This is cool. Jody has written a deal on CSS Global, and put up a few FJ quotes. So for any readers coming over from this article, feel free to ask away in the comments section. Or if you have some commentary on the subject, feel free to put it here as well.
On my older post on CSS Global, my readership had some interesting things to say. Like the Somali government reaction to this whole deal is to say that it never happened. That Gulaid was operating on his own, and they had no idea about a contract with CSS Global. How convenient?
My feelings is that the Somali government is already allowing Bancroft Global Development to perform services in their country or even DynCorp’s activities, so there is precedent for relationships with American companies. Maybe what has happened is that they have re-evaluated contracting with CSS Global and decided to go shopping again? Who knows, and the only way for the real deal to come out, is for someone at CSS Global to set the record straight, or for the Somali government to set the record straight. I personally want to see the Somali government get the best service and contract possible, if in fact they want to go down this path.
Another idea is that maybe some war planners and strategists were listening, and played some diplomatic kung fu to get the Somali government on the right track with a better company or forces donor. The EU has just committed forces for training Somali police and military, and for working with Amisom. There might be an agreement to provide services to directly protect and/or train a protective detail for the Somalis? Or not. I guess where ever the money comes from, will decide what will be done with it.
I should also remind the readership that private companies protecting government officials of other countries is not new. The Steele Foundation was made famous for protecting Haiti’s Aristide. PSC’s and PMC’s have been tasked with protecting Iraqi and Afghani government officials in the past as well, so this privatized protection is nothing new.
And for the record, my intention with CSS Global and this Somalia deal, is to just get the story straight and try to protect the industry from any more embarrassments. I mean no harm to CSS Global and their reputation, but the reputation of the industry, and the overall strategy in this war takes priority in my view. The US and this industry does not need any more incidents that hurt the war effort, and we need our varsity teams playing ball, if you know what I mean. I look forward to any input from the readership, company, or Somalis, and please correct the record if you feel so inclined. –Matt
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Somalia Jumps on Private Security Bandwagon
23 Nov 2009
By Jody Ray Bennett for ISN Security Watch
An American private military and security company deploys to Somalia as the first US presence in the country since the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Jody Ray Bennett writes for ISN Security Watch.
Tensions rose in Somalia in the final weeks of October 2009 as the president of the country’s UN-backed transitional government, Sharif Sheik Ahmed, became the target of an insurgent attack while attempting to depart from an airport to Uganda to attend an African Union (AU) summit on refugees and internally displaced people.
According to news reports, al-Shabaab militants “lobbed mortars at the airport, prompting peacekeepers of the AU mission in Somalia known as AMISOM, to fire back.”
At least 24 people were killed and as many as 60 wounded when peacekeepers returned fire in the direction of the crowded Bakara marketplace, causing many to question AMISOM’s effectiveness in Somalia, according to Voice of America.
One Bakara storekeeper told VOA that while “Islamist insurgents cause problems by attacking the peacekeepers, AMISOM’s harsh response is doing far more harm than good [and that] people may no longer tolerate [AMISOM’s] presence in Somalia if it continues shelling residential areas.”