Now There's an Idea.

The Federal Times reports:

"The Defense Department wants contractors to train employees and subcontractors on the laws of war before they deploy with troops abroad.

Training programs would cover international treaties, combat orders, U.S. law, military law, host nation law and third-country laws. Contractors are already required to abide by these laws regardless of whether their employees have been briefed about them.

The training will help prevent violations of the laws when contractors and subcontractors are supporting troops on the battlefield, said Shay Assad, DoD’s director of procurement policy.

DoD will accept comments on the proposed regulation until March 10."

Not clear, of course, whether training contractors in the laws of war will help much since the laws of war don’t actually cover weapons-bearers who are not members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict. Training them in how toothless and weak the rules are is likely only to provide them with an increased sense of impunity. The real question is who will prosecute them if they violate the law. As long as they face no greater penalty than termination for, say, raping civilian girls, it’s hard to see how things will change.