Do You Support Our Use of Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan?

[tekisui]

Poll question: Do You Support Our Use of Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan?

We all hated Blackwater in Iraq and applauded when they finally got the boot. Although, the Iraqis still have no venue for justice against them. Now they are Xe and are operating in Afghanistan, along with more than a dozen other private contractors. There are more private contractors in Afghanistan than US troops, and at least 56,000 more are going with Obama's latest escalation.

Obama and the Pentagon order, hire and pay these goons. Now we read that some of the contractors are recruiting children to fight in Afghanistan, and there are widespread allegations of child sexual abuse from these thugs.

Especially for those that support this war as a 'Just War', do you support the heavy use and dependence of private contractors in the war in Afghanistan?

[DrDan]

1. a horrible policy . . . with horrible results

[NJmaverick]

2. Please provide solid proof of your child recruiting accusation

[tekisui]

3. Sure things, buddy:

Afghan and foreign forces did little to ensure child protection in counterinsurgency operations, the

ARM complained, saying the alleged killing of eight students in Narang district of Kunar province on December 26 by US Special Forces and their Afghan companions appeared to be an appalling act of crime against civilians.

"NATOs accusation that the teenagers were involved in bomb-making activities does not justify their group-killing," Samadi said, adding the claim that foreign forces came under fire contradicted government findings, which the victims were not combatants.

According to the report, the recruitment and use of children by police and private security companies continued throughout 2009 with little government intervention to curb the unlawful practice.

Several cases of sexual violence against children were reported with the alleged involvement of police officers, forces from registered private security firms and other militia actors but no case reached formal adjudication due to rampant corruption in government institutions and lack of support for victims.

"Whilst children were increasingly affected by war and crimes in Afghanistan, the government failed to introduce appropriate legal and practical mechanisms to mitigate their sufferings, protect them against the harm of war and bring alleged criminals to justice," said Samadi.

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2010/01/06/2009-deadliest-year-for-afghan-children.html

[NJmaverick]

5. Who exactly is the "Afghanistan Rights Monitor "

Who runs this organization and how do we know they are credibile?

[tekisui]

6. They are an independent Kabul-based group.

Local people.

ETA: I still see you haven't voted 'yes' for the private mercenaries. If that is the case, do you truly support this war? Do you truly support how Obama and the Pentagon are fighting it?

[NJmaverick]

11. That's isn't a whole lot of information you have provided

I like my sources to be vetted a bit more than that (who am I kidding, I like to have a lot more vetting), especially if I am going to make strong accusations. Have you even read the report first hand? Do you have any names of the people running it? are they associated with any of the international human rights groups?

[tekisui]

14. What ever you need to tell yourself to keep that head buried.

They are good enough for Afghanistan Conflict Monitor to use, as well as IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks) which is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted sub-thread

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[Ignis]

38. "The UN?! That podunk, no-name, shady organization?!"

Good on you for trying, anyway. :patriot:

[arcadian]

22. Bwahahahaha! Get real.

:eyes:

[treestar]

32. Yes, this is like the legal cases

on which the Administration has purportedly "sold us out." Jump on some surface information and run from there.

How can anyone know the best way to deal with this war? If one is against it, that's a different subject than how it is being done.

[Common Sense Party]

26. Just send in the UN Peacekeepers -- then THEY can rape the children

http://www.mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=596311

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32857&Cr=peacekeeping&Cr1=

[Tailormyst]

17. You are unfuckingbelieveable!

[NJmaverick]

20. LOL! I think you comments make you look pretty bad

Twisting information to fit your opinions and views rather than studying the facts to form one's opinions and views is a really really really messed up way of doing things. It was the same techinque that lead to the Iraq war.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted sub-thread

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[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

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[spoony]

27. So does your inability to handle people who disagree with you

without silencing them. Chicken.

[ixion]

4. I don't support anything military (or para or quasi military) in Afghanistan

or anywhere else.

