Haji Bashir Noorzai (Photo from Time)From The Washington Post:
After a federal jury in New York swiftly convicted a major Afghan heroin trafficker and Taliban supporter named Haji Bashir Noorzai, the government promptly issued the usual celebratory news release thanking the men and women of the DEA and FBI for their "countless sacrifices" in making the case.
Left out was any credit to the party most responsible for the government's victory: an unusual three-man private intelligence firm called Rosetta Research and Consulting.
At the instigation of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Rosetta agents lured Noorzai to America and delivered him right into the feds' hands. He spent 11 days in an Embassy Suites Hotel in Manhattan in 2005, enjoying room service and considering himself a guest of the U.S. government -- until he was arrested. He was imprisoned for three years awaiting his trial, which concluded in September. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced in January.
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My Comment: This narco chief would never have come to justice if it was left in the hands of justice and/or the intelligence community. Private contractors have proven on numerous occasions to be far more effective than government agencies, this is one more example .... and hence the conflict.
For private contractors .... they have always been in a status of limbo. If there is a mistake where innocents are killed or injured, the consequences have always been more severe than if they were government agents or soldiers. Blackwater's numerous problems with the justice system on charges of indiscriminate killing of innocents can probably fill a library, and exemplifies this dual relationship.
Are private contractors necessary .... I do not know. Are they effective .... yes. Will they be a part of U.S. military and diplomatic strategy .... probably not .... especially under a President Obama administration.