Feral Jundi

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Publications: GAO Report On Afghanistan Security Environment

Filed under: Afghanistan,Publications — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:45 AM

   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 surge of security contractors needed to get this stuff done?

   They also talk about an increase in attacks and casualties, but that is largely contributed to the idea that there are more targets for the Taliban to go after and we are now in the fighting season (spring, summer).

   Now for my suggestion. If you want security and there are not enough military folks to do the job, then contract it out. Obviously security forces are at a premium there, and soldiers are kind of busy taking the fight to the enemy.  If you want to get more security in that country in order to cover down on all of these projects, and do it quickly, then contract it out.  I know security contractors are not the most favored choice of government these days, but honestly, they don’t have much choice in the matter if they want to do what they gotta do in Afghanistan.  It’s either that, or just send all of these government employees back home because they are waste of space.

   I would also recommend using expats, as opposed to using corrupt local security companies.  Or combine expat companies with local security companies for security operations.  Where there is a will, there is a way. Hell, you could contract out the security of an entire town if you wanted, and contractors could actually be a huge contributor to the ‘hold’ and ‘build’ portion of the COIN strategy.  Leave the ‘clear’ portion of the strategy to the military, and assign what you can to the ‘hold’ forces.

   One last thing, and I hate to beat a dead horse.  There are plenty of reports, lessons learned, SOPs, experienced contractors, expert input, blah blah blah out there to get this done properly.(man is it tiring to continue to read about how poor government is at learning anything. pfffft)  Either way, there should be no excuses for mismanagement of this ‘surge of security contractors’ into Afghanistan that I am talking about. Or we can continue to read about these people who are sitting around and doing nothing because of a lack of security for their operation. –Matt

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GAO Report On Afghanistan Security Environment

May 5, 2010

(one portion of the report below, follow link to read the rest)

Agencies Cite Security Challenges to Stabilization Efforts in Afghanistan 

   State’s January 2010 Afghanistan and Pakistan Regional Stabilization Strategy cites reconstruction and development as key elements of the overall effort to stabilize Afghanistan and reduce the strength of the insurgency. However, the strategy acknowledges that the success of such civilian programs in Afghanistan is contingent on improved security. In November 2009, we reported that while U.S. and international development projects in Afghanistan had made some progress, deteriorating security complicated such efforts to stabilize and rebuild the country.

(more…)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Industry Talk: Contractors And IDEA-NEW, A Successful Combination For Foreign Aid Work In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 1:37 AM

    “My team can go places and do things soldiers can’t,” he went on. They “operate low profile” and can move freely “because the communities invite them in and support them.” They work to “rebuild irrigation systems, plant fruit and forest trees, build walls around girls schools, drinking water schemes, microhydro power for villages” and more, he continued. Of his 370 in-country staff, only two are expatriates – the rest are Afghans.-Greenham

*****

     I thought about Tim and his gang with this story, and I wanted to highlight the good work of  a company that was doing some good things out there. Bravo to USAID for putting together a program that works and is built off of the input of those out in the field, and bravo to Development Alternatives Inc. for doing the job.

    Most importantly, this is the kind of stuff that puts the fear of allah in the Taliban, because it cuts into their poppy crops, it cuts into their market share of public support, and it makes the US and the Afghan government look like the good guys.  It also employs young men in jobs that help the community, and keeps them from working for the Taliban as soldiers. Intelligence benefits from this as well, because now people might be more apt to say something to help us out, or even protect their good deal going on with IDEA-NEW by dropping some tips that out some bad guys.

     Now you know why I like talking about this stuff, and why the Taliban have been attacking contractors lately.  They fear contractors, because we are a direct threat to their shadow governments.  Look at it like this.  If we are competing over the affections and respect of the people, then these contractors and USAID are giving the home team a run for their money. –Matt

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Worldview: Successful model for foreign aid is IDEA-NEW

Sun, May. 2, 2010

By Trudy Rubin

JALALABAD, Afghanistan – You’ve all heard horror stories of U.S. aid funds misused by big contractors on failed projects with high overhead in war zones.

The U.S. military insists the war can’t be won by guns, yet our civilian-aid programs have floundered. They’ve been undercut by shifting goals and the fact that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has shrunk to little more than a contracting agency.

