In The Spirit of Orwell

Could we please stop calling "private military contractors" anything but mercenaries? I know some aren't in combat (although many more are). But they are military forces and support in the private sector working in a war-zone for one side (or other) for pay. They're mercenaries. And what they have been up to in Iraq is one of the great under-covered stories of the war. I have a feeling that the public will one day be shocked at what has been going on in front of our noses.