The Obusha AfPak Money Pit

By Lori Price, www.legitgov.org Updated: 22 Aug 2011

Unlike the 'public option,' Congress doesn't ask if funding the Taleban to blow up contractors' bridges will add to the US deficit . WHY (besides protecting gas and opium pipelines) is the US is *still* in Afghanistan (and Pakistan)? WHY are US taxpayers funding infrastructure programs in *Afghanistan* (and Pakistan) instead of in the US? If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

Xe company tapped for Afghan intel work --Task order is valued at $17.6 million --Xe Services LLC is USTC's parent company 17 Aug 2011 U.S. Training Center Inc. has been awarded a U.S. Department of Defense task order in support of counter-narcoterrorism activities in Afghanistan. Under the order, USTC will be responsible for providing all-source intelligence analyst support and material procurement for U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan through the Counter-Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office's TORP 0236 Afghanistan Combined Joint Interagency Task Force NEXUS Support Task Order.

$360M lost to insurgents, criminals in Afghanistan 16 Aug 2011 After examining hundreds of combat support and reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan, the U.S military estimates $360 million in U.S. tax dollars has ended up in the hands of people the American-led coalition has spent nearly a decade battling: the Taliban, criminals, and power brokers with ties to both. More than half the losses flowed through a large transportation contract called Host Nation Trucking, the official said... HEB International Logistics of Dubai, a Host Nation Trucking prime contractor, "made payments directly to malign actors," [LOL!] one of the task force documents reads.

The day ends in 'y,' so it's time for another taxpayer-funded blowjob for US contractors, to bribe Pakistan to allow the US to slaughter civilians with CIA killer drones: AP: US to give Pakistan $2B in new military aid 22 Oct 2010 The Obama administration is laying out a new multiyear, multibillion-dollar military aid package for Pakistan as it presses the Islamabad government to step up the fight against foment extremists there and in neighbouring Afghanistan, U.S. officials say. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were to unveil the plan Friday at the end of the latest round of high-level U.S.-Pakistani strategic talks here, the officials said. The money will be provided over the next five years under the State Department's Foreign Military Financing program that funds other countries' purchases of U.S.-made arms, ammunition and accessories, the officials said.

Pentagon's $300 million air base expansions reflect long-term investment in Afghanistan 23 Aug 2010 Three $100 million air base expansions in southern and northern Afghanistan illustrate Pentagon plans to continue building multimillion-dollar facilities in that country to support increased U.S. military operations well into the future. Despite growing public unhappiness with the Afghan war -- and President Obama's pledge that he will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011 -- many of the installations being built in Afghanistan have extended time horizons. None of the three projects in southern and northern Afghanistan is expected to be completed until the latter half of 2011. All of them are for use by U.S. forces rather than their Afghan counterparts.

U.S. to Double Mercenary Forces in Iraq After 2011 Military Pullout --'It is unprecedented in scale.' --Some veteran Iraq hands suggest that thousands of additional troops will be needed after 2011. 19 Aug 2010 By October 2011, the State Department will assume responsibility for training the Iraqi police, a task that will largely be carried out by contractors. ...It will be up to American diplomats in two new $100 million outposts to head off potential confrontations between the Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The department’s plans to rely on 6,000 to 7,000 security contractors, who are also expected to form "quick reaction forces" to rescue civilians in trouble, is a sensitive issue, given Iraqi fury about shootings of civilians by American private guards in recent years... The startup cost of building and sustaining two embassy branch offices -- one in Kirkuk and the other in Mosul -- and of hiring security contractors, buying new equipment and setting up two consulates in Basra and Erbil is about $1 billion. It will cost another $500 million or so to make the two consulates permanent. And getting the police training program under way will cost more than $800 million. [OMG, why no complaints about the *deficit?* And, Obama has manifestly out-Bushed Bush! Impeach these hypocritical lunatics and corporaterrorist trolls NOW!!]

The day ends in 'y,' so it's time for another big taxpayer-funded blowjob for US contractors, to bribe Pakistan to allow America to bomb civilians with killer drones in North Waziristan: US to give another $1.5 billion to Pakistan for energy, health, counterterrorism projects 18 Jul 2010 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will begin U.S.-Pakistan talks today with a major aid announcement meant to strengthen an alliance central to the Obama administration's war 'strategy' in neighboring Afghanistan... By the end of fiscal year 2010, Pakistan US contractors will have received about $6 billion in U.S. development and 'humanitarian' aid since 2001, according to a June report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which serves the U.S. Congress. The aid includes funds from a 2009 bill passed by the U.S. Congress that allocates $1.5 billion a year for five years. [Notice the hypocritical GOPers never complain about the deficit when the US funds *other* countries' health care and road projects? That's because they know the money goes directly to US corporaterrorists, and does not benefit the people. --LRP]

Corruption in Afghanistan - US Cuts Aid After Millions Siphoned Off to Dubai 05 Jul 2010 Billions of dollars are being secreted out of Kabul to help well-connected Afghans buy luxury villas in Dubai. Amid concerns that the money could be the result of corruption, American politicians have temporarily cut off aid to the Afghan government. According to some estimates, since 2007, at least $3 billion (€2.4 billion) in cash has left the Afghanistan by plane in boxes and suitcases. The preferred destination for these funds is Dubai, the tax haven in the Persian Gulf.

