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.”