In reality, Blackwater USA (aka a private military contracting company) is perhaps the most infamous example of the dangers posed by today’s growing trend of privatization within the bureaucracy. Hired by the US government to help support the military’s invasion and occupation of Iraq, Blackwater contractors committed notorious offenses, including the murders of multiple Iraqi civilians. Despite the dark stain that Blackwater has placed upon the idea of privatization, nevertheless this trend shows no signs of abating. Privatization first became appealing soon after the advent of the ongoing War on Terror (especially the war in Iraq) and the heightened national security concerns that have followed in its wake. The devastating effects suffered by many Americans after the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, particularly the failures of FEMA to provide adequate assistance, combined to make government officials turn to hiring private companies and their staff (known collectively as contractors) to make up for the resources, personnel, and knowledge that the federal bureaucracy seems to be lacking. A consensus exists (even amongst opponents of this practice) that some degree of privatization is necessary, especially when it comes to handling mass natural disaster clean-ups, but the Blackwater incident has helped to highlight the many dangers posed by privatization. Many contractors have been exposed as either wasteful or corrupt (sometimes both) and many companies have been able to secure lucrative government contracts with the help of allies within the federal bureaucracy itself.

Although some iron triangles are naturally more lasting than others, history has shown that it is indeed quite possible to destroy an iron triangle, even the most powerful (as is evidenced by the dismantling of the nuclear power iron triangle in the 1940s and 1950s). Such dismantling typically draws most of its momentum from widespread outrage amongst the public, who in turn put constant pressure upon members of the Congress and interest groups and other officials, thus cutting off the triangle’s legs one by one. As is true for any iron triangle, the three legs are always composed of an interest group, a bureaucratic agency, and a Congressional committee (or subcommittee). Together, these three bodies form a symbiotic relationship, sharing information, resources, and support to advance their mutually agreed-upon goals. Iron triangles help further the decentralization of government, due to their transfers of power amongst their members and the dissolution and/or spread of authority which such cooperation necessarily requires. Often, the intentions and decisions reached by iron triangles end up binding the government as a whole, becoming widespread policy, with Congressional and/or Executive Branch endorsement. Such binding is helped along by the fragmentation of decision-making which iron triangles encourage, while members of Congress, the White House, and other agencies on the outside end up deferring to the iron triangle’s united front.