Corruption Suspected in Airlift of Billions in Cash From Kabul 25 Jun 2010 More than $3 billion in cash has been openly flown out of Kabul International Airport in the past three years, a sum so large that U.S. investigators believe top Afghan officials and their associates are sending billions of diverted U.S. aid and logistics dollars and drug money to financial safe havens abroad. The cash--packed into suitcases, piled onto pallets and loaded into airplanes--is declared and legal to move. Officials believe some of the cash, if not most, is siphoned from Western aid projects and U.S., European and NATO contracts to provide security, supplies and reconstruction work for coalition forces in Afghanistan.

CIA defends Blackwater contract worth $100m 27 Jun 2010 The head of CIA has defended awarding a large contract to the controversial security company terrorist group formerly known as Blackwater. The director of the CIA, Leon Penatta, said the company's bid was US $26m less than its nearest rival. The contract, worth $100m, is to provide security at US consulates in the cities of Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif.

CIA hires notorious Xe in Afghanistan 24 Jun 2010 A report indicates that the US has hired a notorious private security contractor terrorist group to guard its facilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere despite Washington's rejection of the claim. An unnamed source told the Washington Post on Thursday the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) signed a USD 100 million contract with Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide. "It's for protective services... guard services, in multiple regions," the source said.

CIA gives Blackwater firm new $100 million contract By Jeff Stein 23 Jun 2010 The Central Intelligence Agency has hired Xe Services, the private security firm [terrorist group] formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, to guard its facilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to an industry source. The previously undisclosed CIA contract is worth about $100 million, said the industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal, which is classified.

As CLG has reported for *years,* the PentaPost *finally* observes: U.S. paying millions to insurgents, Taliban and Afghan warlords 22 Jun 2010 The U.S. military is funding a massive protection racket in Afghanistan, indirectly paying tens of millions of dollars to warlords, corrupt public officials and the Taliban to ensure safe passage of its supply convoys throughout the country, according to congressional investigators. The security arrangements, part of a $2.16 billion transport contract, violate laws on the use of private contractors terrorists, as well as Defense Department regulations, and "dramatically undermine" larger U.S. objectives of curtailing corruption and strengthening effective governance in Afghanistan, a report released late Monday said. The report describes a Defense Department that is well aware that some of the money paid to contractors winds up in the hands of warlords and insurgents.

U.S. Troops, Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan Suspected of Corruption --Officers Charged With Theft, Bribery in Oversees Reconstruction Projects 20 Jun 1010 Cases of suspected fraud and other wrongdoing by U.S. troops and contractors overseeing reconstruction and relief projects in Iraq and Afghanistan are up dramatically. James Burch, the Defense Department's deputy inspector general for investigations, says his agency is investigating 223 cases -- 18 percent more than a year ago. Investigators have charged an Army officer with pocketing cash meant to pay Iraqi civilian militiamen, contractors offering an Army officer $1 million for the inside track on a road project in Afghanistan, and three contractors for an alleged conspiracy to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fuel from a U.S. base in Baghdad.

Blackwater Firm Gets $120M U.S. Gov't Contract 18 Jun 2010 CBS News has learned in an exclusive report that the State Department has awarded a part of what was formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide a contract worth more than $120 million for providing security services in Afghanistan. Private security firm U.S. Training Center, a business unit of the Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater, now called Xe Services, was awarded the contract Friday, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday night. Under the contract, U.S. Training Center will provide "protective security services" at the new U.S. consulates in Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, the spokeswoman said.

'We're funding both sides of the war.' Afghanistan: Security Companies Using American Money to Fund Insurgents, Bribe Taliban --Official: Millions of dollars 'making their way to the Taliban' 06 Jun 2010 Although the investigation is not complete, the officials suspect that at least some of these security companies -- many of which have ties to top Afghan officials -- are using American money to bribe the Taliban. The officials suspect that the security companies may also engage in fake fighting to increase the sense of risk on the roads, and that they may sometimes stage attacks against competitors. "We’re funding both sides of the war," a NATO official in Kabul said..

Army Plans $100 Million Special Ops HQ in Afghanistan By Noah Shachtman 03 Jun 2010 The Army is looking to spend as much as $100 million to expand its Special Operations headquarters in northern Afghanistan. All around Afghanistan, from Kandahar Airfield to the Bagram jail, the U.S. military is on a building spree, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on wartime encampments. By one count, America and its allies now have 700 bases in Afghanistan. But most of the construction -- and most of the extra troops "surging" into the country -- are going to the violent south and the dangerous east. [That's so the USociopaths can pay contractors to rebuild that which they had destroyed.

US Senate passes $349 million economic stimulus for Pakistan 29 May 2010 The US Senate has passed $349 million in economic and security aid for Pakistan, as part of a $60 billion war supplemental bill to fund Afghan operations and some other projects requested by the Obama administration. The summary of the measure, passed on Thursday, said that of the $349 million assistance for Pakistan, $259 million was for social and economic support programmes and activities, including $10 million for the Pakistan Civilian Assistance Programme [instead of funding such projects in the US]. The Obama administration had requested the money in economic, law enforcement, and military assistance for Pakistan.

Pentagon Confirms It Gave $1.4 Billion in No-Bid Fuel Contracts to Mysterious Companies 28 Apr 2010 The Pentagon's main supply agency has acknowledged awarding $1.4 billion in no-bid contracts to two foreign companies whose ownership and management seem extremely mysterious. The contracts, involving delivery of aviation fuel to U.S.-run air bases in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan, are currently under investigation by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform... Kyrgyz opposition leaders who were involved in Bakiyev's ouster have been quoted in The New York Times as charging that companies controlled by Maksim Bakiyev "skimmed as much as $8 million a month from fuel sales to the [American] base."

