One of the main culprits, Joseph Schmitz of Blackwater foresees a great prospect for mercenary companies operating alongside military forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

‘There is a scenario where we could as a government, the United States, could pull back the military footprint and there would then be more of a need for private contractors to go in.’ Says Schmitz.

And he seems quite right on that. Most mercenaries will form a backbone for the future occupation force inside other countries, while they can also operate as spies, round the clock.

By taking a look at new statistics released by U.S. government agencies there has been a # increase in the number of “Private Security Contactors” working for the department of Defense in Iraq and a ) increase in Afghanistan since Obama took office.

It is known that the numbers could be much higher than the released statistics. Some estimates point to a triple increase in contracts signed by the government with private contractors like Blackwater.

According to Gary J. Motsek, the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Program Support): ‘contractors (armed and unarmed) now make up approximately P of the total force, which means there are 242,657 contractors in both Iraq and Afghan territories. Both Pentagon reports can be downloaded here.

What remains to be seen is if Obama’s unique strategy that is a mixture of charm offensive plus a stealth – behind the back operation will be more successful than the straight forward – masculine type of approach by the former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Masood Kazerani is a freelance journalist/ reporter specializing in current world affairs, travel and tourism. He writes for: http://www.hamsayeh.net