Rebecca Ulam Weiner
Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
Experience
Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
AP Photo
December 2008
"The Hidden Costs of Contracting: Private Law, Commercial Imperatives and the Privatized Military Industry"
Paper
By Rebecca Ulam Weiner, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
"While PMCs sustained a strong rate of growth initially by contracting with governments in unstable states such as Angola or Sierra Leone, the market's expansion is due to the huge surge in demand for contracts from the United States and the United Kingdom. Over the past two decades, the U.S. government's policy on PMCs has evolved from apprehension to agnosticism to acknowledged dependency. As a result, PMCs are now far less likely to be operating behind their headquartering state's back than with its permission, at its behest, or alongside it."
April 23, 2006
"Peace Corp."
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Boston Globe
By Rebecca Ulam Weiner, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
As the international community dithers over Darfur, private military companies say they've got what it takes to stop the carnage, if only someone would hire them.
February 12, 2006
"To Protect and Serve the World"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Boston Globe
By Rebecca Ulam Weiner, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
"...with the growth of borderless threats like terrorism and the illegal trafficking of drugs, weapons, and humans, Interpol has become newly relevant...."
January / February 2006
"Sheep in Wolves' Clothing"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Legal Affairs, The Magazine at the Intersection of Law and Life, issue 1, volume 5
By Rebecca Ulam Weiner, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
Private military men patrol Iraq in constant jeopardy of stepping on legal landmines.
Winter 2005-06
"Private Military Contractors Come with Strings Attached"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Rebecca Ulam Weiner, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
As the invasion and reconstruction of Iraq have demonstrated, the burgeoning privatized security industry has transformed the combat landscape. With a presence of some 20,000 contractors working for an estimated 60 Private Security Firms (PSFs), the industry has taken on increasingly core military functions in Iraq-selling not just security services, but strategic planning, combat training, interrogation, and operational support. And due to the industry's unique lack of accountability- to the legal system, Congress, the public, and even the Pentagon-it has attracted considerable controversy in the process. What few people realize, however, is that the PSF industry's biggest liability may turn out to be what is claimed to be its primary advantage: cost.