U.S. military playing expanded role in Pakistan --Officials: Elite trainers number more than 100 12 Apr 2010 U.S. Special Operations Forces on a 'training' mission in Pakistan are playing an expanded but largely unseen role in the country's counterinsurgency campaign, working with paramilitary units to "hold and build" tribal areas as militants are cleared. A Pentagon proposal would deepen that role by creating a special $10 million pool of funds the trainers could spend more quickly on civil affairs and humanitarian projects contractors' bogus 'rebuilding' projects in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in coordination with their Pakistani counterparts.

Pentagon wants $33 billion more for war in Afghanistan 25 Mar 2010 The Pentagon wants $33 billion in additional funding to pay for the war in Afghanistan this year and train the Afghan military, but members of Congress want to make sure they’re not writing a blank check. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared before Senate appropriators to defend the war supplemental, which is on top of the $708 billion baseline budget submitted to Congress in February . Most of the war supplemental -- a separate account used to pay for war costs -- will pay for Afghanistan operations. [See: Barack Obama: Change We Can Deceive In --A critique from the Left By Lori Price 19 Aug 2009.]

Pakistan hands over wish list to US --List includes requests for drones, helicopter gunships, help on energy crisis [?] , more intelligence cooperation --Clinton says US will do ‘everything’ to address Pak financial challenges 24 Mar 2010 Pakistan has submitted a wish list to Washington ahead of strategic talks scheduled to start today, asking for pilot-less drones and helicopter gunships as well as economic and other aid, US and Pakistani officials said on Tuesday. The 56-page document includes requests for more help in dealing with water and energy crises, greater cooperation between the ISI and US intelligence outfits, more helicopter gunships and other military hardware. Pakistan also wants a civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal with the US , and a role in any future peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. [If USociopaths weren't paying for Pakistan's *nuclear* programs (LOL! What happened to the phony fear of 'al-Qaeda' getting hold of Pakistan's nuclear material?), we could have single-payer health care and fix US infrastructure! But no. Instead, US taxpayers have to fund contractors' bl*w jobs in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq - *everywhere* but here, as the Reichwing refuses to allow the people to have anything, under cover of the monstrous deficit (created by George W. Bush). Now, how come the 'deficit' and 'CBO scoring' isn't raised when the US wants to fund Pakistan's nuclear energy and Afghanistan's roads? --LRP]

Russians Give Message to U.S. Generals in Afghanistan: Bribe the Taliban --Minutes of Secret Meeting Between Russian Veterans and Gen. Stanley McChrystal Also Say 'More Troops Won't Make a Difference' 18 Mar 2010 Two Russian veterans of the Soviet Afghan war privately warned Gen. Stanley McChrystal last summer that the key to winning the war would be to pay off the Taliban. The official who wrote a summary of two meetings between the Russians and U.S. military commanders also wrote that one of the "key take-aways" from the meetings was that extra troops were not the key to victory. ABCNews.com has obtained a document summarizing the discussions between two veterans of the Soviet Union's failed Afghan war and McChrystal, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, during an August 2009 video teleconference. [USociopaths are already doing that. See: US to pay Taliban fighters to 'lay down their arms' 23 Jan 2010.]

Afghan police training contracts likely to go to Blackwater and Lockheed By Laura Rozen 25 Feb 2010 Former officials familiar with the deal say that Blackwater is likely to get a Defense Department-issued contract worth several hundred million dollars to train and mentor the Afghan police. The police training contract, known as TORP 150, is supposed to be decided next month, and the company has not been officially notified that it will get it. But the only competing bid for the police training contract, submitted by Northrop with MPRI, has been disqualified, a former official knowledgeable about the contract said.

Blackwater up for Afghan police training contract? By Laura Rozen 23 Feb 2010 Controversial defense contractor terrorist group Blackwater, now known as Xe, is being told that it is likely to win a major contract to do police training mentoring and logistics in Afghanistan, a source tells POLITICO. According to the well-informed source, U.S. authorities in Iraq including Gen. Stan McChrystal and US Ambasador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry had urged the Defense Department to issue the police training contract through DoD as opposed to through State/International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. [Thanks, Obusha!]

Defense source: US to spread training in Pakistan 11 Feb 2010 The U.S. military is planning to set up new training centers inside Pakistan where American special operations trainers would work with Pakistani forces close to the Afghan border battle zone, a senior defense official said. The new centers would supplement two already operating in Pakistan, and they would be used to accelerate and expand the training of Pakistani forces considered key to rooting out enbolden al-Qaida leaders hiding along the mountainous border, the official said.

