Mercenary casualties increase as fighting intensifies.

Right now the U.S. is trying to field (and pay for) three armies, the Iraqis, their own and a third shadow army of mercenaries and contractors. What a way to run a war!

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Iraq Contractors Face Growing Parallel War As Security Work Increases, So Do Casualties The security industry's enormous growth has been facilitated by the U.S. military, which uses the 20,000 to 30,000 contractors to offset chronic troop shortages. Armed contractors protect all convoys transporting reconstruction materiel, including vehicles, weapons and ammunition for the Iraqi army and police. They guard key U.S. military installations and provide personal security for at least three commanding generals, including Air Force Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Scott, who oversees U.S. military contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. BAGHDAD -- Private security companies, funded by billions of dollars in U.S. military and State Department contracts, are fighting insurgents on a widening scale in Iraq, enduring daily attacks, returning fire and taking hundreds of casualties that have been underreported and sometimes concealed, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials and company representatives.