Feral Jundi

Friday, December 18, 2009

Books: One Nation Under Contract, by Allison Stanger–Review by David Isenberg

Filed under: Books — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 6:44 AM

   Another book for the holidays.  Last Christmas it was all about David’s book, and this year, it looks like Allison’s book is the latest thing.  It is not only praised by David, but is mentioned by Friedman in his Op-ed here, and it is also mentioned in the latest CNAS report about contractors here. So basically, this is a book you should probably check out, because these are the types of publications that fuel the conversation at the upper levels of policy making.

   For the record, I have not read this book so I really cannot comment on it.  It is on my list though. I have put the book in the Jundi Gear store, so check that out if you plan on using Amazon to buy anything. Hopefully Allison or David can come on by and comment some more about the book.  I would like to hear how well it is selling, and what the reactions are from the defense think tank crowd. –Matt

Edit: 12/21/2009 – David just sent me a BookTV episode that Allison did about her book.  Check it out here. Also check out here article at Foreign Policy here.

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One Nation Under Contract

Book Review of One Nation Under Contract by Allison Stanger

Missing in Action

Dec 19, 2009

By David Isenberg

Of all the books published about private military and security contractors in recent years, with more coming out all the time, few really understand the phenomenon of outsourcing roles that were formerly the preserve of government.

Either they are academic theses and dissertations rewritten for public consumption, such as Peter Singer’s Corporate Warriors, a rare useful book on the subject; ill-concealed hysterical jeremiads masquerading as dispassionate journalism, such as Jeremy Scahill’s over-the-top fulminations against Blackwater; or breathless “I was there taking fire in the sandbox” memoirs from conflict zones.

Not many authors have paused to consider exactly what is going on. To paraphrase what was said about the US intelligence community after the September 11, 2001, attacks, they don’t connect the dots. Finally someone has.

That someone is Allison Stanger, professor of international politics and economics at Middlebury College in the United States.

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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Somalia: A Pirate’s Life Is Good In Somalia

Filed under: Somalia — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 10:33 AM

   Amazing.  If you read this, it matches exactly how the US privateers impacted the local colonies back in our early history.  The question I have, is what direction will this go?  Will Al Shabaab demand a cut or participate in these ventures to make money for jihad?  If the local religious leaders keep scorning the capitalist activities of these newly rich pirates, then maybe religious extremists will attach the whole piracy thing to jihad, in order to keep the activity going strong and take advantage of the skills of these guys?

    It is an excellent money maker, and if Al Qaeda is not doing too well in the donations department, then I could see them going down this path.  I could also see them going down the drug smuggling path, just as long as they can somehow tie it into jihad. If they can justify suicide bombers and killing innocents in jihad, they can justify privateering and drug smuggling.

   Despite the direction it goes, these guys will continue to get more loot.  They have a taste of that good life, and they will not let go of that anytime soon. Piracy is king in Somalia, and all the kids are doing it.

    I say break out the LoM and lets make a pirate’s life miserable and poor. Turn the eradication of pirates, into a full blown industry and take back the high seas. –Matt

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A pirate’s life is good in Somalia

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Mohamed Olad Hassan

BOSSASO, Somalia

A parcel of land here that sold for $12,000 two years ago now costs more than $20,000. The price of a nice pair of men’s shoes has gone up from $20 to $50. The reason: pirates. The influx of millions of dollars in ransoms has changed life in this coastal Muslim community, driving prices up and creating a schism between the pirate haves and have-nots. As piracy ramps up again with the end of the monsoon season, the lifestyle of the pirates – big houses, fast cars and easy drugs – is decried by both religious leaders and ordinary villagers.

“The use of drugs such as cannabis and the drinking of alcohol, sex and other obnoxious misconduct are now becoming common within the pirates, causing social problems,” said Sheik Ahmed, a mosque leader in the town of Galkayo. “That is what is worrying us, a lot more than the risk they pose to the foreign ships and crew.”