So I was looking for U.S. civilian-aid programs in Afghanistan that actually work, and offer Afghans the help they need to improve their lives. On this trip, I found such a program in eastern Afghanistan, called IDEA-NEW, which runs agricultural projects. The program is funded by USAID and led by a Washington contractor (Development Alternatives Inc.). Sounds like the same old, but it isn’t.

(more…)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Logistics: Energy Islands And Biodiesel

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Logistics,Military News,Strategy,Technology — Matt @ 12:57 AM

     A significant step in reducing the length, complexity and cost of the US military supply chain for fuel.

     According to army-technology.com, “Every 55,702 barrels of fuel burned in Afghanistan by the US military forces corresponded to one casualty…a 10% reduction in fuel consumption over a five-year period could lead to a reduction of 35 fuel-related resupply casualties over the same period.”

     Also, the development of mobile energy systems allows military commanders options for avoiding a trade-off between lighter weapon systems that offer greater range, and heavier weapon or support systems that offer greater armor protection.

     A report by Deloitte calculated that fuel makes up 50 percent of all convoy activity in Iraq and Afghanistan.

*****

    Today’s discussion is about the military going green. I really like the idea of this, because as the articles below have stated, it takes a lot of fuel to power a military during time of war. Fuel is also a strategic asset, and without it, an army can be dead in the water and lose a war. So I like the idea of bringing in alternative sources of fuel, and diversify the fuel consumption process. And I really like the idea of manufacturing fuel locally, via micro processing plants. Better yet, if those micro processing plants focused on fuel, power and water for the operations of the local base as well as the local population center, well then that is a win win situation for everyone.

     Imagine having the local populations focused on growing fuel, for their use and for the local military base’s use? Plus, each processing plant that we cart into that area, could be a gift to the local population when that military base leaves? Better yet, we could teach the locals how to make biodiesel, and an entire industry could emerge. We keep looking at alternative crops for the farmers in Afghanistan? How about we have them grow fuel for the war effort. I have also talked about that here before, and I really like that concept because it makes sense. I also determined in my research that fuel producing plants like Jatropha could be grown in the south of Afghanistan.

     What’s cool about Camelina Sativa or wild flax seed is that it can be grown very easily in ditches or whatever, and does not require a lot nitrogen or water. Therefore, it does not compete with the local food growing or suck in a massive amount of water. It’s a weed more or less, and I like the idea of turning weeds into fuel. It is also native to Central Asia, so that means it could be grown in Afghanistan.

     The energy island concept is very cool. An all in one processing plant, that takes in the biomass and converts it to fuel, heat and power for the base and the local community. If these ARIES systems can do all of that, that is impressive and that is the kind of thing that could win over populations for COIN strategy. It would keep locals busy processing fuel, it would provide power to light homes and streets so they can see threats at night, and it would invigorate business and make people’s lives more comfortable. Lots of benefits from an energy island. Plus it defines the ‘small and many’ aspect of war. You want multiple power/fuel sources, not just one big one in which all of your cookies are in one basket. So I like having multiple energy islands scattered throughout a war zone, and that makes strategic sense.

     There is also another benefit of processing fuel locally, as opposed to shipping it in. Contractors and military personnel are both tasked with transporting fuel in war zones. If it cannot be flown in, it is convoyed in. And like the quote up top has mentioned, how many deaths can we attribute to this high demand for imported fuel for the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan? How many contractors have died, trying to bring in fuel or water to some outpost? It is an interesting question, and my thoughts on the matter is that if we can minimize the amount of convoy operations it takes to supply an outpost or some FOB, the better. –Matt

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The Green Side of War

Defense & Security News — By International Relations and Security Network

May 3, 2010

On Earth Day, 22 April, the US Navy conducted a test flight of an F/A-18 Super Hornet at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, run on a 50-percent mixture of a fuel refined from the crushed seeds of the flowering Camelina sativa plant. The flight of the Green Hornet, as it was called, followed an Air Force test a month earlier of an A-10C Thunderbolt II at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, fueled with a similar blend.

Both events had the purpose of testing the performance of biofuel/petroleum mixtures with an eye toward the eventual certification of the fuels for routine use. They also demonstrate the efforts of the Department of Defense to increase its use of renewable energy, not only for environmental reasons but also to protect the military from energy price fluctuations and dependence on overseas sources of petroleum.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Afghanistan: Taliban Shadow Government Benefits From Reckless Afghan Private Security

Filed under: Afghanistan,Strategy — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 11:48 PM

     Local power brokers in Kandahar have worked to maintain this revenue stream by keeping the police force weak, forcing coalition forces to rely on private security companies for protection, the Institute of the Study of War report said.

