I could NOT AGREE MORE!
"Security guard ban is derailing Afghan rebuilding projects; A key part of US strategy against Taliban in doubt" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post | October 22, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — US-funded development firms are beginning to shut down massive reconstruction projects because the Afghan government has refused to rescind a ban on their use of private security guards, according to US officials and aid workers.
Yup, if we can not have our MERCENARY KILLERS wandering around your country the whole thing is off!
Loss of the projects, collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars, could have far-reaching effects on the US-led military campaign against the Taliban, disrupting a central component of the strategy to counter the insurgency. Programs to assist farmers and improve local government, vital to the effort to stabilize the volatile southern and eastern parts of the country, are among those that will be affected, the officials said.
Oh, is that what they are doing in-between blowing things up and killing people?
The consequences “will be catastrophic,’’ said one US official. “If these projects grind to a halt, we might as well go home. They are essential to the counterinsurgency strategy.’’
Little boy crying wolf again.
*************
The prohibition, by President Hamid Karzai, has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the oft-strained US-Afghan relationship, raising new questions about his willingness to cooperate with the international community....
Related: Iran Interfering in Afghanistan
So that is why those stories showed up when they did!
Gotta love that AGENDA-PUSHING AmeriKan press!
Diplomats and representatives of the companies contend private guards are essential because of the threat of insurgent attacks and criminal activity. But Afghan officials argue that private security contractors operate with little oversight or accountability and sometimes function as private militias beyond the control of the country’s police force and army.
The Afghan government wants development workers and their projects to be guarded by police and soldiers, a goal diplomats and aid workers say is unrealistic because government forces are corrupt, ill-trained, and not numerous enough to do the job.
But the contractors aren't corrupt, sigh!
The development firms have also said they would be unable to insure employees if they can’t employ private guards....
US and NATO diplomats have been working to soften the prohibition since the summer. Under pressure from General David Petraeus, the top US and NATO commander here, Karzai’s national security council issued an exemption Sunday for military bases, embassies, diplomatic residences, and diplomatic convoys....
Therefore this is MUCH ADO about NOTHING!
--more--"
Related: Karzai Closes Down U.S. Contractors
