The war in Iraq has been put on the political back burner since talks of immigration, Scooter Libby and impeachment have been taking over news stories.

However, on our nation’s birthday, the Los Angeles Times revealed a frightening piece of data. It raises further questions of the possibility of finishing and stabilizing the War in Iraq, which has been forgotten among the other gaffes.

Iraq currently has more private contractors than actual military personnel, according to a government census in the embattled region. Private contractors, foreign and American, paid by the United States government and numbering about 180,000, out-populate the battlefield and construction effort by 20,000 personnel.

While not all of the contractors fight the insurgency, they still are not handled by the U.S. Military operations for the ultimate goal to win the War on Terror. Several thousand people in the contracts are helping with rebuilding efforts, but do not abide by military operations. In 2004, some troops were put on food rations because the contracted drivers in the country refused to drive into the war zone according to the Times.

Lives at stake in the war are in the hands of a privatized system where the goal is not the democracy of a nation, but rather the fight for the almighty dollar. The disregard for the goal of helping troops raises questions of loyalty and overall benefits.

Nevertheless, those contractors who are the most nefarious are those who are handed weapons without limits on their control.

Since the war began in 2003, President Bush has used the aide of a private, contracted army to do the bidding of the White House. One of the largest companies in means of “security,” (or mercenary work) is Blackwater USA.

That American company garnered the most attention given to their actions when four contractors were killed, burned and hanged from a bridge on the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq, in March 2004. Never before had the public heard of these contractors carrying out military actions. And, three years after their deaths, these contractors are still not well-known to the public.

Also, to keep the morale of the public up and prevent a black-eye to the administration, the number of civilian contractors killed in Iraq is not calculated with those of American troops and local civilians – they are left in the shadows of the region.

It’s estimated that more than 800 private contractors have been killed in the war. Such an absence from calculations leave a hidden cost of lives and funds from the general public and taxpayers. The war has essentially been placed into the hands of a private army, fronted by a Bush-party favorite, Erik Prince, where it can do no wrong.

In an attempt to find the truth of what happened on that fateful day in Fallujah, the families of those contractors killed are suing Blackwater USA. However, in June, Blackwater countersued the families of those contractors. The company is only doing this in order to keep the families in the dark.

Companies such as Blackwater begin to flex their civilian and government immunity in situations such as this. Blackwater USA even attempted to have its suit removed from civilian courts, to claim immunity in both the civilian and military world.

With such claims of power, these contractors are fighting in the middle-ground of the war. They have the power to kill and take lives throughout the deserts of Iraq, but are granted near immunity from civilian and military courts and jurisdictions.

In the past, several contracted civilians have been accused of atrocities and crimes that would result in prison time for a regular American soldier. A video also surfaced on YouTube of Blackwater contractors blindly firing at cars on a Baghdad freeway, killing civilians. There are also videos of Blackwater contractors directing U.S. soldiers in Najaf, Iraq, in the field in lieu of their superiors.

Such situations and others show the general disregard for life of the private contractors fighting an almost shadow war barely known to the American public with little to no repercussions for their renegade actions at home and abroad. The military is unable to handle all the guns in Iraq with so many contractors in the region, which may cause more terror and instability.

With these staggering numbers come questions about the general control of the forces in Iraq. How can the Pentagon expect to win a war with more than half of its manpower not having to abide by military law or the Geneva Convention?

If the war’s fighters are for-hire, there is no reason to resolve the entire conflict in Iraq in a reasonable time frame, because a continuing war would need a continuing, check courtesy of American taxpayers.

A first step in a speedy resolution to this quagmire is to re-examine how these contractors are used and how they are governed in the war zone. Maybe more constraints on this war’s profiteers would help ensure security and bring an end to this conflict within possible means, without having the taxpayers’ funds shadow corporations where there is no oversight.

–John P. Gamboa is a pre-journalism junior.

–This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.