     That is precisely the type of behavior by local officials that has alienated residents and provided an opening for the Taliban to establish effective control over much of the province.

     Abrahams said he has tried to tell locals that he understands their plight, but he is consistently undermined by the wild shooting.

     “Actions speak louder than words, and the locals see these drugged-out thugs with guns and trucks with ‘The United States’ painted on the side,” said Abrahams. 

*****

   That is how I would have wrote this title for the story below.  It’s kind of funny how the Afghan government was soooo adamant about pulling all the security companies under their control, complete with only issuing licenses to Afghan companies, yet at the same time, these private security companies they control are doing a lot of harm to their government and to the war effort.

   It is also doing a lot of harm to the US and Coalition strategy for the war, all because the Afghans don’t have control over something they said they wanted to control. I guess making money off of the licenses and taxes is all they really cared about?  Meanwhile, we have Afghan companies running through communities and using poor fire discipline, thus causing civilian casualties.

   The final point I want to make, is the ‘shadow government’ that the Taliban are running in places like Kandahar, are totally benefiting from reckless Afghan security companies.  If the government pays the cops crap wages, they moonlight as security contractors. Then they go out with the companies, and when their convoys receive a little fire from a Taliban shooter, and the convoys fire up entire communities with everything they got, that cop is now attached to that incident. Or that convoy forces people off of roads or robs other people or contractors on the roads, and now the Shadow Government has succeeded in making the police and government look weak because they can’t control the companies.   And because the goods on the trucks of the convoys all say ‘Made In The USA’, well then that ties in the actions of these companies to the coalition.

   My advice to General McChrystal and company is to get a handle on this quick. Because the enemy will only continue to exploit this angle.(they have actually been doing this for awhile)  They will also conduct pseudo operations, and pretend to be Afghan police or army, and further attack the people, all with the idea of pinning it on the real government.  This tactic is nothing new, but now that there is such a huge demand for logistics in country to support the surge of troops and contractors, it would be kind of important to take care of this now.

   One solution is to make it mandatory that Afghan companies are bonded.  Hell, nothing motivates a boss more to do things right, than the possibility of losing a lot of money because of poor performance or because of breaking the law/contract. And to ensure they are doing things right, I think there should be a  monitor attached to these convoys.  Be it expats or soldiers, it doesn’t matter.  Just some kind of adult supervision to say ‘yes, these guys are doing it right’ or ‘no, they violated the contract/law and they lose the bond’. That would be a quick down and dirty way of making sure these guys are not negatively impacting the war strategy, and ensuring they are doing a good job. –Matt

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Reckless private security companies anger Afghans

By SEBASTIAN ABBOT

April 30, 2010

HUTAL, Afghanistan — Private Afghan security guards protecting NATO supply convoys in southern Kandahar province regularly fire wildly into villages they pass, hindering coalition efforts to build local support ahead of this summer’s planned offensive in the area, U.S. and Afghan officials say.

The guards shoot into the villages to intimidate any potential militants, the officials say, but also cause the kind of civilian casualties that the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has tried repeatedly to stop.

“Especially as they go through the populated areas, they tend to squeeze the trigger first and ask questions later,” said Capt. Matt Quiggle, a member of the U.S. Army’s 5th Stryker brigade tasked with patrolling Highway One, which connects Afghanistan’s major cities.

The troops say they have complained to senior coalition officials and have even detained some guards to lecture them about their conduct, but the problem has continued.

(more…)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Afghanistan: Did Afghan Police Kill U.N. Guard Louis Maxwell On Accident, Or On Purpose To Take His Gun?

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Weapons — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 1:36 AM

One official who had seen the video said “it looks like an execution”.

Mr Maxwell came down from the roof after the attack and was shot minutes later officials said.

The video shows Mr Maxwell wounded in a group of Afghan police when a single shot is fired, Stern reported.

He screams and collapses to the ground. None of the police reacts.

Three more shots are fired, then a policeman takes Mr Maxwell’s weapon from next to his corpse and leaves.

