BLACKWATER and Halliburton are the names most associated with the work of private contractors in Iraq but plenty of other firms have shared the spoils of war. Between 2003 and 2007 America's government lavished $85 billion on federal contracts in Iraq, according to the Congressional Budget Office. America has a rich history of using private contractors to support war efforts. In the Revolutionary war independent sutlers sold paper, bacon, sugar and the like to Continental Army troops. But America's reliance on the private sector has never been higher. In the Balkans in 1990s the number of private contractors and troops was roughly equal, just as it is in Iraq now.

EPA