The US should discontinue its use of private military contractors

I agree that they aren't technically mercenaries, which is why I said that it is the "slang" term. It was just used to summarize PMC's in a simple way people can understand.Anyway, lets begin.Contention 1: Contractors destroy US credibilityThe regular military is strictly trained and tightly regulated by US law. They also must abide by the Rules of Engagement, which prevent abuses from happening whenever they go on a mission. Such things do not exist for Contractors, meaning they can essentially do whatever they want.A. PMC's rape women and force them into prostitution.The inability of contractors to restrain themselves while on duty has resulted in a staggering amount of sexual abuses committed by the industry. In Bosnia, a PMC called DynCorp kidnapped several 12 to 15 year old girls from other countries, raped them, and sold them to each other as slaves (1).The same company also purchased several illegal drugs in Afghanistan and bought male child prostitutes to "entertain"them. Nobody was charged.In Iraq, several Halliburton employees imprisoned and gang-raped a 22 year old woman in Baghdad, and tried to cover up the corruption (2). PMC's in the Balkans frequently participated in brothels; one of them even videotaped himself having intercourse with two likely underage girls (3). These are only four examples. There are many, many more sexual abuses that have been committed by contractors abroad that I can list if requested. But for now, lets use these to show us that there is clearly a lack of accountability in the private industry, and this enables the raping and forced prostitution of civilians.B. PMC's blatantly attack and kill civilians The most famous disaster of the private industry was Blackwater in 2006. In Iraq, the PMC called Blackwater Worldwide shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians, and reports confirm that the shootings were completely unwarranted (4). PMC's are also known for killing several civilians in Afghanistan. In addition to killing two of them in August 2010, contractors there are charged with increasing the civilian death rate and working with Afghan warlords (5). And its not just these examples. There are literally hundreds of shootings PMC's have been accused of in Iraq alone (6). C. This causes Anti-Americanism. Civilians witnessing these shootings and abuses don't see these people as unregulated contractors, they see them as Americans. Schwartz explains (7)"The perception that DOD and other government agencies are deploying PSCs who abuse and mistreat people can fan anti-American sentiment and strengthen insurgents, even when no abuses are taking place. There have been reports of an anti-American campaign in Pakistan, where stories are circulating of U.S. private security contractors running amok and armed Americans harassing and terrifying residents. U.S. efforts can also be undermined when DOD has ties with groups that kill civilians or government officials,"D. Anti-Americanism undermines the war effortWinning the support of their people is crucial to fighting terrorists or insurgencies. Citizens can have crucial information that can give leads to finding an enemy's hideout or other info. And if the rebels/insurgency that we are trying to fight tries to turn the citizens to their side and against us, its less likely to happen if the US forces are legitimate and well-respected. PMC's eliminate this possibility. By shooting the locals, raping the women, and committing malicious acts of behavior, winning the people's support becomes impossible. Sub point C specifically shows how the entire American force, including the regular military, is undermined by the Contractor's actions. By doing so, PMC's effectively undermine counter-insurgency efforts and make "winning" a war a lot harder than it has to be.Contention 2: No allegiance to one nation. Contractors fight on both sides of the conflict.In Afghanistan, contractors have taken millions of dollars the US government has given them and funneled it directly to Taliban warlords (8). Additionally, many PMC employees have supported and joined the Taliban entirely, and are now fighting against the government that hired them in the first place.Even worse, many have been accused of literally paying the Taliban to attack Afghan forces, so that the contractors can fight back and look like they're doing they're job (9). And when Sierra Leone hired contractors to aid the government in a civil war, the PMC Lifeguard gave weapons and supplies to the rebel forces instead (10). Plus, another company called Sandline gave aerial support to the government, and weapons to the rebels. This is possible because of the profit motive. PMC's operate for money, and don't necessarily have to only work for one employer (or nation) at a time. So if country A hires them to fight Country B, they will do it. But if country B offers them money to help them fight country A at the same time, they will find a way to assist country B without country A knowing, to make more money.These types of counterproductive occurrences proves that contractors are unreliable and don't necessarily respect the employer they work for. Contention 3: Other disadvantagesA. Operate solely in the contract. No incentive to go the extra mile. Because of being hired on contract, they are only obliged to do what the contract tells them. PMC can and have exploited this. At one point In Iraq, 12 soldiers had been killed of accidental electrocution. But when PMC employees discovered serious electrical problems in an embassy, they refused to repair it because their contract didn't cover "fixing potential hazards", it only covered fixing things that were already broken. (11). B. Extort and waste money.The Defense Contract Audit Agency found that contractors in general have over ten Billion dollars worth of questionable costs and charges (12). One example of this is Halliburton charging the Iraqi government to transport "sailboat fuel". Conclusion: Private contractors are unregulated (immune from most prosecutions) and operate for money. These two things enable all of the abuses and war profiteering described above. At the point that these actions contractors undergo not only are inherently bad, but undermine the war effort and waste taxpayer dollars, its necessary to cease their use. Thus I affirm.1. http://en.wikipedia.org...2. http://agonist.org...3. http://findarticles.com...4. http://www.usatoday.com...5. http://www.envirosagainstwar.org...6. http://www.huffingtonpost.com...7. http://www.fas.org...8. http://www.fas.org...9. http://www.globalpost.com...10. http://www.opednews.com...11. http://www.brookings.edu...12. http://www.forbes.com...