The motivation for the shooting is unclear from the video and an official said it was possible police had mistaken Mr Maxwell, an African American, for a foreign terrorist.

Stern reported another theory was that the Afghan police officer wanted to steal his sophisticated assault rifle.  

*****

   What I would like investigators to talk about is the video that was taken of the whole thing. If the video ‘looks like an execution’, then that should throw up some red flags.  Read the initial report based off of what was seen in the video, and this does not at all match up with what the UN briefing is talking about?  Where is this video and where is Louis’ HK G36 rifle? Someone please make sense of all of this, because this smells.

   I also want to direct the readership to a guy that was within 50 meters of this incident when it happened and has been writing about it in his blog called Knights of Afghanistan.  Both he and Tim Lynch have talked about the rifle and the possible motivation of the police to kill Louis for that rifle. Or how a convenient friendly fire accident could help put that rifle into an officer’s hands. I guess there could be confusion as well, but take a good look at the picture below and tell me that Louis looks like a Taliban or Al Qaeda operative.  I didn’t know the booger eaters were carrying high end 5.56 HK’s with ACOGs mounted these days? Who knows, but I do know that there is video that needs to be looked at by some independent media out there, or a third party investigator.

   Louis is a veteran (former Navy) and a contractor that laid down his life in the defense of others. The main stream media might not care about the sacrifice of this contractor, but we do.  It is the least we can do, to make sure the story gets straight and the truth gets out there.-Matt

Edit: 04/28/2010- Here is the cellphone video of the incident.  Louis looks like he was leaning against the hood of the Vehicle and possibly wounded already, and officers were walking away with his weapon.  Then he was shot at multiple times until he went down.  If you look at the police around him, they are not looking in the direction of the sniper or combatant shooting at Louis, they are looking at Louis as he is being killed.  The officer holding Louis’s gun is not running away or taking cover, nor are any of the other officers.  They are just standing around and watching Louis get killed.  Watch the video and let me know what you think?

   I also found the press briefing the UN secretary gave in regards to Maxwell’s death and his weapon.  They do have his weapon in their control.  Why this took so long to come out, I do not know.  They have been pressed about the location of the weapon in other briefings, without any clarification.

Edit: 04/29/2010- I made a mistake about the designation of G36, and I apologize.  Sometimes I miss this stuff.  It appears that the rifle is not a K version, but a C version. Thanks to my readership for catching this, and giving me the heads up.  Here is the definition of the C version from wikipedia:

G36C: This subcarbine (C—compact) model is a further development of the G36K. It has a shorter barrel (than the G36K), and a four-prong open-type flash hider. The extremely short barrel forced designers to move the gas block closer to the muzzle end and reduce the length of the gas piston operating rod. The handguard and stock were also shortened and the fixed carry handle (with optics) was replaced with a carrying handle with an integrated MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail. The dual optical sight found on the standard G36 and G36K models was replaced with a set of rail-mounted detachable iron sights that consist of a semi-shrouded front post and a flip-up rear sight with two apertures of different diameter. The short handguard has six accessory attachment points, one of which could be used for a vertical grip. 

Edit: 04/30/2010 – Louis Maxwell was not a Marine, and according to news out of Miami in his obituary, he was in the Navy.  I have no clue what his MOS was, and maybe he was attached to the Marines at one point or another.  Who knows.  Here is the report.

G36K up top, G36C on bottom.

Louis Maxwell, Navy.

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Louis Maxwell

HK G36C with ACOG scope…In the hands of hero Louis Maxwell. 

Afghan police likely killed U.N. staff by mistake: U.N.

By Louis CharbonneauMonday, April 26, 2010

United Nations investigators believe that Afghan police mistakenly shot and killed four U.N. employees during a Taliban attack in October 2009, U.N. officials said on Monday.

Susana Malcorra, a top U.N. peacekeeping official, made the remark in a briefing about a U.N. board of inquiry into an October 28 Taliban attack on a guest-house in Kabul that resulted in the deaths of five U.N. employees.

She described confusing circumstances in which Taliban attackers and Afghan security forces who responded were dressed in identical police uniforms.

It was a “very, very chaotic situation in the middle of the night,” she said.

Investigators believe three U.N. employees were shot and killed by the Afghan police while trying to escape from the guest-house, Malcorra said.

(more…)

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