In 2021 55% of all Pentagon spending went to private sector military contractors. That's $407 Billion, more than the federal government spent in stimulus checks to working people.

One of the few nations to actually do something to support the Palestinians has been the Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis have been suffering under a barbaric, genocidal assault by Saudi Arabia and the UAE for nearly 8 years, an assault fully supported by the U.S.

According to the western media the Wagner Group as the very worst of the worst.

Among the most horrendous of crimes our government has committed against the people of Ukraine has been the funding, arming, and training of foreign mercenaries. Among the most evil of crimes committed by Zelensky against the people of Ukraine has been allowing our mercenaries to go unpunished for atrocities committed against his people.

Russia has made a very specific accusation, but offered no proof to back it up.

I like to read Bloomberg. It offers such interesting opinions for why we can't possibly tax the rich or regulate corporations, while lamenting the mysterious and unsolvable tragedy of wealth inequality.
However, Bloomberg also publishes enlightening articles such as this one.

Who says we don't make anything in America anymore?

In June of 2007, a federal judge put a halt to an enormous $475 million contract for private security contractors (i.e. mercenaries) in Iraq. The grounds for stopping the contract is worth noting.

Erik Prince has been pitching a lot of ideas about how this country needs more mercenaries.
One of those ideas was this one.

The Pentagon recently announced that it was going to start drawing down troops from Iraq, but then this press release came out.