[gratuitous]

7. Sure!

Pay them the exact same wage as our military, and I'd be 100% fine with it. Benefits beyond pay would be up to the private sector and the magic of the free market.

Otherwise, no dice.

[tekisui]

9. They make much more than our military and don't follow the same

codes of conduct or rules of engagement.

The point is, our military isn't capable to do this job. And, the contractors make the situtation worse. They profit off of insecurity.

[gratuitous]

29. What?

These great patriots (I saw the local news calling the local dead mercenary a "hero" just the other day) aren't willing to work for the same pay as our fightin' men and women in khaki? Why, if I didn't know better (because I've been assured they're all heroes and stuff), I'd say this looks like profiteering. But that can't be right.

[tekisui]

8. Wow, 2 voted yes. Care to defend that position?

And, did you like Blackwater in Iraq?

[Tailormyst]

18. They will spin and spin and spin.

[invictus]

10. No, I don't support using mercenaries.

[nyc 4 Biden]

12. You thought you hated Blackwater before...

Read this article from The Nation. They are running special operations in Pakistan through JSOC (The Bush Admin's personal black ops unit)

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091207/scahill">The Secret US War in Pakistan
by Jeremy Scahill

[conscious evolution]

13. I do not support the use of SchutzStaffel

[tekisui]

15. 4 mercenary supporters, yet not a single defense. Cowards.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Hell no

[independentpiney]

23. Absolutely not- no mercenaries nt

[waiting]

25. Absolutely not

But then again, I no longer support the Afghan war. We shouldn't be engaging in any wars, unless we have the troops necessary to conduct them. Especially since these private contractors are accountable to no one and no government. And when they are former soldiers or well paid former government employees, things get very tricky in relation to the actual armed forces becoming obsolete, or the exectuvie branch having it's own army.

[xiamiam]

28. very surprised to see anyone here supporting private mercenaries

who in the hell at du supports blackwater?..

[tekisui]

30. 8%, yet no one has offered a defense of claimed support.

[Ignis]

36. Well of COURSE not. Because it's indefensible.

And they know it.

[treestar]

31. I don't know

Some things the government should not contract out, and does. Bush just loved doing that. In a lot of cases, it just should not be done. Government should make its own decisions. If it wants to contract out pure office work, just copying and filing, that might be OK, but nothing involving evaluation of any claim.

This kind of thing, I would be interested in what people with military experience thought.

[Quantess]

33. No. The individual contractors might be really great people

but the US should not use mercenaries.

[ThomWV]

34. Hell no, that is the job of the United States Marine Corps, if they won't do it they should disband.

[Sebastian Doyle]

35. I don't support the use of private mercenary armies ANYWHERE

nor do I support the occcupation of Afghanistan in any capacity.

[Caliman73]

37. No contractors, no mercenaries.

War should not be about profit. If people want to serve their country, they should enlist in the armed forces not go over to do a quasi military job for exorbitant amounts paid for by our tax dollars and which lacks any accountability. It is ridiculous. It demeans our military, it harms the indigenous culture, and it steals from taxpayers to give to war profiteers.

[truth2power]

39. No. n/t

[Jamastiene]

40. I almost accidentally voted yes, because it was second instead of first

in the list. I clicked back and got the No vote right, I hope.

No, I do not support child raping, kidnapping, murdering, profiteering thugs doing all this horrible shit in my name.

[Odin2005]

41. Mercenaries are a threat to Democracy.

Just ask the citizens of Renaissance Milan.

[tekisui]

42. They have an incentive to maintain a terrified and unstable environment:

Profit$.

[butterfly77]

43. Never did and..

I have never understood how they could make more than our soldiers when they are in the same danger. I also could not understand how Bush/Cheney could get away with hiring Iraqis or others to serve our soldiers food in the mess halls.I also can not understand why we need to send the soldiers personal items like Deodorant why doesn't the military provide all of these things when they keep asking for 87 billion dollars..