US to pay Taliban fighters to 'lay down their arms' 23 Jan 2010 Afghan President Hamid Karzai unveiled an ambitious Western-funded plan Friday to offer money and jobs to tempt Taliban fighters to lay down their arms in an effort to quell a crippling insurgency. His comments to the BBC came as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates described the Taliban as part of Afghanistan's "political fabric", but said any future role would depend on insurgents laying down their weapons. [Paying Taliban fighters to 'lay down their arms?' That's like Obama supplicating himself to get Lieberman's vote on health care: *Not gonna happen.* I've covered a lot of BULLSH*T in 8 years, but this takes the cake. We can't get single-payer health care in the US because the GOP sociopaths and their little DemocRATic blue puppy dogs (and their little blue dog Obama, too) claim that such a measure would add to (the Bush-born) trillon-dollar deficit. But we can simultaneously fund the Taliban AND pay Blackwater to 'stop' those who we are paying? Hello, McFly? To top it off, Bush's High Whore Court just opened the corporate floodgates to *steal* the any last remaining vestiges of democracy in the US - most of the lamestream media was mostly silent on this jaw-dropper. --LRP]

Pakistan govt. urged to explain Blackwater presence 23 Jan 2010 Pakistani lawmakers say the government must to come clean about the presence of the notorious American security firm Blackwater (now known as Xe Services LLC) in the country. The lawmakers, both pro-government and opposition parties, during a heated debate on Friday, urged Islamabad to break its silence and own up as there are strong evidences of the presence of Xe Services LLC in Pakistan. The call came after US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates admitted that Xe Services and DynCorp have been operating in Pakistan.

Gates confirms Blackwater presence in Pakistan 22 Jan 2010 US Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirms that American security firms terror groups Xe Services LLC, formerly known as Blackwater, and DynCorp have been operating in Pakistan. The two firms are operating in private capacities, Gates said on Thursday, adding that the companies were abiding by Pakistani laws. However, he said that if the Pakistani parliament votes for a ban on the presence of the firms, the US government would comply with it.

Number of Private Security Contractors In Afghanistan Doubles In Just Four Months 21 Jan 2010 The military is increasingly relying on private security contractors mercenaries as President Obama ramps up the war in Afghanistan, with contractors now making up as much as 30% of the armed force in the country, a just-released congressional report shows. In the period roughly tracking with President Obama's first nine months in office, the number of Defense Department armed security contractors soared 236% -- from 3,184 to 10,712 between December 2008 to September 2009. The number roughly doubled between June and September 2009 alone.

US emergency war budget sees 9bn for Afghan war -- Includes 190 million dollars in Hellfire missile orders used by killer drones 21 Jan 2010 The US Army's emergency war budget for 2011 will cover big orders for weapons for a major build-up of troops in Afghanistan. The Army has called for 33 billion dollars in emergency war funding, which includes over nine billion dollars for Afghanistan, Reuters reported on Wednesday. A draft budget document shows a significant increase in purchases of unmanned aerial vehicles, and stepped up intelligence and surveillance efforts.

Xe, a Blackwater You Can Believe In: Xe Services Aiming for Afghan Police Training Deal --Xe (formerly Blackwater) aims to be part of Obama's Afghanistan strategy 10 Jan 2010 Blackwater Worldwide's legal woes haven't dimmed the company's prospects in Afghanistan, where it's a contender to be a key part of President Barack Obama's strategy for stabilizing destroying the country. Now called Xe Services, the company is in the running for a Pentagon contract potentially worth $1 billion to train Afghanistan's troubled national police force. The expanded role would seem an unlikely one for Xe because Democrats have held such a negative opinion of the company following the Iraqi deaths, which are still reverberating in Baghdad and Washington. During the presidential campaign, then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, now Obama's secretary of state, backed legislation to ban Blackwater and other private security contractors from Iraq . [Obama keeps faith with these mass-murderers, rapists and child-molesters? Xe, a Blackwater you can believe in! --MDR]

Warlord calls the shots over Afghanistan military transport --The warlord usually receives around US$2500 for each truck that passes. 08 Jan 2010 An Afghan warlord has told Radio Netherlands that he is receiving money to protect convoys of army vehicles. The warlord, Mathiullah Khan, has confirmed he charges for the transportation of water, food and fuel from Kandahar to the Dutch bases at Camp Holland or Tarin Kowt in the neighbouring province to the north.

'In terms of security we have failed.' Karzai: I don't need foreign forces in Afghanistan 08 Jan 2010 Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai says he does not need anymore 'the favor' of the US-led foreign forces in his war-weary country. "If these forces are coming only to chase the Taliban at the cost of Afghan civilians, of course that's not going to produce any good consequences for us," Karzai said in an interview with al-Jazeera on Friday... The president's remarks come after thousands of Afghan people took to the streets to protest the rising civilian death toll by the US-led forces in the country.

Allegation: Blackwater hiring youths in Peshawar to carry out attacks and suicide bombings 31 Dec 2009 Just as the CLG has asserted from the get-go. Wait until Blackwater gets hold of one of Pakistan's nukes, detonates it, blames 'al-Qaeda' and plunges the US into WWIII. I am thinking the lucrative contract for Xe to 'clean up' in the aftermath of the nuclear explosion has already been drafted. Blackwater needs to be eliminated before they become as big as Goldman Sachs and Citi - 'too big' to destroy. ---Lori Price

Mufti Usmani holds Blackwater responsible for blast 31 Dec 2009 Contrary to the claim and media reports by the media about Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan taking responsibility of the Ashura bomb blast, Mufti Mohammed Rafi Usmani held US agency Blackwater responsible for the gory incident that claimed more than 40 lives. Addressing a news conference along with Muhammed Taqi, Mufti Muhammed Naeem, Maulana Tanver-ul-Haq and others on Wednesday, Mufti Usmani said that Blackwater was involved in the killing of innocent people in the Muharram procession. He said that soon after the blast, shops in the city’s economic hub were set ablaze which proved that the attack was "pre-planned and organized". Mufti Usmani said that the incident was a conspiracy against Islam and the government totally failed to control the situation, as it was the responsibility of the government to provide security to the citizens and to protect the property... He alleged that Blackwater was hiring youths in Peshawar to carry out attacks and suicide bombings.

