Maritime Mercenaries or Innovative Defense? Private Security and the Evolving Piracy Threat 
War on the Rocks  |  29 September 2014
>  On Sept. 23, the United States joined ReCAAP, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia. The move comes amidst deepening concern about sophisticated piracy attacks in and around the Strait of Malacca, the world’s most trafficked commercial waterway. In addition to growing involvement by governments, private security companies are also joining the effort to suppress Southeast Asian piracy .

Return of the contractors: Pentagon eyes private sector to back Iraq Army 
World Tribune  |  18 September 2014
>  The United States, nearly three years after its withdrawal, has turned to private military contractors to help the Iraq Army. The U.S. Army has launched a search for contractors that could support military operations in Iraq. Officials said the tender focused on the presence of 1,200 American troops in Iraq, many of them meant to advise the Iraq Army.

KBR Accuses DCAA Of 'Malpractice' In $12.5M Lawsuit 
Law 360  |  17 September 2014
>  Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. sued the U.S. government in Delaware federal court on Tuesday, seeking to recover $12.5 million in legal fees from litigation that arose out of an allegedly defective Defense Contract Audit Agency report on its use of private security contractors during the Iraq War.

A suggestion for the House Benghazi committee: Let’s talk about private military contractors 
Salon  |  17 September 2014
> As gunmen swarmed and fires raged two years ago on the United States’ diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, help for Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and six other besieged Americans was less than a mile away.

Are military contractors heading back to Iraq? 
Al-Monitor  |  16 September 2014
> As the military strategy against the Islamic State (IS) is slowly getting clearer, some suggest employing private military companies (PMCs) to fill the strategic void in Iraq.

Contractors Ready to Cash In On ISIS War 
The Daily Beast  |  13 September 2014
> Obama pledged that the war against ISIS won’t be fought with U.S. ground troops. He didn’t say anything about contractors, who see this as “the next big meal ticket."

Danger on the High Seas: Are Private Security Firms the Solution? 
The National Interest  |  10 September 2014
> In 2013, 80 percent of trade was transported by sea. This number has steadily increased, a reflection of growth among developing economies and those same economies’ surging energy needs. The Indian Ocean and its connected seas have become increasingly busy due to global energy demands, South Asia’s development, and trade between Asia and Europe. However, as Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) become more crowded, various maritime security risks have also increased.

Police set up Security Industry Check Center 
National News Bureau of Thailand  |  10 September 2014
> The Royal Thai Police is setting up a Security Service Check Center to conduct background and profile checks on private security staff. The intention is to regulate the private security industry effectively, to reduce criminality within, raise standards and recognize quality service.

Profits Soar As Pentagon Leans On Private Corporations For Special Ops 
MintPress News  |  9 September 2014
> Private military contractors are reaping billions of dollars in profitable rewards from the U.S. government’s global network of clandestine counter-terrorism and other overseas operations, according to a new report that examines the high-levels of integration between for-profit corporations and the Pentagon’s global military and surveillance apparatus.

Trial of four Blackwater security guards hinges on belief, not reality, of a threat 
The Guardian  |  6 September 2014
> As the US military returned to combat in Iraq this summer, a group of jurors in Washington DC were hearing arguments over a dark chapter of the last war. Though some elements of the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad road junction by Blackwater private security guards remain shrouded in mystery even after a trial that lasted 10 weeks, prosecutors provided overwhelming evidence that the tragedy was one of the most one-sided encounters of the US occupation.

International: The state of piracy 
Post  |  4 September 2014
> With the nature of the piracy threat constantly evolving, John Thompson looks at the role of private maritime security companies in mitigating the risk.

G4S private army of Gurkhas wins medals for gallantry in Kabul 
Our Kingdom  |  3 September 2014
> Four former British Army Gurkhas employed by G4S have become the first private security operatives to receive the Queen’s Gallantry Medal (QGM) for exemplary acts of bravery. G4S soldiers-for-hire Deepak Kumar Thapa, Janga Bahadur Gurung, Jeetman Sharu Magar and Shayam Kumar Limbu received the honour for resisting an attack on the British Council compound in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in August 2011, according to the Civilian Gallantry List published yesterday.

Jury deciding fates of former Blackwater contractors charged in Iraq shooting 
Q13 Fox News  |  2 September 2014
> Ahmad Rubaie was studying to become a doctor when his life ended seven years ago. Ali Abdul Razzaq’s life was just getting started when a bullet to the head killed the 9-year-old on September 16, 2007. They were just two of 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians who died when four former Blackwater private security contractors opened fire at Nisur Square in Baghdad. Eighteen others were wounded.