Private or Private?

The criticism of Blackwater USA after the shooting of 11 Iraqi civilians spurred Michael Waller to write a column for RealClearPolitics.com titled, “Private Security Contractors and the American Tradition”. In the article, Waller argues that private security contractors are “an important part of America’s military tradition” by illustrating examples of the successful use of private militaries throughout American history.

The article fails to make an important distinction. There are fully private organizations whose income is made entirely by asking individuals to buy or invest in whatever the company sells. In other words, these companies operate on the principles of the free market.

There are also mercantilist corporations, such as Blackwater USA, whose wealth is garnered entirely from the public’s forcibly taken tax dollars. These companies are not operating in the free market. The US government guarantees them a 3% profit on all of its contracts. Since when did the free market guarantee profit? These mercantilist companies are merely an extension of government, not private firms responding to the market’s needs.

Keep this distinction in mind as we look at some of the examples Waller provides.

-Captain John Smith was paid to provide security for the colony of Jamestown.

Waller does not tell you that the Virginia Company of London, which founded the Jamestown colony, received no funding from the government of England. The Virginia Company of London’s shareholders were taking risks by investing in voyages to the New World and so was a truly private enterprise. Similarly, the investors and colonists of the Plymouth Colony provided Captain Myles Standish’s income.

-George Washington privately financed a fleet of privateer ships in the fight against the British Crown.

While this is true, the money offered to these privateers was Washington’s own. Washington made a choice to finance the fleet to better the American cause. Again, this is not a case of public tax dollars being used to privately fight the war.

-The most famous private military contractors of the past century were the Flying Tigers of World War II.

This is a good example of a mercantilist operation with dire results. The Flying Tigers were hardly a private contractor. This air squadron was formed with the consent of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and tax dollar funding prior to US involvement in WWII in order to help the Chinese fend off the Japanese attack on the mainland. According to the US Centennial of Flight Commission website the Flying Tigers, “President Franklin Roosevelt wanted to help China. Through Lend Lease China received Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks, powerful low-altitude fighters.” That’s right, the US government paid for American pilots to fight the Japanese while the US was a neutral country. And yet Americans believe the US experienced a “sneak attack” at Pearl Harbor for no apparent reason. This “private” company is partly responsible for US entrance into WWII, which led to the 50 year long Cold War; which in turn led to the “War on Terror” that we are fighting today.

With this in mind, what intractable problems will Blackwater USA’s actions lead to in the future?