During the second Iraq war the American Defense Department came to the utterly brilliant conclusion that it would be just wonderful if they outsourced large portions of the war effort to private security firms. It didn't workout so well. But, instead of learning anything from that disaster the Pentagon has once again become reliant on private security firms to help it prosecute its drone wars. You, know those little undeclared conflicts in such places as Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Of course it'll be the perfect symbiotic relationship. Until the usual f-up and innocent people are killed. Wait, that's already happening.
Corporate staff are reviewing top-secret data and helping uniformed colleagues decide whether people under surveillance are enemies or civilians
Corporate staff are reviewing top-secret data and helping uniformed colleagues decide whether people under surveillance are enemies or civilians
Contracts unearthed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveal a secretive industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars, placing a corporate workforce alongside uniformed personnel analysing intelligence from areas of interest.
While it has long been known that US defence firms supply billions of dollars’ worth of equipment for drone operations, the role of the private sector in supplying analysts for combing through intelligence material has remained almost entirely unknown until now.
Approximately one in 10 people involved in the effort to process data captured by drones and spy planes are non-military. And as the rise of Islamic State prompts what one commander termed “insatiable” demand for aerial surveillance, the Pentagon is considering further expanding its use of contractors, an air force official said.
Companies that stand to reap the benefits include BAE Systems and Edward Snowden’s former employer Booz Allen Hamilton.
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