The recent media coverage of the actions of Blackwater USA in Iraq has brought to the surface justified animosity towards the private military industry.

Blackwater USA is somewhere between a security contractor and a mercenary organization. At least 90 percent of Blackwater’s revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are no-bid contracts. This allows Blackwater to pay and supply their armed employees better than the U.S. Armed Forces. With no-bid contracts handed out in a war that will cost future generations hundreds of billions of dollars, we might as well be printing Monopoly money.

Wait, we are … How can 20,000-armed contracts be justified? If our military is unable to perform the tasks needed to continue the war, that’s a huge red flag.

Ancient Rome was plagued by the same issues we are facing today. Rome responded by creating the Praetorian Guard – a paramilitary force that defied legal constraints, made violence part of the political discourse and eventually plunged Rome into tyranny and desolation. Like the Praetorian Guard, Blackwater is an infection feeding on America’s open sore – Iraq.

Central to peace in Iraq is the need to portray the U.S. as a legitimate force in the region. However, it’s hard to see how that goal can be accomplished when the U.S. gives contracts to companies whose presence the Iraqi government rejected.

The operation of Blackwater falls into the gray zone of military law. With no defined justice system holding contractors accountable, Blackwater will continue to run wild.

The House took a step toward correcting this blunder when it passed a bill making private contractors in Iraq subject to prosecution by U.S. courts. The bill passed in a 389-30 vote, overcoming the strong opposition of the Bush administration.

During those hearings, Blackwater founder Erik Prince suggested he supports clarifying laws governing the behavior of contractors overseas. It’s in Blackwater’s own interest to allow for government oversight to preserve their stranglehold on the mercenary market. When a company is raking in a large profit, Blackwater needs boundaries to legitimize itself.

Sadly, the motivation of money, not patriotism, has been the driving factor behind America’s will. How long did it take the National Guard to reach New Orleans after Katrina? It didn’t take long for Blackwater to arrive in New Orleans, costing taxpayers $240,000 a day.

Hired mercenaries allow Americans to distance themselves from the cost of the war. The question is not “How much will war cost?” but instead “How much are we willing to sacrifice?” If America cannot continue to fight a war without the aid of mercenaries, we are going to end up just like ancient Rome.