Thesis: Coalition forces should increase the use of private security companies in order to allow combat units to focus on defeating the insurgency. Abstract: The presence of private security companies in Iraq is critical to the continued success of coalition forces and their struggle against the insurgents. The U.S. military does not have the manpower to perform all of the security functions necessary to rebuild Iraq while simultaneously fighting an insurgency. The long term cost of increasing the military to perform these tasks far outweighs the cost of hiring contractors. There are also significant political advantages of having contractors perform security duties as the country transitions back to civilian rule. The problems that have developed with the security companies in Iraq can be controlled by implementing a single central organization responsible for overseeing all security contractor operations. The U.S. military should be that organization because the military is already responsible for maintaining the peace.

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