US pledges $16 bn for training Afghan security forces [so they can kill more US soliders] 31 Dec 2009 The United States has pledged $16 billion to spend on training and equipping Afghanistan’s army and air force, but the country needs more to build a force that can guarantee stability, an Afghan army official said on Wednesday. Defence Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said Kabul hoped a donor conference in London next month would provide cash and supplies needed for ambitious plans to expand the army to 240,000 soldiers from over 100,000 at present... Part of the US cash is likely to cover planned spending on over 150 aircraft -- including helicopters, and reconnaissance, combat and transport planes. [See: Soldier killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan 21 Dec 2009.]

Was the Afghan Bomb Attack an Inside Job? Possibility Arises that Someone Working with U.S. Forces was on the Side of the Terrorists 30 Dec 2009 It all happened at a well-fortified combat outpost in Eastern Afghanistan. Somehow a suicide bomber was able to bring his explosives on the base, walk up to a group of American civilians and blow himself up. It will take an investigation to determine how he did it. But the outpost is located in the middle of a notorious stronghold for Afghan insurgents near the border with Pakistan, reports CBS News. Afghan soldiers and civilians are present at almost every American outpost since one of the chief principals of the U.S. strategy is to partner with the Afghans. According to Christine Fair of Georgetown University, some of them may actually be working for the Taliban .

Afghanistan suicide bombing kills 8 CIA officers --The Taliban takes responsibility for the explosion at a U.S. base in Khowst province where the agency has a major presence. 31 Dec 2009 A bomber slipped into [?!?] a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday and detonated a suicide vest, killing eight CIA officers in one of the deadliest days in the agency's history, current and former U.S. officials said. The attack took place at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khowst province, an area near the border with Pakistan. An undisclosed number of civilians were wounded, the officials said. A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the CIA had a major presence at the base , in part because of its strategic location.

Afghanistan: soldier shoots dead US serviceman 29 Dec 2009 An Afghan soldier shot dead a US serviceman and wounded two Italians when he opened fire on foreign troops at an army base in western Afghanistan. The shooting in Herat is the latest in a string of such incidents , including the death of five British soldiers last month, at a time when Western countries are pouring resources into training Afghan soldiers and police to fight the Taliban insurgency Blackwater's coffers. "The soldier opened fire on the two Italians and one American in a joint Afghan and foreign base," said General Khair Mohammad Khawari of the Afghan army. "Two Italian soldiers were wounded, one American soldier was killed."

'Good' Taliban destroy Afghan Army base 20 Dec 2009 Forces under the command of a leader considered to be one of the "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military destroyed an Afghan Army camp. Taliban forces commanded by Mullah Nazir blew up an the Afghan Army base, which was just across the border from the Angoor Adda region in Pakistan. The region is under the control of Nazir, a Pakistani Taliban commander. "Sources said the Taliban planted explosives all over the base and blew it up, destroying bunkers and installations," Dawn reported. The based was destroyed after "a contingent stationed there moved out of the fortified compound." The Taliban and "a group of tribesmen" then looted the base.

Blackwater Eyes Afghan Contractor Surge 21 Dec 2009 Virginian-Pilot As the United States builds up its military presence in Afghanistan, private contractors mercenaries are flocking there in even greater numbers. And Xe, the company formerly known as Blackwater, is in the hunt to get a share of the new work. According to a report last week from the Congressional Research Service, there were about 64,000 uniformed U.S. troops in Afghanistan in September and 104,101 military contractors -- 62 percent of the Defense Department work force there. The Obama administration's planned deployment of 30,000 more troops in the coming months could require as many as 56,000 more contractors, the report estimated. Xe, the Moyock, N.C.-based private military company, is already on the ground in Afghanistan despite its controversial history in Iraq, and is in the running for additional contracts.

Auditors challenge $1 billion in Afghanistan costs 17 Dec 2009 A Senate subcommittee says Pentagon auditors have challenged nearly $1 billion in charges by military contractors in Afghanistan. That's raising concerns on Capitol Hill about wasteful spending as the Obama administration expands the U.S. 'mission' in Afghanistan. According to a memo distributed to subcommittee members before the [Thursday] hearing, the Defense Contract Audit Agency examined $5.9 billion in Afghanistan troop support contracts. The agency determined that $950 million of the costs were unreasonable or lacked enough documentation to support them.

U.S. spends $23 billion on Afghan contracts so far 17 Dec 2009 The United States has spent over $23 billion on reconstruction and development contracts in Afghanistan since 2002, and auditors say about $1 billion of this is waste , a U.S. senator said on Thursday. The contract spending is expected to rise with President Barack Obama's planned [insane] surge of 30,000 U.S. forces into Afghanistan in the coming months, Senator Claire McCaskill said at a subcommittee hearing.

Up to 56000 more contractors likely for Afghanistan, congressional agency says --Number of mercenaries would rise to anywhere from 130,000 to 160,000 16 Dec 2009 The surge of 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan could be accompanied by a surge of up to 56,000 contractors mercenaries, vastly expanding the presence of personnel from the U.S. private sector in a war zone, according to a study by the Congressional Research Service. CRS, which provides background information to members of Congress on a bipartisan basis, said it expects an additional 26,000 to 56,000 contractors to be sent to Afghanistan.

