BY: Andrea Mazzarino

The New American-Style Privatization of War

Prigozhin's Wagner Group, recruiting from Russian prisons, plays a notable role in Putin's war in Ukraine with brutal missions.

Russia openly allies with Wagner, while the US rarely acknowledges its use of private security contractors in global military operations.

Contractors have been present in US wars for a long time, but their significant involvement in combat and intelligence is recent.

Contractors have committed abuses, faced danger, and played a significant role in the war on terror, including both killings and rescues.

Private companies enable ongoing US operations globally, despite the perception that the war on terror has ended. Public awareness varies.

The reduced casualties and waitlists at VA hospitals reflect the involvement of non-troop personnel in combat operations.

In the war on terror, civilian contractors outnumbered troops at times, with a significant presence in the Central Command region.

During the pandemic, the US increasingly relied on contractors, drones, paramilitaries, and foreign forces in the war on terror.