The U.S. government is paying private contractors billions of dollars to support secretive military units with drones, surveillance technology, and \u201cpsychological operations,\u201d according to new research.<\/p>\n
A detailed report<\/a>, published last week by the London-based Remote Control Project<\/a>, shines a light on the murky activities of the U.S. Special Operations Command by analyzing publicly available procurement contracts dated between 2009 and 2013.<\/p>\n USSOCOM encompasses four commands \u2013 from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps \u2013 and plays a key role in orchestrating clandestine U.S. military missions overseas.<\/p>\n Researcher Crofton Black, who also works as an investigator for human rights group Reprieve<\/a>, was able to dig through the troves of data and identify the beneficiaries of almost $13 billion worth of spending by USSOCOM over the five-year period. He found that more than 3,000 companies had provided services that included aiding remotely piloted drone operations in Afghanistan and the Philippines, helping to conduct surveillance of targets, interrogating prisoners, and launching apparent propaganda campaigns.<\/p>\n \u201cThis report is distinctive in that it mines data from the generally classified world of U.S. special operations,\u201d says Caroline Donnellan, manager of the Remote Control Project, a progressive thinktank focused on developments in military technology. \u201cIt reveals the extent to which remote control activity is expanding in all its facets, with corporations becoming more and more integrated into very sensitive elements of warfare. The report\u2019s findings are of concern given the challenges remote warfare poses for effective investigation, transparency, accountability and oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the report, USSOCOM tendered a $1.5 billion contract that required support with \u201cPsychological Operations related to intelligence and information operations.\u201d Prospective contractors were told they would have to provide \u201cmilitary and civilian persuasive communications planning, produce commercial quality products for unlimited foreign public broadcast, and develop lines of persuasion, themes, and designs for multi-media products.\u201d The contract suggested that aim of these \u201cpersuasion\u201d operations was to \u201cengage local populations and counter nefarious influences\u201d in parts of Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n A separate document related to the same contract noted that one purpose of the effort was to conduct \u201cmarket research\u201d of al-Qaida and its affiliates in Libya, Tunisia, Mali, Northern Nigeria, and Somalia. Four American companies eventually won the $1.5 billion contract: Tennessee-based Jacobs Technology<\/a> and Virginia-based Booz Allen Hamilton<\/a>, CACI-WGI<\/a>, and SRA International<\/a>.<\/p>\n Notably, while some 3,000 contractors provided service in some capacity to USSOCOM, just eight of the contractors earned more than 50 percent of the $13 billion total identified in Black\u2019s report. Those were: Lockheed Martin<\/a>, L-3 Communications<\/a>, Boeing<\/a>, Harris Corporation<\/a>, Jacobs Engineering Group<\/a>, MA Federal<\/a>, Raytheon<\/a>, and\u00a0ITT Corporation<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the largest single transactions ($77 million) was paid to a subsidiary of Alaska\u2019s Shee Atika<\/a> \u2013 a company that the report says provided \u201cinterrogation services\u201d as well as translation assistance.<\/p>\n Last year, the then-commander of\u00a0USSOCOM, Adm. William McRaven, told<\/a> the House Armed Services Committee that U.S. special operations forces were engaged in \u201cannual deployments to more than 100 countries.\u201d But very little is known about the scope and purpose of those operations, given the extreme secrecy that often shrouds them. The report from the Remote Control Project, however, is a reminder of how public data can sometimes be used to obtain information about even the most shadowy government activities \u2013 in this case, offering a valuable glimpse into the burgeoning nature of the U.S. military\u2019s special operations and, in particular, the supporting role played by private contractors.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Special Operations Command is outsourcing many of its most sensitive information activities,\u201d says Black. \u201cRemote warfare is increasingly being shaped by the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n USSOCOM had not responded to a request for comment at time of publication.<\/p>\n _____________________________<\/p>\n Ryan Gallagher is a Scottish journalist whose work at <\/em>The Intercept<\/em> is focused on government surveillance, technology, and civil liberties. His journalism has appeared in publications including <\/em>Slate<\/em>, the<\/em> Guardian<\/em>, <\/em>Ars Technica<\/em>, <\/em>Huffington Post<\/em>, the <\/em>Sydney Morning Herald<\/em>, the <\/em>Financial Times<\/em>, the <\/em>Independent<\/em>, and the <\/em>New Statesman<\/em>. Since 2011, Ryan has broken a series of national and international stories about controversial surveillance technologies, shining a light on spy agencies and uncovering links between Western technology firms and governments in repressive countries. He took home an award for his reporting at the 2013 Information Security Journalism Awards and he has received acclaim for his writing on a diverse range of subjects, encompassing everything from the FBI\u2019s attempted infiltration of WikiLeaks to mass protests in Madrid and homelessness in England. Most recently, Ryan has been reporting from Rio de Janerio on the cache of secret files leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. <\/em>Email the author: ryan.gallagher@theintercept.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n