Thank you Mr Springer for this thread.

Usually PSC work. This Guard did what he felt to be honest and truthful to report this and it could cost him his life. I'm not surprise by this at all because psc are under the direction of somebody's best friend. This lttle operation fot exposed and it needed to be clean up now of I was in this guys situation its time to go run and hide yourself in a little hole because accident do happen.

In this line of work some things must he overlooked and in this case rpg, in Afghan country, in private security possession? Oh they'll all doing but the good guard took note and got shafted.

There is only one group who can get weapons in that country to the Taliban without taking responsibility and they. Do not want an official connection. That's why the money is there to get our mouths shut.

I believe this story is far from over.

Wow, you meant weapons leak out from our "allies" on the ground like every other war we've been in?
I'm shocked! Shocked I say -- that now we call things related to "Fast and Furious" instead of adding "Gate" at the end of anything we want to blow out of proportion.

Yes, we should leave Afghanistan, but we've got bipartisan support for empire building.

Arms traffic is at the heart of all Wars. The US is the best at selling Arms. Look at the Budget. Look at the increase in the Military since....forever. Yes they have cut backs but them make that up with High Profit sells of more Planes, Guns, Bullets, etc.

JFK said look out for the Military Industrial Complex for a reason.

Nice Job Springer and big kudos to Tim the Kiwi for pulling back the curtain on this one. I'm sure it's only ONE of hundreds of similar situations.

Back in the good old days, when military personnel were doing most of these jobs now done by contractors, if there was even an inkling of one of their own selling weapons to the enemy they'd give the offender a fair trial on aid and comfort to the enemy charges, then they'd get the rope or the rifles out and end the problem right there.

When you privatize military operations you not only have your services provided by the lowest bidder, but they in turn subcontract the local lowest bidders and on it goes. If Ghadar and Tarbiyat, the local subcontractors can make a quick buck from supplying RPG7s to the Taliban off the books they will. After all, they mostly agree with the Taliban ideologically and the Talib in question might be a cousin or brother-in-law. If those stupid infidels want to throw money around, then pretending to be all about "nation-building" is a small price to pay. As long as none of this affects the bottom line the big contracting company won't care.

Even when breaches become known to the ISAF purse-holders, they can't just kick out the offending companies since the contractors have buried themselves deeply into the system so as to become invaluable. Cutting out a rotten contractor takes time and effort and does impact the operational efficiency of the military units they are supposed to be supporting. Many times the unit commanders in question will say "meh, f&*# it" because it's easier that way.

Lucrative reconstruction/security/logistics contracts are all that matters - the fact that Coalition soldiers are dying and coming home broken and disfigured by the RPGs this company let fall through the cracks isn't their problem. The board and the shareholders could not care less about human suffering and misery. It doesn't even compute.

Iraq was highly lucrative - especially during those "golden years" of hyperactive insurgency. Afghanistan is not quite so lucrative, since there's not as much oil money floating around, so the quality of the services have dropped.

Bring back full military control. If you're going to invade and occupy a country militarily then do it - don't pretend it's "nation-building" and have unreliable private industry perform vital tasks - as we have seen in Afghanistan, the operational effectiveness of the ISAF units is being eroded. Green on Blue anyone? Private companies vetting police and military recruits was always gonna end in tears. In this case it has ended up in dozens of dead American, British and Canadian soldiers. But as long as it doesn't affect the bottom line, they'll suckle at the teat until it's dry.

War, Inc.

Originally posted by beezzer
Holy-moley Springer!

Will have to read more thoroughly but it appears that defense contractors are creating business!

Star, however belated my friend.
And worse, these defense contractors' bosses are having too much a hand in indirectly
rewriting policy that stiflles G1 intel. Add to that a few radical and dangerous spinoff gangs
calling themselves Al-Q, and the bad guys have tools for making a total nightmare.
My God, defeat by design??
No wonder the clamps got screwed on- this could be huge and damning way up there.
I just got through the whole OP slow and ugly an hour later. Is the whole theatre double
dipped? And if somebody on the Hill (like only one..) is sitting on it there goes the home
turf investigation too.

Originally posted by nottelling
*snip*
When you privatize military operations you not only have your services provided by the lowest bidder, but they in turn subcontract the local lowest bidders and on it goes. If Ghadar and Tarbiyat, the local subcontractors can make a quick buck from supplying RPG7s to the Taliban off the books they will. After all, they mostly agree with the Taliban ideologically and the Talib in question might be a cousin or brother-in-law. If those stupid infidels want to throw money around, then pretending to be all about "nation-building" is a small price to pay. As long as none of this affects the bottom line the big contracting company won't care.
*snip*

You hit on something important there. I can't help but think, after reading that comment, about how a certain person stated that we "needed" a civilian security force, and that we could "no longer trust the military". Coincidence? I don't believe in those.

For the locals, it's about the money, and their cause. For the contractors, all about the money, and they don't care who wins or loses. For those in control? I suspect far different goals.

Yes RPGs are bad, but I'm a little more interested in where the money came from to buy the RPGs (and other unauthorized "gear"), and where is the money from these sales going? If these people are illegally transporting weapons then what else might they be up to?


Now are these weapons old Soviet stock, or are they from China? China has a lot to gain from an unstable Afghanistan, but so does Russia. Either way a private company is making money off of these sales, and it needs to be fully fleshed out.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Thank you for this thread, Springer-- and a bump from I hope everybody
eligible. The scenario reads (no skimming the second pass!) of something a
whole magnitude dirtier, and further reaching in scope than any F&F/Contra.
Our southern border is terrible enough, with our allegedly supplying arms to
drug cartels. Add to that what appears a self-policing action geared TOWARD
a multi level command disconnect that can put the whole theater in a mulcher.
That points the first circumstance toward something that's mature and systemic.
Good God, is it bad enough to be "If you see something tell nobody?"
For courtesy's sake I had to read through all the replys before coming back, and
fully digesting the OP. Didn't matter, I must have got it right the first time. This
nightmare makes the CFTC look-away tame by comparison. Good Lord. Don't
want to sound too much like Michael Conrad, but "Be careful out there."

An interesting thread,Springer.S&F These private contractors are part of the MIC so it's no surprise to me that they would sell RPG's to the Taliban and others who have the cash.As another poster said it's all about the bottom line and playing both sides.

Originally posted by SLAYER69

Originally posted by mideast

Those people are one of the most oppressed nations on the planet

Which way?

Socially?
Militarily?
Politically?
Religiously?

They were between the former Persian Shahs and their invasions. They were always involved in an unwanted war. Always had to fight and for both ways.

It has been continuing until these days.

thanks springer
very well written and presented

i hope ben does finally find a crack in the self protecting block wall of defense he faces
issues like this
need prosecution all the way up to the top
i dread though
this as many other issues goes...will not be the case

it is a peer inside or look below what's made to be illegal arms trade...done with legal protection
so sad
he's lucky to be alive