They are the hidden casualties of the Iraq War, members of a large “shadow force” who help to keep the machinery of war operating. Their work is undeniably essential, more so considering how the human resources of the U.S. military are stretched dangerously taut and how the colossal burdens of maintaining this colossal misadventure continue to fall on the shoulders of a duty-bound few. The majority of these men and women are performing work that once upon a time would have been tasked to service members. They are exposed to much the same risks as the troops alongside whom they work but, unlike the soldiers, when they fall victim to the bullets and roadside bombs and mortars, they fall largely unnoticed and unrecognized.
The Bush administration and their corporate sponsors would be happy to keep it that way. These bosses of the military-industrial complex, who are far removed (in every sense) from the physical and psychological perils of the war they champion, know full well that their misguided endeavors could not be sustained for long were it not for the sacrifices of those who work and die in the shadows. Who are these twilit figures? They are the contractors, the employees of corporate war profiteers like Kellogg, Brown, & Root (a Halliburton subsidiary) and Blackwater. Were it not for this privatized army of men and women, the war in Iraq—or any other unpopular and unjustified military intervention—might not be possible. And that is perhaps a greater and more insidious danger to this republic than any terrorist cell.
From the New York Times:
Contractor Deaths in Iraq Soar to Record
Casualties among private contractors in Iraq have soared to record levels this year, setting a pace that seems certain to turn 2007 into the bloodiest year yet for the civilians who work alongside the American military in the war zone, according to new government numbers.
At least 146 contract workers were killed in Iraq in the first three months of the year, by far the highest number for any quarter since the war began in March 2003, according to the Labor Department, which processes death and injury claims for those working as United States government contractors in Iraq.
That brings the total number of contractors killed in Iraq to at least 917, along with more than 12,000 wounded in battle or injured on the job, according to government figures and dozens of interviews.
The numbers, which have not been previously reported, disclose the extent to which contractors — Americans, Iraqis and workers from more than three dozen other countries — are largely hidden casualties of the war, and now are facing increased risks alongside American soldiers and marines as President Bush’s plan to increase troop levels in Baghdad takes hold.
As troops patrol more aggressively in and around the capital, both soldiers and the contractors who support them, often at small outposts, are at greater peril. The contractor deaths earlier this year, for example, came closer to the number of American military deaths during the same period — 244 — than during any other quarter since the war began, according to official figures. [full text]
Kmareka.com 
I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak.
Politicians make no difference.
We have bought into the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). If you would like to read how this happens please see:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/spyagency200703
Through a combination of public apathy and threats by the MIC we have let the SYSTEM get too large. It is now a SYSTEMIC problem and the SYSTEM is out of control. Government and industry are merging and that is very dangerous.
There is no conspiracy. The SYSTEM has gotten so big that those who make it up and run it day to day in industry and government simply are perpetuating their existance.
The politicians rely on them for details and recommendations because they cannot possibly grasp the nuances of the environment and the BIG SYSTEM.
So, the system has to go bust and then be re-scaled, fixed and re-designed to run efficiently and prudently, just like any other big machine that runs poorly or becomes obsolete or dangerous.
This situation will right itself through trauma. I see a government ENRON on the horizon, with an associated house cleaning.
The next president will come and go along with his appointees and politicos. The event to watch is the collapse of the MIC.
For more details see:
http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com/2006/11/inside-pentagon-procurement-from.html
Mr. Larson’s perspectives are interesting and one can only be grateful to him for his accomplishments and service to our nation. Mr. Eisenhower was of course correct for his prescient warning about the “Military Industrial Complex” but one must suggest that the artful General and President may have been as much frustrated by the speed with which the world of military technology was changing as he was by the prospect of enormous costs and influence of industry. Eisenhower managed a massive war effort in Europe at a time that fighter aircraft, bombers, bombs, guns, ships and shells were available at an amazingly modest costs. But then he confronted the new technology of space, missiles, supersonic speeds and nuclear weapons and an enemy in the then Soviets that were driving military technology at an ever increasing speed. Costs zoomed to unheard of heights as did the complexity involved. Aircraft carries got to be 1000 feet long and 80,0000 tons and had canted decks, and giant Soviet rockets had throw weights that could obliterate New York, Newark and Philadelphia with one blast. Ever after the frustrated “Ike” I sugegst that Presidents, Prime Ministers, Dictators, Kings and all the host of “leaders” were prisoners of advancing technology and extraordinary costs.
During World War II, we built about 17,000 B-24 Liberators and another 16,000 B-17 Flying Fortresses, and another 5,000 or so B-29 Superfortresses, and perhaps 40,000 other miscellaneous fighters, cargo planes and utility aircraft. We built a Liberty Ship a week I think and had perhaps 100 aircraft carriers of all classes in both oceans, never mind the 15,000 Sherman tanks, etc. The cost in current dollars was actually about the same I suspect per weapon/weapon system as the horrid costs today. One moder aircraft carrier is hughely expensive bu likely has more “force” than all the carriers of all nations of WW II. Not to belabor the point, but the same applies to all the other examples one can bring to mind. Personally, I like the M-1 Garrand more than an M-16, but times have changed. The Sherman is a far different contraption than is the M-1A1 but is necessary. Fewer of them (4,000?) do better work than all the Shermans and German Tigers and Soviet T-34’s (20,000? of those).
The world has changed. Ike understood that, but he and all later leaders have been prisoners of that change, not leaders of change.
Trying to be accurate about numbers, I went to my notes for a project. They indicate 18,482 B-24 Liberators were built; 12,276 B-17 Flying Fortresses; 3,960 B-29 Superfortresses. Among the fighter aircraft, the P-47 Thunderbolt was produced in vast numbers, n=more than 15,000 and more than 15,000 P-51 Mustangs were also built. Adding all the other aircraft types means that well in excess of 150,000 aircraft were built by us in WW II.