As the military strategy against the Islamic State (IS) is slowly getting clearer, some suggest employing private military companies (PMCs) to fill the strategic void in Iraq. After the signing of the Jeddah Communique, the option of raising a private Muslim expeditionary force was discussed among the security circles of the participating states. Recalling the murky areas left from the first contractors' war, perhaps, it is time to ask: Is the Iraqi government institutionally ready for the forthcoming second contractors’ war?
For many military analysts, the mobile, dispersed combat style of IS tells us that unless air attacks are backed by a robust ”boots on the ground” strategy, they will not have much bearing on the outcome of this war. Actually, with the fiasco in Mosul, we saw how the Iraqi army with its manpower and weapons superiority disappointed everyone. Serious doubts on the operational effectiveness of the Kurdish peshmerga were voiced even by the political elites of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). It is unlikely to expect a domestic actor to fill the strategic void against IS. In Iraq today, the most pressing security issue is the lack of a ground force with adequate training, experience and equipment that could confront IS in an effective fashion.
