· Mercenaries ‘outnumber UK soldiers three to one’
· Security companies are unaccountable, say critics
Richard Norton-Taylor
31 October 2006 The Guardian
A huge increase in the number of unregulated private military and security companies operating in Iraq and Afghanistan is driving concern about the lack of regulation and constraints on their activities.
There are three British private security guards to every British soldier in Iraq, the charity War on Want said yesterday. At least 181 private military and security companies are operating in the country, employing almost 21,000 British private security guards, nearly half of the total number – an estimated 48,000. [More]
Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) sell security and military services at home and overseas. Over the last 10 years these companies have moved from the periphery of international politics into the corporate boardroom, becoming a ‘normal’ part of the military sector. [More] [hat tip]