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Deadly contractor incident sours Afghans
Four men with the U.S. firm once known as Blackwater are said to be
under investigation in the deaths of two Afghans. A U.S. report found
serious fault with private security firms in Afghanistan.
Mirza Mohammed Dost at the grave of his son, Raheb, 24, who was shot
by Blackwater (now Xe) security contractors in May as he walked in his
neighborhood. Another man was also shot fatally and a third was
wounded.
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America Hires 70,000 Contractors In Afghanistan Alone
Presently there are 70,000 security contractors or guards in
Afghanistan and billions of dollars at stake in lucrative government
contracts. The U.S. spent $10 billion on security contractors in Iraq
and Afghanistan in the last four years.
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The Lunatics Run The Asylum
Since February, oversight of security contractors in Afghanistan
has been entrusted not to Congress or the Pentagon, but to a
British-owned private contractor,
Aegis. The company was hired by the
American government after the U.S. military said it lacked the
manpower and expertise to monitor security contractors. Aegis is
supposed to help U.S. authorities make sure contractors are properly
trained, armed and supervised.
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Contractors Take Over Towns
Anger toward hired gunmen runs especially high in Yaka Toot, a
densely packed neighborhood in east Kabul, where residents are still
simmering over the May shooting.
U.S. contractors, directing a convoy, opened fire when on two
civilians, a Dost was 20 and Romal, 22, a passenger in a Toyota sedan
on his way home from work.
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The Second Man Didn't Move Fast Enough
Dost, who was walking about 200 yards away, was shot in the head.
No weapons were found in the Toyota, or on Dost, according to an
Afghan police investigator.
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Contractors Guard US Embassy In Kabul
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, citing poor performance, fired its
private security contractor, MVM, in 2007 and hired another
American-owned company, ArmorGroup North America.
Somehow a massive bomb was smuggled in on 8/1/2009, and killed 7 at
the embassy compound.
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