, the ASIS Commission on Standards is currently promulgating four sets of standards for private security companies.<ref name="psm.du.edu">{{Cite web |last=Denver |first=University of |title=ANSI/ASIS Standards – Private Security Monitor – University of Denver |url=http://psm.du.edu/industry_initiatives/asis_international.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019025718/http://psm.du.edu/industry_initiatives/asis_international.html |archive-date=19 October 2017 |access-date=6 May 2018 |website=psm.du.edu}}</ref>

*[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022002718824394 Deborah D. Avant and Kara Kingma Neu. 2019. "The Private Security Events Database." ''Journal of Conflict Resolution''.]