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Monday's guest, journalist Jeremy Scahill, is the author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, which, as the title suggests, is a scathing exposé of the infamous security contractor.

Scahill asserts that the North Carolina-based company, which has been deployed around the world, most notably in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. following hurricane Katrina and in the oil-rich Caspian region of Azerbaijan, is a considerable threat to the democratic process. He lists example after example of shady business practices, including recruiting soldiers from countries with terrible human rights records and refusing to release reports of its State Department-funded activities to Congress. He calls Blackwater a “shadow army.”

Since the release of his book in 2007, Scahill has gone on record many times about the threat he considers the company to pose, both in its lack of accountability and its subversion of political process. “What you have is a revolving door,” Scahill said in a video on The Nation's Web site. “Blackwater and other companies benefit the Bush administration, and in turn the Bush administration and its Republican allies in Congress have shielded these military contractors from any effective oversight, any effective accountability, any effective legal system. Their operations are shrouded in secrecy and people in Congress find it almost impossible to get information about Blackwater.”

Operating in a war zone without accountability is a dangerous proposition, and one that could have serious effects on the U.S. forces there. Through the aggressive, Wild West tactics that Blackwater's agents have become noted for, they continue to obstruct the reconciliation process in Iraq. Meanwhile, American soldiers making a fraction of what these private contractors earn, are becoming demoralized, and many of them are “going Blackwater” themselves. Already stretched thin in Iraq, this is something our military cannot abide.

If the idea of a thousands-strong private military available to the highest bidder isn't scary enough, consider the profile of Blackwater's founder, Erik Prince. The billionaire and former Navy Seal is an outspoken right-wing zealot, with strong ties to the Republican Party. He worked for the administration of George H.W. Bush, but complained that they weren't conservative enough for him. Prince also donated $80,000 to support George W. Bush's 2000 campaign for president.

The reasons why Blackwater has become so successful (according to Scahill, they have recently built headquarters at several new locations across the country) are pretty clear. The Bush cadre's enthusiasm for outsourcing federal services to for-profit corporations, coupled with Prince's longstanding ties to the religious right and the Republican Party made his outfit a perfect choice to carry out missions in Iraq that the demoralized and under-equipped U.S. military couldn't.

Hiring profit-motivated companies to fight wars makes as much sense as hiring profit-motivated companies to run prisons or high schools or hospitals. In theory, the market would force contractors to do the best job possible to keep their contracts, competition keeping standards high. But we all know it rarely works out that way, and Blackwater's continually unwholesome conduct stands as testament to that.

A few no-bid contracts and a few billion tax dollars later, here we are. Blackwater is currently under investigation by a Washington federal grand jury for the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians, as well as gun smuggling charges. They remain the largest security contractor in Iraq, and continue to defy congressional efforts to examine their operations.