When ISIS first attacked, the Iraqi army folded, quickly providing ISIS with five heavy divisions of US weaponry (tanks, howitzers, armored vehicles and even helicopters) and three logistic support units’ worth of equipment and munitions.
The Kurds, once a lean and strong fighting force that routinely rebuffed Saddam’s forces, now find themselves outgunned, under-equipped, and overwhelmed. But they do fight, and they fight bravely. The Kurds’ biggest problem is the US State Department blocking them from selling their oil and from buying serious weaponry to protect their stronghold and act as a stabilizing force in the region.

Unfortunately, the DOD has mastered the most expensive ways to wage war, adding only very expensive options to the president’s quiver. Flying off of an aircraft carrier in the north end of the Persian Gulf may be a great demonstration of carrier air power suitable for a high tempo war, but the costs will quickly become staggering, far higher than they need be for what will quickly become a counter-insurgency effort.

As I explain in my book, “Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror,” the private sector has long provided nations around the world with innovative solutions to national defense problems in a variety of ways, from the kinetic to the background logistical support necessary to keep militaries humming. If the old Blackwater team were still together, I have high confidence that a multi-brigade-size unit of veteran American contractors or a multi-national force could be rapidly assembled and deployed to be that necessary ground combat team. The professionals would be hired for their combat skills in armor, artillery, small unit tactics, special operations, logistics, and whatever else may be needed. A competent professional force of volunteers would serve as the pointy end of the spear and would serve to strengthen friendly but skittish indigenous forces.

The American people are clearly war-fatigued. Defeat was already snatched from the jaws of victory by the rapid pullout of US forces in 2009. Afghanistan will likely go the same way after never truly defeating the Taliban. Now the danger of a half-baked solution in Iraq is that if ISIS isn’t rightly annihilated, they will portray their survival as a victory over the forces of civilization; thus, there is no room for half-measures. The longer ISIS festers, the more chances it has for recruitment and the danger of the eventual return of radical jihadists to their western homelands. If the Administration cannot rally the political nerve or funding to send adequate active duty ground forces to answer the call, let the private sector finish the job.

Post submitted by Erik Prince at Frontier Services Group

It is arguably because of this that many domestic security operations were outsourced to private military and security companies. One of the key factors in the emergence of private security in the Kurdistan Region is that many saw Kurdistan as synonymous with the rest of Iraq, and subsequently assumed that the security situation was the same.

Many of the companies operating in the south of Iraq, where security was seriously lacking, saw Kurdistan in the same light, and therefore demanded the same level of protection offered by the private security companies in the south.

The Kurdistan Region is on the rise thanks to huge investment from Western companies that are able to utilise the vast areas of natural resources such as oil and natural gas. This Western involvement has been made possible due to the large numbers of PSCs providing adequate security provision for the energy industry, and other investment projects.

Similarly, many domestic PSCs are filling the gaps in the security sector by providing protection for NGOs and the humanitarian community, supplementing security in the energy sector, protecting the business community, and providing protection for hotels, shopping malls, and gated communities.

Private security is intrinsic to the provision of adequate protection to businesses and individuals in the region, and PSCs are also being used to train the KRG security forces in an attempt to reform the state security sector.

Whereas private security emerged as a response to the conflict in the Iraq, it has proven invaluable to the reconstruction and development of the Kurdistan Region, enabling great levels of foreign investment.

Private security is vital to furthering the development of the Kurdistan Region, and has become an integral part of the fabric of the state.

Private security is incredibly widespread and operates throughout the region in many roles. Because of this, it is vital for the public to trust and understand the nature of this newly developed industry that simply did not exist prior to the 2003 Iraq War and the majority of Kurdish citizens are unaware of the existence of the private security industry.

Therefore, it is clear that there must be considerable developments in the areas of regulation and legislation as the existing KRG?s Ministry of Interior guidelines for private security industry in Kurdistan simply consist of basic day-to-day procedures.

Indeed, the KRG should be applauded for taking the initiative and being reform-minded enough to allow the private security industry develop into an important player in Kurdish security provision. Many other Middle Eastern states hold the monopoly on security, and have developed into totalitarian police states, something which the KRG wishes to avoid.

It must be remembered that Kurdistan is secular, and moving strongly towards the Western model.

It rejects the strong anti-Western stance of others in the region, and openly seeks alliance with the UK, US, and other Western states.

The involvement of both foreign and domestic PSCs to bolster state security and carry out security sector reform must be viewed as a positive step towards the development of the Kurdistan Region.

Article Credited to: Dr. Twana Faris Bawa