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Legal News: Congress Investigating Charges of ‘Protection Racket’ by Afghanistan PSC’s

Filed under: Afghanistan,Legal News — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:46 AM

   You know, I would first like to see the generals in charge of this war, step up and put a stop to this practice before Congress gets involved.  It is a war after all, and you guys can say ‘hey, this practice stops now, because it directly impacts the war effort and the safety of the troops’. Generals can dismiss folks and end contracts too, and it shouldn’t take a Congressional investigation for that kind of common sense to prevail.

    And I still think we could be using this to our advantage, and using the convoys as bait to draw in the enemy.  If they want to attack convoys, then there should be a counter attack element associated with every convoy, so this practice becomes very hazardous for the enemy. –Matt

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Congress investigating charges of ‘protection racket’ by Afghanistan contractors

By Walter PincusThursday, December 17, 2009

A House oversight subcommittee said Wednesday that it has begun a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that private security companies hired to protect Defense Department convoys in Afghanistan are paying off warlords and the Taliban to ensure safe passage.

“If shown to be true, it would mean that the United States is unintentionally engaged in a vast protection racket and, as such, may be indirectly funding the very insurgents we are trying to fight,” said Rep. John F. Tierney (D-Mass.), chairman of the House oversight subcommittee on national security and foreign affairs.

Two weeks ago, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton described the same situation before a Senate committee while discussing the truck convoys that bring supplies into landlocked Afghanistan. “You offload a ship in Karachi [Pakistan]. And by the time whatever it is — you know, muffins for our soldiers’ breakfast or anti-IED equipment — gets to where we’re headed, it goes through a lot of hands,” she said. “And one of the major sources of funding for the Taliban is the protection money.”

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Industry Talk: Afghanistan Security Contractor Blog–‘Knights of Afghanistan’

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Media News — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 6:03 AM

   The other day I found something very rare in this industry–a blogger.  There are not too many of us doing the blogging thing, so it is always a treat to find others who have a voice to share.  So with that said, let me introduce to you Paladin Six.

   Actually, his stuff reminds me a lot of what Tim Lynch is producing, and that is some ground truth about their little piece of the war effort.  I am sure the milblogging community will find Paladin Six’s posts to be informative as well. I highly recommend putting this blog on your Google Reader to keep track of dispatches, and definitely don’t be a stranger when you visit Knights of Afghanistan. –Matt

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 Paladin Six

Paladin Six, the author of Knights of Afghanistan.

About Me

     Coming up on one year in Afghanistan, serving as Country Manager for a local (all Afghan) private security company. Although I have some limited military experience, I am not one of those ex-Special Forces guys who gets written up in Rolling Stone. This is a business, not a frat party, and we treat it as such.

Knights of Afghanistan

Introduction (first post)

March, 2009

     And so I’m off to Afghanistan. At the suggestion of many of those who know me well, I have decided to create a blog covering my experiences working in the private security industry in Kabul. For personal and professional reasons, this will be an anonymous endeavor, a place to put observations, discoveries and random musings (along with the occasional bit of critical thinking and punditry). I intend to keep the tone light and the style accessible; no claim is made to speak for the broader PSC community or of a monopoly on wisdom (I leave that for actual conversation). With a little luck, this might even be mildly entertaining, at least for me.

     I’m new to this blogging thing, so there are likely to be numerous mistakes of content and style in what follows. In the interest of keeping up to date, I will sometimes be posting without the benefit of a thorough review. I hope to reduce the incidence of idiocy as time goes on. I think you’ll find that I tend to be somewhat less than fully in compliance with tenents of political correctness. I assure you this is entirely intentional. Get over it.

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Technology: $26 Software Is Used to Hack Drones?

Filed under: Iraq,Technology — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 5:37 AM

  I certainly hope they are encrypting all the feeds now. Wow.  So all you needed was a SkyGrabber program to access this stuff? Pffft. Never underestimate the enemy, never. –Matt

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Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones

December 17, 2009

$26 Software Is Used to Breach Key Weapons in Iraq; Iranian Backing Suspected

By SIOBHAN GORMAN, YOCHI J. DREAZEN and AUGUST COLE

WASHINGTON — Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes’ systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber — available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet — to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.

U.S. officials say there is no evidence that militants were able to take control of the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights. Still, the intercepts could give America’s enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance.

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