The outsourcing of the actions to prosecute the "Global War on Terror" was almost absolute, especially by the administration of the United States of America. In keeping the contractors and sub-contractors at arm's length, the political class was able to distance themselves from what was taking place on the ground and avoid being held to account. In Iraq, during 2003 to 2004, even those who where there had little idea of what was going on around them. Morgan Lerette gives an extremely candid account of the way in which private military contractors (PMCs) were employed by Blackwater and what it really meant to provide security for the interim government of Iraq.
Already a veteran of the US Air Force and subsequently a commissioned officer with US Army intelligence, Lerette's perspective is sharpened by his observations of the continued use of PMCs and the continued failure to export democracy, or anything like it. He has recently published a rollercoaster of a book about his experiences, Guns, Girls and Greed, within which the gratuitous tales of mercenaries are well balanced by philosophical reflection on the nature and conduct of armed conflict. Morgan Lerette can be found on X.