(Click To Enlarge)An unidentified American security contractor sports a 'Taliban Hunting Club - Kandahar Chapter' jacket in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika Province. Photo by Les Neuhaus. (Photo from Lightstalkers)
Private Contractors Sought As Guards in Afghanistan
-- Washington Post
-- Washington Post
The U.S. Army is looking to private contractors to provide armed security guards to protect Forward Operating Bases in seven provinces in southern Afghanistan. In a recent study, Anthony H. Cordesman, an intelligence expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, described five of those provinces -- Helmand, Kandahar, Nimruz, Zabol and Uruzgan -- as among the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan.
The proposed contracts would be for a minimum of one year, beginning Jan. 1, but with options to continue for four years. The move to hire contractors to provide armed guards comes as the United States is deploying more American troops to Afghanistan and looking to double the size of the Afghan National Army from 80,000 to 162,000 over the next five years.
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My Comment: Overall I do not think this is a good idea .... but I am curious if this hiring will be done solely by the U.S., or in conjunction with its NATO allies.