Rep.: US may be 'funding the very insurgents we are trying to fight' --Congress investigating charges of 'protection racket' by Afghanistan contractors 17 Dec 2009 A House oversight subcommittee said Wednesday that it has begun a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that private security companies mercenaries 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. [No sh*t. This what the CLG has been asserting *for years.*]

Taliban stalls key hydroelectric turbine project in Afghanistan --Convoy diverted British troops from front but generator may never be used 13 Dec 2009 An enormous hydroelectric turbine dragged at huge cost by British troops through Taliban heartlands last year may never be installed because Nato has been unable to secure a 30-mile stretch of road leading to an isolated dam in northern Helmand. Senior British officers privately say the enormous diversion of scarce military resources for the operation allowed the Taliban to make major gains in other critical areas of the province, including Nad Ali, which subsequently saw some of the most intense fighting between British forces and insurgents. Now the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the wing of the United States government which has so far pumped $47m (£29m) into the project, intended to electrify much of southern Afghanistan , says it is packing the turbine parts away and looking for other energy projects to invest in across Afghanistan. [Can you believe this bullsh*t? We can't get any infrastructure projects in the US -- but US taxpayers pay corporaterrorists to pretend to fund hydroelectric turbines in *Afghanistan?* See also: US to Give $125 Million to Upgrade Pakistan's Power Sector 29 Oct 2009.]

Blackwater Loses a Job for the C.I.A. 12 Dec 2009 The Central Intelligence Agency has terminated a contract with the security company terrorist group formerly called Blackwater Worldwide that allowed the company to load bombs on C.I.A. drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Friday. The contract gave employees with the company an operational role in one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s most significant covert programs, which has killed dozens of militants hundreds of civilians with Predator and Reaper drones. The company’s involvement highlighted the extent to which the C.I.A. had outsourced critical jobs to private companies since the 9/11 attacks.

Blackwater operating at CIA Pakistan base, ex-official says --Contractor said to be helping to load missiles 11 Dec 2009 The US contractor terrorist group Blackwater is operating in Pakistan at a secret CIA airfield used for launching drone attacks, according to a former US official, despite repeated government denials that the company is in the country. The official, who had direct knowledge of the operation, said that employees with Blackwater, now renamed Xe Services, patrol the area round the Shamsi airbase in Baluchistan province. He also confirmed that Blackwater employees help to load laser-guided Hellfire missiles on to CIA-operated drones that target 'al-Qaida' members suspected of hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions, confirming information that surfaced in the US media in the summer.

Mercenaries? CIA Says Expanded Role for Contractors Legitimate --Blackwater, Other Firms Said to Be "Hired Guns" in Iraq, Afghanistan -- Combat Role Would Be Against U.S. Law 11 Dec 2009 The CIA and the military special forces have quietly expanded the role of private contractors, including Blackwater, to include their involvement in raids and secret paramilitary operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, four current and former U.S. military and intelligence officers tell ABC News. American law specifically prohibits the use of private soldiers or mercenaries in combat, according to Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University. "The United States Congress has never approved the use of private contractors for combat operations," Turley told ABC News in an interview.

$10 million is smuggled out of Afghanistan daily, official says --The culprits are drug cartels and corrupt officials and businesses, Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal says. U.S. and Afghan officials believe much of the cash is going to the Taliban. 07 Dec 2009 An estimated $10 million a day is smuggled out of Afghanistan, most of it through Kabul's international airport, rather than through secret routes over the mountains or across the desert, the country's finance minister said Sunday. The amount of corruption, both by public officials and officials of private companies, makes him embarrassed to acknowledge while traveling that he is an Afghan, Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said. Much of the hot cash ends up funding the Taliban insurgency, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

'We're going to be in the region for a long time.' No Firm Plans for a U.S. Exit in Afghanistan 07 Dec 2009 The Obama administration sent a forceful public message Sunday that American military forces could remain in Afghanistan for a long time... In television interviews, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top administration officials said that any troop pullout beginning in July 2011 would be slow and that the Americans would only then be starting to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces under Mr. Obama’s new plan. "We have strategic interests [opium and gas pipelines] in South Asia that should not be measured in terms of finite times," said Gen. James L. Jones, the president’s national security adviser, speaking on CNN’s "State of the Union." "We’re going to be in the region for a long time."

'Taliban' bombs fan Pakistan distrust of US --The US embassy issued statements denying reports of a Blackwater presence. 06 Dec 2009 Clawing at debris after a massive bomb pulverised a busy market in Pakistan's northwest capital Peshawar on October 28, Umar Hayat could find no trace of his eldest son, 11-year-old Mohsin. "Soon after burying my brother, I came back to the bomb site. I found my son's body at midnight. The next day, in the afternoon, we found my nephew's body," Hayat told AFP. But rather than feeling disgust at Taliban fighters blamed for an attack that killed 125 people, Hayat holds the United States responsible, reflecting a deep-seated distrust felt throughout Pakistan. "I appeal to America, please leave us be. Please stop this game, this war on terror. Osama (bin Laden) is just a smokescreen to attack Muslims," Hayat said. "Stop it. How many more lives will you take in revenge for the World Trade Centre? Do you want to destroy the whole of Pakistan?" ..."What did my father do? Why did somebody do this to us?" said Rashid Javed, who lost his father and two cousins on October 28. "I think America, Israel and India are involved. The Taliban can't do this -- they used to target only police and army men."

