Re-organization of Government and contractors supporting Department of Term Paper

Re-organization of Government and contractors supporting Department of Defense efforts for Afghanistan and Iraq - Term Paper Example end, the paper will analyse the definition of private contractors, their legal status under international law and the risks and advantages involved in their use to supplement US military operations. In doing so the paper firstly discusses history of the development of private military companies and private security companies in the aftermath of the Cold war due to the downsizing of the military and how the proliferation of these companies has altered the infrastructure of contemporary military strategy, resulting in increased reliance on their services. The paper then considers the debate surrounding the use of such contractors with regard to the ambiguity of legal status under international law and parameters of their activity. In considering the debate, this paper further considers the common activities undertaken by such contractors and the central arguments of the military in justifying their use in practice. The paper further considers the possible implementation of a categorisation system to ensure that the use of private contractors remains adequately regulated whilst simultaneously providing a viable asset to US defense operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in light of the changing nature of warfare. The proliferation of private military companies and private security companies in the 1990s directly correlated to the downsizing of armed force supplies in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War. This resulted in a new political order in the international arena with novel conflict scenarios, thereby creating a demand for military manpower and expertise. The redefinition of these security strategies has left gaps in the core functions of the armed forces, which have been supplemented by alternative military service delivery via Private military companies (PMCs) and Private Security Companies (PSCs) to support US defense efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US defense effort heavily relies on private contractors in Iraq in particular for multifarious