Gonzaga Debate Institute 2010

Readiness – I/L – Casualty Aversion

PMC’s are used to lower domestic casualties, they use hired soldiers from local regions as cannon fodder.
Scahill 7 (Jeremy Scahill August 15, 2007 from Indypendent Website, http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_blackwater08.htm )KM

NEW WORLD DISORDER The Iraq war has ushered in a new system. Wealthy nations can recruit the world’s poor, from countries that have no direct stake in the conflict, and use them as cannon fodder to conquer weaker nations. This allows the conquering power to hold down domestic casualties — the single-greatest impediment to waging wars like the one in Iraq. Indeed, in Iraq, more than 1,000 contractors working for the U.S. occupation have been killed with another 13,000 wounded. Most are not American citizens, and these numbers are not counted in the official death toll at a time when Americans are increasingly disturbed by casualties. In Iraq, many companies are run by Americans or Britons and have well–trained forces drawn from elite military units for use in sensitive actions or operations. But down the ranks, these forces are filled by Iraqis and third–country nationals. Indeed, some 118,000 of the estimated 180,000 contractors are Iraqis, and many mercenaries are reportedly ill-paid, poorly equipped and barely trained Iraqi nationals. The mercenary industry points to this as a positive: we are giving Iraqis jobs, albeit occupying their own country in the service of a private corporation hired by a hostile invading power. Doug Brooks, the head of the Orwellian named mercenary trade group, the International Peace Operations Association, argued from early on in the occupation, “Museums do not need to be guarded by Abrams tanks when an Iraqi security guard working for a contractor can do the same job for less than one–fiftieth of what it costs to maintain an American soldier. Hiring local guards gives Iraqis a stake in a successful future for their country. They use their pay to support their families and stimulate the economy. Perhaps most significantly, every guard means one less potential guerrilla.” In many ways, it is the same corporate model of relying on cheap labor in destitute nations to staff their uber–profitable operations. The giant multinationals also argue they are helping the economy by hiring locals, even if it’s at starvation wages. “Donald Rumsfeld’s masterstroke, and his most enduring legacy, was to bring the corporate branding revolution of the 1990s into the heart of the most powerful military in the world,” says Naomi Klein, whose upcoming book, The Shock Doctrine – The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, explores these themes. “We have now seen the emergence of the hollow army. Much as with so–called hollow corporations like Nike, billions are spent on military technology and design in rich countries while the manual labor and sweat work of invasion and occupation is increasingly outsourced to contractors who compete with each other to fill the work order for the lowest price. Just as this model breeds rampant abuse in the manufacturing sector — with the big–name brands always able to plead ignorance about the actions of their suppliers—so it does in the military, though with stakes that are immeasurably higher.” In the case of Iraq, the U.S. and U.K. governments could give the public perception of a withdrawal of forces and just privatize the occupation.

Readiness – I/L – End Strength

Hiring PMC’s forces the US government to bid against itself for the services of young Americans.
Krepinevich 8 (Andrew F. President of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, “An Army at the Crossroads,” CSBA Publication, http://www.csbaonline.org/4Publications/PubLibrary/R.20081117.An_Army_At_The_Cro/R.20081117.An_Army_At_The_Cro.pdf)KM

The US Government also has sought to make up for the shortage of soldiers by relying increasingly on private security contractors. Some 30,000 are currently deployed performing duties once performed by soldiers. (Nearly 200,000 private contractors in all were supporting the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007.) It is far from clear that this approach has merit. Retired Army General David M. Maddox, who reviewed the impact of contractors as part of an Army review commission, cautions that the Army “has not fully recognized the impact of a large number of contractors” in a war zone, or “their potential impact to mission success.”77 Another Army general officer who observed private security contractors in Iraq was more direct: These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There’s no authority over them, so you can’t come down on them hard when they escalate force. They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place.78Simply stated, it is far from clear that private security contractors are a good substitute for Army soldiers. They may not even constitute a net benefit when one realizes that, by engaging private security firms, the US Government (i.e., the armed forces) is bidding against itself for the services of young Americans.
End strength and PMC dependency are correlated – continued useage will only make problems more challenging.
Gallup 8 (Heather L, 01-Mar “Blending the Battlefield: An Analysis of Using Private Military Companies To Support Military Operations In Iraq; AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, http://www.stormingmedia.us/77/7714/A771484.html)KM

Over the past fifteen years, the Department of Defense has experienced an increasing trend in the outsourcing and privatization of military operations. Key factors contributing to the growth include declines in military budgets, reductions in active duty end-strength, increases in operational deployments, advancements in weapon system technology, and evolutions in the nature of warfare. However, the continued escalation of incorporating Private Military Companies (PMC’s) on the battlefield creates unique challenges. The purpose of this exploratory and descriptive research is to identify utilization rates, describe the types of roles being fulfilled, and synthesize the challenges of augmenting military manpower with civilian contractors. For this effort, the research scope is primarily focused on exploring the use of PMC’s to support battlefield operations in Iraq. The research strategy involves the collection, reduction, and analysis of existing census data and secondary archival data from multiple sources. To add flexibility to the study, interactive data analysis techniques are employed using a combination of several qualitative methodologies. The conclusions drawn from the resulting data analysis framework are intended to facilitate a better understanding of the complexities of using civilian contractors in a war zone as well as outline key focus areas for improving the planning, management, and oversight of PMC operations. In addition, this research expands the existing body of knowledge on this dynamic topic.