Feral Jundi

Friday, May 21, 2010

Call To Action: Save Australian Security Contractor Robert Langdon From Execution In Afghanistan!

Filed under: Afghanistan,Australia,Call To Action,Legal News — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:18 AM

   I like to do what I can to support my fellow contractors out there, and Robert Langdon is one guy that needs our support.  He is a former Four Horsemen International contractor and he was sentenced to death by hanging in Afghanistan for an alleged murder. I will not pass judgement on what happened, because I was not there.  The issue at hand though is that Afghanistan wants to execute him, but Australia does not believe in the death penalty and they do not want their citizen to be executed.  There is also the issue on wether Rob received a fair trial or not. (please read below)

   The big one here is that the Australian government promised that they would do all they can to pressure the Afghan government to hand over Robert.  The point of this call to action is that the Australian government has not put any pressure on the Afghan government (according to accounts below) and that they are throwing their citizen under the bus for political reasons.  So if you want the Australian government to follow through on their promise, and you do not want Robert Langdon to be executed in Afghanistan, then write the PM of Australia Kevin Rudd and let him know what you think.  Let’s get the word out about this, and thanks to the IPSSC and Miguel for working on this issue, as well as the Bill Shaw case.  –Matt

Edit: June 13, 2010 -I just got this letter from Elena Fon, and here is the latest that everyone can do.  There is a petition that everyone can sign.

Hi Matt,

I am the Elena Fon who wrote the guest article on Rob Langdon in this

month’s issue of Overwatch Report. You also very kindly wrote a piece about

him when Miguel sent you some info. Would you please kindly post the online

petition for Rob that began yesterday? Find it at

http://www.gopetition.com/online/37052.html.

Also there are some great comments on the petition. I need people to write

that stuff to the PM. I want him to be overwhelmed with emails/letters on

Rob’s behalf.

Write to: The Hon Kevin Rudd MP Prime Minister, Parliament House,Canberra, ACT, Australia 2600.

Email: http//www.pm.gov.au.

With a copy to the Leader of the Opposition Rt Hon Tony Abbott MP.

Email: tony.abbott.mp@aph.gov.au

It’s easy to sign a petition, harder to write but ask people to take the

time, remembering that Robert Langdon’s life is at stake here. Just write

whatever is in their hearts. And persevere until Rob is safe home. I welcome

any contact, suggestions, especially if anybody out in Afghanistan has

visited Rob in prison recently or has news of him to pass on.  Sorry I don’t

do Twitter etc. So please publish my email address. Thank you so much,

Elena

Email: fon_elenaisabel@yahoo.com.au

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Robert Langdon

Robert Langdon in Afghan custody.

*****

Hi,

I understand that IPSSC is raising awareness and support for British security contractor, Bill Shaw, who has been sentenced to 2 years jail in Afghanistan on trumped up fraud charges. Perhaps you would be willing to lobby support for Rob Langdon, an Australian security contractor, formerly employed by Four Horsemen International and sentenced to death by hanging in  Afghanistan on January 27 2010. Rob did not have a fair trial and his case has wide-ranging political implications as it would seem the Afghan authorities are testing the water with both Rob and Bill to see just how far they can go. Rob’s case appears to be very little known about, not only overseas but also in Australia and I would be very grateful for your help in publicising his case.(contact IPSSC for details of case)

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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Industry Talk: Three British Security Contractors Killed In Afghan Plane Crash

Filed under: Afghanistan,Aviation,Industry Talk,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 3:56 AM

   Rest in peace to Daniel Saville, David Taylor, and Chris Carter and my heart goes out to the families and friends. Yet again, where is the recognition for the deaths of these men?  I have no idea what company these guys were working for, but at the very least that company should be demanding that their contractors be recognized and counted for paying the ultimate sacrifice. To pay your respects, there is a thread on the subject over at SOCNET here.-Matt

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Three Britons named in Afghan plane crash blamed on bad weather

David Brown

May 18, 2010

Three Britons were among 44 people feared dead after an Afghan passenger plane crashed in mountains 60 miles north of the capital Kabul yesterday.

