For me that is the real travesty of justice. And we are now over seven years past 911.
Blackwater is an American owned security company working on contract for the United States. That doesn’t quite fit the definition of a mercenary. There are civilian security contractors on every US military base in the United States because the military was downsized to the point that it can’t spare the people for those jobs just as it doesn’t have enoough to do those jobs in Iraq. Get the active strentgh back to what it was pre- Desert Storm and we can let the contractors go...
I would argue with what I think is your definition of mercenaries, but that said: I think contracting is a great way for the DOD to farm out certain activities to others, leaving the armed forces to do the real work of fighting hostiles.
Of course it begins with everything from food service to logistics. There's no reason the army should have to cart another 100,000 REMF's along just to provide all the chow and mail and stock the PX. Contract it out. I think it works pretty well.
Now on to your "mercenaries"... I've got no problem with private contractors providing security services. This is a personal protection detail not unlike the Secret Service. It's actually a *very* different skill set and training plan and is quite apart from what Soldiers and Marines do, or should do. Combat troops engage in offensive operations to take and hold ground from the enemy. Hiring contractors to do *that* would make them "mercenaries" according to the definition, and that it *not* what contractors are being hired to do.
Personal protection details do not conduct offense operations. Their sole concern is to protect usually one individual VIP. The training for this is different, the tactics are different, and the operations are vastly different. IMHO the military shouldn't be bothered with these tasks. Contract it out, to the extent the VIP's are ours, and let the customers pay for their own VIP's. Done.
I think it is useful to observe that Blackwater, as one example, has never lost a person under their protection. A remarkable record to be sure, and one that speaks for itself. I won't deny that they've likely had some obnoxious cowboys in their staff from time to time. I'm sure there's some screening that might be improved. But on the whole I think it is only fair to say that they do a great job at what they do.