Finally, it is more important than ever to formalize the military-PMC relationship. The two groups must find a way to make their relationship a productive and responsible one. Firstly, there needs to be a close dialogue between PMCs and the military. Talks concerning cooperation between the national military and private security companies are currently underway. This is especially crucial when very important persons are passing over an area that the military does not deem secure. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report cites one example in which PMC personnel escorted a CPA administrator into the middle of a military operation in Najaf. As a result, the military diverted personnel from the operation in order to assist the CPA administrator, who subsequently came under attack. Even though a number of Reconstruction Operations Centers are spread throughout Iraq to coordinate between military troops and PMCs, more official and institutionalized communication between PMCs and the military is crucial. If an adequate flow of information between the two parties is achieved, this may reduce collateral damage and enable PMC personnel to avoid direct combat in carrying out their security duties. Secondly, the United States should ensure that PMCs do not interfere in work done by the US military by limiting PMC duties to a narrow set of responsibilities. Private security services for corporations and very important people are necessary, yet placing PMC interrogators in sensitive areas like Abu Ghraib may actually hamper rather than help in the reconstruction of Iraq.

Machiavelli wrote in The Prince that “mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe.” This dark vision of opportunistic and itinerant thugs does not and should not apply to the international high-tech employee of today’s private military companies. At least for the time being, PMCs offer benefits necessary for the US-led reconstruction of Iraq. The US military, especially in its maintenance of supply and logistical support systems, requires the skills and manpower that PMCs provide. However, to ensure that PMCs do not behave like Machiavelli’s mercenaries, the burgeoning PMC industry should be regulated. The market for private security contracting is not yet mature, and it will require greater control and a clearer set of responsibilities in order for PMC services to complement the US military’s work rather than undermine it.