Publication

In post-election Iraq, security remains one of the most important issues to be addressed by the international community, and the US in particular. The author of this paper discusses the problems emerging from the use of private military companies, who are now accountable to the Iraqi government on the one hand and are loosing the protection of coalition forces on the other. The author argues that the security situation in Iraq now lies in the hands of the new government as it has to make sure that private military companies do not use excessive force, since this would affect their credibility in the population and impact a possible US exit strategy.