Blackwater, the private US security company, is banned from Iraq; five Blackwater guards are on trial for killing 14 Iraqis in 2007; it was recently alleged the company helped the Central Intelligence Agency with a programme to assassinate al-Qaeda leaders.

Such controversies prompted a rebranding exercise – Blackwater is now called Xe – but left in place the reliance on private security companies: Xe retains $400m-worth of contracts with the state department. This is symptomatic of a privatisation of warfare gone too far.