Will the Downturn Mean Cutbacks in War Contracting Jobs?

As I wrap up my thesis on civilian contractors, it's been a minor kind of shock realizing that these stories I've been hearing -- truckers leaving small Texas towns for dangerous jobs in Iraq -- might not, in fact, be a growing trend after all. Could be, this glut of contracting jobs has just been a flash in the pan.

For a while, the buzz was all about the ramp-up taking place in Afghanistan as the U.S. prepared to shrink its operations in Iraq. But with the economy going all to hell in the last month or so, the latest coverage suggests defense spending will be different from here on out.

Chatting up defense contractors at an industry convention, the Washington Post's Dana Hedgpeth suggests that the private sector realizes the well of defense spending may be drying up, and fast.

It's an interesting question -- if we scale back the use of private contractors in war, is the system really broken, after all? Neither presidential candidate has given much clue, so far, as to their attitude toward the use of private contractors. But by the time they reach office, the point could be moot. The shrinking budget could make the decision for them.