Trigger happy companies back in Iraq

File photo shows Blackwater staffers flying over Baghdad in 2005

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/139357.html

Trigger happy American security firms' personnel in Iraq, which currently stand at 7,000, may replace US soldiers in increasing numbers throughout Iraqi War Theater.

The contractors are to take over as the United States troops are expected to fully leave the war-torn country by the end of 2011, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

They would be authorized to run surveillance missions in search for alleged roadside bombs, fly spy planes and man radar facilities.

The number of the US-deployed aircraft, helicopters, mine-resistant vehicles and armor-plated cars will also go up to match the personnel buildup.

The most infamous among contractors is private security contractor Blackwater, currently known as Xe Services, LLC.

In one incident, Blackwater employees killed 17 civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square during a shooting spree in 2007.

Washington has, however, been exceedingly using the contractors. These policies have been criticized as an attempt to put a non-military face on the American operations in the US-occupied countries.