Pakistan legal plea to search US embassy for Blackwater weapons, explosives --Interior secretary issued notice in Blackwater plea 05 Dec 2009 Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Khawaja Muhammad Sharif served notice on the Interior secretary for not replying to a petition against the alleged activities of Blackwater in the federal capital... The CJ also called a detailed report from the Foreign Ministry on a plea to order the search of the US Embassy to recover illegal weapons. The counsel also said that the Sihala Police Training Centre commandant had also complained that explosives were being heaped in the centre and he was not allowed to visit the sites. Seeking search of the US embassy, Barrister Zafarullah [the petitioner’s counsel] said the day Blackwater had stepped into Pakistan, terror acts and suicide attacks had been scaled up . The counsel also alleged that in the US embassy illegal arms and ammunition were being stored, which were being used for "sabotage acts" in the country.

US taxpayers fund Afghan stimulus: Afghan security forces get 40% pay hike 29 Nov 2009 Afghanistan yesterday increased the pay of police and soldiers by nearly 40 per cent as Western countries aimed to increase the size and quality of Afghan security forces so their own troops can go home. Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said monthly salaries would increase by $45 to about $165 for a new recruit. At present, there are about 95,000 Afghan soldiers and 93,000 police – a fraction of the number needed to fight help the Taleban. Afghanistan depends on funds from the US and other Western countries for large budgetary expenses, such as military and police salaries.

The day ends in 'y,' so it's time for another AfPak bl*w job. US to give $38.7 million to 27 Afghan provinces to reduce poppy cultivation --A report published last month in The New York Times identified the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a CIA operative and a major opium dealer . He was also reported to have close ties with the Taliban. 24 Nov 2009 The US government has made a commitment to provide financial aid to Afghan provinces that have reduced or eliminated the production of opium. The United States signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday according to which it agreed to give $38.7 million to 27 Afghan provinces that eliminated or significantly reduced poppy production in the world's biggest supplier country, AFP reported. According to the MOU, the money will be handed over to Afghanistan's counter-narcotics ministry [Flush twice. It's a log way to the Afghan counter-narcotics Ministry.], which will disperse the cash to the 27 different provinces to finance development or alternative crops. [LOL. Am I the only one to observe that US pays to *cultivate* Afghan opium poppies, while simultaneously paying to *reduce* them? Oh, but we can't get single-payer health care or the public option --too expensive.]

US military: We pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Afghan insurgents --How the US Funds the Taliban By Aram Roston 11 Nov 2009 It is an accepted fact of the military logistics operation in Afghanistan that the US government funds the very forces American troops are fighting . And it is a deadly irony, because these funds add up to a huge amount of money for the Taliban. "It's a big part of their income," one of the top Afghan government security officials told The Nation in an interview. In fact, US military officials in Kabul estimate that a minimum of 10 percent of the Pentagon's logistics contracts--hundreds of millions of dollars--consists of payments to insurgents. [CLG has been reporting this insanity for years. Too bad the mainstream media won't cover it, instead of spending 24/7 on bimbo Sarah Palin's ghostwritten insipid Mantra of Whine.]

U.S. Quietly Speeds Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Military Aid to Pakistan --The number of American Special Forces soldiers and support personnel who are training and 'advising' Pakistani Army and paramilitary troops has doubled in the past eight months to 150 29 Oct 2009 The United States has quietly rushed hundreds of millions of dollars in arms, equipment and sophisticated sensors to Pakistani forces in recent months, said senior American and Pakistani officials. During preparations this spring for the Pakistani campaigns in Swat and South Waziristan, President Obama personally intervened at the request of Pakistan’s top army general to speed the delivery of 10 Mi-17 troop transport helicopters... . American military surveillance drones are feeding video images and target information to Pakistani ground commanders, and the Pentagon has quietly provided the Pakistani Air Force with high-resolution, infrared sensors for F-16 warplanes , which Pakistan is using to guide bomb attacks on militants’ strongholds in South Waziristan.

Taliban and Al-Qaeda refuse blame on Pakistan blast 29 Oct 2009 The Taliban and al-Qaeda have said they did not explode the bombs that caused 105 deaths in Peshawar on Wednesday. Pakistani paper The News has quoted an al-Qaeda source as saying the group was not involved in the killing of innocent women and children . The sources instead placed the blame on "elements who want to defame jihad." The banned Taliban group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, in an e-mail sent to the media, also denied its involvement in the blast. [Right, it was likely the terrorist group Blackwater/Xe, which *is* involved in the killing of innocent women and children. See: Blackwater running covert recruitment drive in Pak through its website 16 Sep 2009 The controversial US private security company, Blackwater, is reportedly running a covert recruitment drive through its website in Pakistan. See: Blackwater Recruiting Agents Fluent In Urdu and Punjabi For Pakistan --Report suggests Pakistani envoy in Washington issued 360 visas to Americans in one month without consulting Islamabad By Ahmed Quraishi 15 Sep 2009.]

