Blackwater’s loss may be other Merc’s gain

America’s use of corporate mercenaries in Iraq is under renewed scrutiny in the wake of the Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad on Sept. 16. Employees of Blackwater USA stand accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians.

There is reason to believe that commercial and bureaucratic rivalries played a part in bringing the episode to public attention, after four years in which contractors have routinely shot at Iraqi civilians with impunity.

From my latest piece for Antiwar.com