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Private security contractors are among the most complex relationships we have in overseas contingency operations. Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, both domestic and foreign corporations have been contracted to provide security to American bases, dignitaries and logistics convoys. At worst these corporations, such as Xe (formerly known as Blackwater) and Triple Canopy, make our jobs harder through their murky command structure and wild west cowboy attitudes. When Blackwater massacred civilians in Iraq it certainly hindered our counterinsurgency efforts. It wasn't, however, as if they were directly funding the insurgency we were fighting. No, the private security contractors saved that tactic for Afghanistan.