ABSTRACT
To an extent unknown to most Americans, the United States (US) occupation of Iraq has been managed by a huge shadow army of private contractors. The virtual transfer of many military functions to the private sector has occurred at the same time that government oversight, and the capacity for it, has diminished. The Department of Defense is ever more dependent on contractors to supply a host of mission-critical services, according to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). Contractors do the following as listed draft official documents, choose other contractors, and perform most information technology (IT) work. The Bill Clinton initiative transformed government contracting rules with regard to oversight, transparency, and competition. Nearly all contractors working in Iraq are doing so under indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts (ID/IQs). The Iraq war has exposed the dangers of contracting out vital state functions to private actors. Such massive privatization renders government susceptible to the influence of unelected private players with their own interests.
