The U.S. military’s bases in Afghanistan are frequently guarded by Afghans who pay kickbacks to warlords — and even aid the Taliban.
That’s what the Senate Armed Services Committee found after a year-long investigation into 125 contracts held by private security firms in Afghanistan. In a report released today (.pdf), the committee discovered that the firms rely on “warlords and strongmen” to supply them with security guards for protecting U.S. military bases, some of whom kill one another and moonlight as insurgents attacking U.S. troops. And the Defense Department barely vets the security companies it hires. At least one of those companies just won another contract with the State Department — to protect the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
From Taliban Allies, Warlord Flunkies Guard U.S. Bases [Updated] | Danger Room | Wired.com
Wow. This is insane.
Why are we forcing the army to be so dependent on private for-profit contractors when they have shown themselves to be problematic so often?
The standard of judgement for privatization seems to be that when government contractors fail it is proof that government can not do anything right. When government contractors are successful, it is proof that the private sector is superior.
