US Mercenary Army Grows

In Colombia and around the world, civilians are doing work formerly done by the military

Americans involved are not active military men. Instead, they are part of the unofficial army of private US contractors working in Colombia, doing everything from spraying coca fields to training a Colombian antikidnapping squad. It's a formula the US has repeated from here to Afghanistan to Iraq: employing civilians to do jobs historically carried out by the armed forces.

Nearly 10,000 private military contractors are currently working in Iraq, training a new Iraqi military, protecting the Baghdad and Basra airports, and feeding and housing US troops.

According to a report released by the US State Department earlier this year, there are 17 primary contracting companies working in Colombia, initially receiving some $3.5 billion