DOGS OF WAR

Boom times ahead for dogs of war

The British Association of Private Security Companies (BAPSC) was gathering for its annual conference in London - its second since the association was formed last year "to raise the standards of operation of its members and this emergent industry".

Even though huge sums of money are already being spent, many private contractors see it merely as a profitable foretaste of things to come.

BAPSC chief Andrew Bearpark said "the British military is more and more strapped. I think it is inevitable that in years to come, the private security companies will be asked to make up some of that shortfall."

One of the (unnamed) delegates at Tuesday's conference gave a good insight into why governments like to work with private security contractors:
"Private security companies are not subject to political considerations in the same way conventional armies are. Plus you don't have necessarily have to flag up money you spend on hiring mercenaries. It doesn't necessarily appear in the official defence budget.
"Most importantly, if a private security contractor is killed on active duty, you don't get any body bag pictures on the front pages. That means no bad publicity for the government."