The missing men are Daniel Saville from Manchester, David Taylor from Staffordshire and Chris Carter, whose address is not known. They are all believed to be security contractors.

Poor weather has hampered efforts to locate the Pamir Airways flight from the northern city of Kunduz. There was no immediate word on casualties.

By nightfall rescuers were still struggling to reach the area, in snow-capped mountains near the 12,700 foot Salang Pass, a major route through the Hindu Kush mountains that connects the capital to the north.

Paul Norris, a spokesman at the British embassy in Kabul, said: “The plane is currently technically ‘missing’ as the crash site hasn’t yet been found. But we can confirm that three British nationals were on board.” The State Department said a US citizen was also among the missing.

The plane left Kunduz shortly after 8.30am. The Antonov An-24 is a 60-year-old medium range twin-turbo prop civil aircraft built in the former Soviet Union from 1950 to 1978.

Yama Ariaye, of Pamir Airways, said: “We don’t have any news but the weather was a problem. It was quite cloudy at the time.”

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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Industry Talk: Erik Prince Slams Big Government In Michigan Speech

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:31 AM

     Prince returned to his hometown of Holland to give a speech criticizing government spending and regulation that drew a standing ovation from more than 700 people. The event, part of the town’s annual Tulip Time Festival, had to be moved to Hope College’s basketball arena because of the high demand for tickets. 

*****

     This is interesting because you just don’t hear of Erik Prince doing too many of these types of events. This might be an indicator that he is wanting to get more public and more vocal, either to push some politics, correct the record or sell books. It’s probably a little of everything, and controversial figures like him sell big time at speaking events.  Who knows, but one thing is for sure–the crowd liked him, and they wanted more. Now if he started a blog, complete with a facebook/twitter page, well then he could really get vocal. (hint, hint) lol –Matt

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Blackwater founder slams big gov’t in Mich. speech

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN

April 6, 2010

HOLLAND, Mich. — Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince said Wednesday his values of hard work and personal responsibility “have gotten me a few detractors along the way, and I’m OK with that.”

Prince returned to his hometown of Holland to give a speech criticizing government spending and regulation that drew a standing ovation from more than 700 people. The event, part of the town’s annual Tulip Time Festival, had to be moved to Hope College’s basketball arena because of the high demand for tickets.

Holland, about 30 miles west of Grand Rapids, is in Michigan’s most reliably Republican county. Home to many residents of Dutch descent, the area is known for its strong Dutch Reformed faith and conservative values.

Although 60 people outside held signs protesting Blackwater’s actions in Iraq, many inside said Prince’s speech inspired them. They said they were glad to hear his side of unflattering news reports about the North Carolina-based company, now called Xe Services.

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Friday, May 7, 2010

Legal News: Navy SEAL Found Not Guilty Of Assaulting A Suspected Terrorist

Filed under: Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:38 AM

   This is awesome news and I wanted to get this out there.  Bravo to Matthew McCabe and his team mates for fighting the good legal fight, and winning! –Matt

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Navy SEAL Found Not Guilty of Assaulting a Suspected Terrorist

Military jury found a Navy SEAL not guilty on charges of punching a suspected Iraqi terrorist.

May 06, 2010

Matthew McCabe

A Virginia military jury found a Navy SEAL not guilty Thursday on all charges he punched an Iraqi suspected in the 2004 killings of four U.S. contractors in Fallujah.

“I’m really happy right now,” Matthew McCabe, the Navy SEAL, told Fox News shortly after hearing the outcome of the court martial. “It’s an amazing feeling. I’m on cloud nine right now.”

McCabe, a special operations petty officer second class, called the proceedings “troubling at times,” adding “having your career on the line is not an easy thing to handle.

McCabe was the third and final Navy SEAL to be prosecuted in the case. He had faced charges of assault, making a false official statement and dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee. McCabe was accused of punching last year is Ahmed Hashim Abed, the suspected mastermind of the grisly killings six years ago.

After the court martial, the 24-year-old from Perrysburg, Ohio, thanked the public for its continued support.

“It’s been great everything they’ve done,” he told Fox News. “But, don’t worry about it anymore. We are putting this all behind us. It’s done and over with. I’m going to try not to think about this ever again.”

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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.

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