Over the last decade alone the US military department has signed more than 3 thousand contracts with private security contractors (PMCs). Now PMCs have exploded into a $150 billion industry.
"Today, PMCs are operating more than 90% of all drones that US Air Force and Navy have together, they are also engaged in reconnaissance missions, data analysis, along with developing of promising technologies and materials, on top of providing routine military training, convoy escorts, and air cargo support. In May 2007, the US government disclosed for the first time the total amount of funds allocated for PMCs by American intelligence agencies, with the total amount reaching 33.6 billion dollars. In January 2015, the US Central Command published statistics on contract employees of PMCs, specifying that CENTCOM alone employs more than 43 thousand individuals that fulfill all sorts of contracts, of which no more than 17 thousand are American citizens, with the rest being natives of UK and Australia.
According to rough estimates, the PMC market value exceeds 150 billion dollars. As for the continuous increase in the actual number and their value, it can be attributed to an ever-expanding share of “secret operation” deals among those that Washington keeps on signing."
The Pentagon uses PMCs/mercenaries to do secret dirty work, so that Washington's official losses are kept to a minimum and the public can be kept in the dark. Only time will tell what the Pentagon has really been up to. The USA may be on the hook for the war crimes caused by the PMC mercenaries, much like Nazi Germany was held accountable for their actions after WW2.
http://russia-insider.com/en/private-contractors-are-doing-all-americas-dirty-work/ri21790
