U.S. lawsuit could dent global war-contractor boom

You know I've been following civilian contractors for some time when I posted the " Trophy video."

Now there's this:

Lawyers and military experts say the case highlights legal grey zones, a lack of regulation and little oversight of a booming global industry believed to bring in more than $150 billion annually. Civilian military contractors now perform scores of functions once restricted to regular troops, and a trend towards "privatizing war" has been accelerating steadily.

...The suit against Blackwater says the company broke explicit terms of its contract with the men by sending them to escort a food convoy in unarmoured cars, without heavy machine guns, proper briefings, advance notice or pre-mission reconnaissance, in teams that were understaffed and lacked even a map

According to Peter Singer of Washington's Brookings Institution, private companies that sell warfare-linked services to governments represent "the corporate evolution of the age-old profession of mercenaries."

The firms involved bristle at the term "mercenary," which evokes images of white guns-for-hire working for African dictators and staging coups and countercoups on behalf of the highest bidder.....read on"