As Peace Corp. notes, “private military companies say they’ve got what it takes to stop the carnage” at Darfur and around the world, “if only someone would hire them”:
The industry also claims that it’s far cheaper than its multilateral or military counterparts. ”We offer the ability to create a right-sized solution-which creates a cost savings right off the bat,” says Taylor. By contrast, Brooks notes, ”NATO is insanely expensive; it’s not a cost-effective organization. Neither is the [African Union]. Private companies would be much, much cheaper. When we compared their costs to most UN operations, we came up with 10 to 20 percent of what the UN would normally charge.”But while many would agree that there’s an enormous need for the peacekeeping services that companies like Blackwater are willing and able to supply, that does not mean there’s a market. ”The question isn’t their operational ability,” says David Isenberg, senior analyst at the British American Security Information Council, ”they’ve demonstrated an ability at least equivalent to a decently run UN operation. It’s a question of political will.”