Blackwater personnel operating in Baghdad

Blackwater was hired by the US State Department to protect diplomats in Iraq and was mired in controversy after a September shooting in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead.

So is the company's reputation too damaged?

Or will it get the job because there are few who can carry out that kind of work?

We spoke to Peter Singer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who has been researching the private military industry.

Peter Singer

First broadcast 15th November