The first time I heard of Blackwater was back in 2004, when four American private military contractors were ambushed driving through the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The events are now infamous. After being shot and killed, the bodies of the four men were dragged from their vehicles, chopped up, and burned. In what would become some of the most symbolic pictures from the war in Iraq, the bodies of two of the men were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River.

The incident shed light for the first time, at least for me, on a private security company in North Carolina - Blackwater USA.

Tonight on The Agenda we explore the phenomenon of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Who are they? What role do they play in conflict? How do they differ from the military establishment? Who regulates them? And what is their future role in war?

Today, there are an estimated 180,000 contractors working in Iraq, of which between 20,000 and 30,000 are private military contractors, working for companies like Blackwater, Triple Canopy and DynCorp. The United States, with its stretched military, are relying more and more on private companies to perform the tasks the military can no longer perform – providing armed security for government officials, guarding embassies and military bases, escorting convoys and even providing translators at military prisons.

In 2001, Blackwater USA’s federal contracts totaled $736,906. In 2006, that number increased to $593,601,952. Since 2001, Blackwater has received over $1 billion in federal money. Blackwater is one of a number of companies, such as Kellogg, Brown & Root (who run U.S. military supply lines) who are working for the United States government in Iraq. War, it seems, is being privatized.

Blackwater has been front and centre in the news recently. On September 16, 2007 Blackwater’s private security guards opened fire in Nisour Square in Baghdad, killing 17 Iraqi’s and wounding another 27. An investigation by the Iraq government found no evidence that Blackwater guards were provoked. Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, called the incident “a deliberate crime against civilians. It should be tried in court and the victims should be compensated.”

This is where it gets tricky. Private military contractors do not fall under the jurisdiction of Iraq law. On June 27, 2004, Paul Bremer, at the time the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in occupied Baghdad, issued Order 17.

Order 17 granted immunity to private security contractors working for the United States in Iraq. Private military contractors cannot be prosecuted by the government of Iraq. Are they then, in effect, getting away with murder?

For more on Order 17, click here.

Private military companies like Blackwater are working in what’s been called a “grey area” in Iraq. They are not U.S. military but are not civilians, either. The issue of accountability is now at the forefront of private security contractors in Iraq.

Let’s be clear here, private security contractors are nothing new. They have been around since the end of the Cold War, when the U.S. military was downsized under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, and were used in conflict zones like Kosovo.

And they're not likely to be going anywhere, unless there is a military draft - something I don't believe will happen anyway. With an all-voluntary military that is already stretched and low recruitment numbers, the United States will be turning more and more to private security contractors.

Let's also be clear on another point: this is not solely an American issue. The Canadian government has used private security contractors to protect Canadian diplomats and dignitaries in Kabul, Afghanistan.

So what is key right now is to determine what rules should apply for private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Order 17 has seemingly given companies like Blackwater the freedom to do what they please. Incidents like that which occurred on September 16 risk completely undermining the efforts of the military in trying to stabilize a very dangerous region.

What are your thoughts on Blackwater and the use of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan? Would the United States ever consider a military draft? Should the Canadian government review their use of private security firms?