What I wanted to do here is go over a very tough problem for contractors, that really has not been addressed by the industry or today’s war planners. The latest incident in Kabul serves as an example of a real problem out there, and that is what happens when contractors are the […]

     The 2010 QDR, which runs almost 130 pages, contains little discussion on the role contractors play in military operations. The QDR has a seven page section on counterinsurgency, stability, and counterterrorism operations, including a list of ten priorities for improvement. However, the word “contractor” does not appear once in the discussion, despite the fact that […]

     Interesting testimony from Professor Stanger.  Finally we are starting to see some movement towards acknowledging the existence of the LoM in DC, and it is fun to see where it goes. Although in the case with this testimony, Stanger forgot some key historical points to add to the inherently governmental debate.  She sure […]

     Thanks to David Isenberg for identifying this report and pointing out all the goodies. What was interesting to me was how absolutely vital contractors are to the logistics of the war in Afghanistan.  Especially for the routes coming out of Pakistan, because US military forces are not allowed to escort that stuff.  Nothing new, but […]

     Relatively unknown before U.S. forces arrived in Afghanistan in fall 2001, Ruhullah is “prototypical of a new class of warlord in Afghanistan,” the report said. Unlike more traditional warlords, he has no political aspirations or tribal standing but “commands a small army of over 600 guards.”
     The “single largest security provider for the […]

   One of the problems I have with this paper is that a government should embrace the power of private enterprise and the free markets, and find ways of using these security companies to only help in their war time strategy.  This paper operates on the assumption that the state has to have a monopoly […]

     Now this is a better product and I can tell they actually listened to their contributors.  So bravo to CNAS for putting together a great report.  If you look at the cast of contributors, you will also see that they took advice from guys like Doug Brooks, David Isenberg and a whole bunch of private […]

     Excellent little paper on the nuances of calling for and attending a Jirga or Shura.  I put this up on the blog because contractors attend these meetings all the time, as well as the military.  That means we can hurt the war effort or help the war effort, all based on how we […]

   Boy, if these guys wanted to do something really smart, they would publish this stuff on Scribd.  Then guys like me could put the report up on the blog and folks can quickly scan through it here.  Or make your graphics into JPEGs or something. Help me, to help you get the word out is […]

   Let me summarize this thing for you, because this is the message I got.  We sent all of these government folks over to Afghanistan, but we don’t have enough military escorts to take them around the country to implement their projects.  In other words, there is a high demand for security. Where is the […]