Mercenary Watch
Winston-Salem Journal
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11843
by Kevin Begos and Phoebe Zerwick,
February 13th, 2005


In Zapata's $32 million contract extension, security forces accounted for 50 of the 108 positions, but there's no way of telling the exact cost to taxpayers. Firms such as Blackwater Security Consulting of Moyock, N.C., have reportedly offered as much as $1,000 a day for former special-operations personnel to provide private security, compared with about $150 a day that the Pentagon pays a Green Beret with 20 years of experience.

{snip.........}

But the shift to private contractors has raised complicated questions about accountability. Ulrich said that the military is beginning to question whether limits should be set on privatization. What happens, for example, if a private contractor kills a civilian or refuses to follow orders?

"What would be the difference in accountability if something had to be investigated? What recourse is there? You're sort of trusting that these people are going to keep operating as if they were still in the military. You're dependent on self-policing," he said.

Note:
Remember EO 13303, which gives authoritarian powers to the oil contractors. Its a license to murder and plunder without fear of criminal charges. They even have a right to murder journalists.