Oh, my God. US to Give $125 Million to Upgrade Pakistan's Power Sector 29 Oct 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, seeking to bolster Islamabad's fight against Islamic extremists US corporaterrorists' profits, initiated a crash U.S. assistance program for Pakistan's power sector aimed at rolling back electricity shortages that threaten to cripple the South Asian nation's economy. Mrs. Clinton, on the first of a three-day diplomatic mission to Pakistan, said that Washington will disburse $125 million to Islamabad for the upgrading of key power stations and transmission lines . U.S. experts [!] are also beginning to work with Pakistani utility companies to reduce power outages and lost revenue caused by outmoded technologies and systemic non-payment by customers, which costs Pakistan hundreds of millions of dollars each year. [ Clinton announces $125 million more to be sucked into the Obusha AfPak money pit for... wait for it... *Pakistan's* power sector (that the US bombs in its illegal killer drone attacks). We can't get single-payer health care in the US -- we can't even get a so-called public option -- because the Congressional pharma-whores (LieberBush, etc.) tell us it may add to the US deficit. Where are the calls for endless CBO studies on the billions wasted funding contractors, mercenaries, and terrorists benefiting from Obusha's wars? Bay Bridge closed after repair falls apart 28 Oct 2009 (CA) Three pieces of an emergency repair to the Bay Bridge's cantilever section made over Labor Day weekend snapped and crashed onto the upper deck of the span late Tuesday afternoon, striking three vehicles and forcing the indefinite closure of the region's busiest bridge. Caltrans officials ordered the closure of the bridge in both directions shortly after 7 p.m. and said late Tuesday night that it would be closed indefinitely . Too bad the bridge isn't in Pakistan. Then, Blackwater/Xe could blow it up, blame the Taliban, and the US could pay contractors billions to keep rebuilding it. --LRP]

Brother of Afghan president reportedly on CIA payroll 28 Oct 2009 The New York Times has reported that the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been taking regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency. The Times, quoting current and former US intelligence officials, said Ahmed Wali Karzai had been paid for different services including the putting together of a CIA directed Afghan paramilitary force.

Brother of Afghan President Is on C.I.A. Payroll, Officials Say 28 Oct 2009 Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years , according to current and former American officials. The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, and those financial ties and the agency's close working relationship with him raise significant questions about America's war strategy, which is currently under review at the White House.

8 U.S. Troops Are Killed in Bombings in Afghanistan 28 Oct 2009 Eight Americans died in combat in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, bringing October’s total to 53 and making it the deadliest month for Americans in the eight-year war. September and October were both deadlier months overall for NATO troops. The troops, along with an Afghan civilian accompanying them, were killed in several attacks involving "multiple, complex" improvised bombs, according to a statement from the NATO-led coalition.

Military Seeks $1.3 Billion For Construction Projects in Afghanistan 18 Oct 2009 While the Obama administration weighs whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan, the U.S. military is spending billions of dollars on construction projects to ensure the country's infrastructure can support American and coalition personnel in 2010 and years beyond. The military has already spent roughly $2.7 billion on construction over the past three fiscal years . Now, if its request is approved as part of the fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill, it would spend another $1.3 billion on more than 100 projects at 40 sites across the country, according to a Senate report on the legislation. [Another day, another bl*wjob for US corpora-terrorists.]

United States admits tackling Italians over payments to the Taleban 17 Oct 2009 The US Government acknowledged for the first time yesterday that payment of protection money to the Taleban by Italian forces in Afghanistan was discussed by American officials and their Italian counterparts last year. A senior US official confirmed, two days after The Times reported that Italian authorities had paid the bribes, that "the issue [of payments] was raised with the Italians". [I wonder if US Taleban payments should just be incorporated into the next stimulus package? After all, funding the Taleban 'stimulates' the need for Obusha's war to continue. --LRP]

$400 per gallon gas to drive debate over cost of war in Afghanistan -- Analysts: Fully burdened cost of fuel might be $1,000 per gallon 15 Oct 2009 The Pentagon pays an average of $400 to put a gallon of fuel into a combat vehicle or aircraft in Afghanistan. The statistic is likely to play into the escalating debate in Congress over the cost of a war that entered its ninth year last week. Pentagon officials have told the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee a gallon of fuel costs the military about $400 by the time it arrives in the remote locations in Afghanistan where U.S. troops operate.

French troops were killed after Italy hushed up 'bribes' to Taleban 15 Oct 2009 When ten French soldiers were killed last year in an ambush by Afghan insurgents in what had seemed a relatively peaceful area, the French public were horrified... What the grieving nation did not know was that in the months before the French soldiers arrived in mid-2008, the Italian secret service had been paying tens of thousands of dollars to Taleban commanders and local warlords to keep the area quiet, The Times has learnt. The clandestine payments, whose existence was hidden from the incoming French forces, were disclosed by Western military officials. [Yes, it was a big surprise, as most of the Taleban's funding comes from the US.]

Arrest Warrant Out for USAID Contractor in Afghanistan By Aram Roston 30 Sep 2009 A federal arrest warrant was quietly issued last month for a former official employed by the major US government reconstruction contractor here in Afghanistan, in a case that underscores the lure of potential contract fraud in Afghanistan. Scott "Max" Anthony Walker was a "security coordinator" for the $1.4 billion infrastructure program commissioned by US Agency for International Development and funded by US taxpayers . The program, which builds power plants and roads [so the Taliban 'insurgents' the US funds can keep blowing them up and the contractor can keep getting money to 'rebuild' them], is run by a joint venture of American construction conglomerates Louis Berger Group and Black & Veach. The 36-year-old Australian named in the arrest warrant worked for Black & Veach, and he allegedly tried to obtain a kickback--apparently of a quarter-of-a-million dollars--from private military companies looking for a piece of business of protecting the reconstruction effort.

"I was building a bridge," an Afghan contactor said, one evening over drinks. "The local Taliban commander called and said 'don't build a bridge there, we'll have to blow it up.' I asked him to let me finish the bridge, collect the money -- then they could blow it up whenever they wanted . We agreed, and I completed my project." Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don't want to know. 13 Aug 2009 In Afghanistan, one of the richest sources of Taliban funding is the foreign assistance coming into the country. Virtually every major project includes a healthy cut for the insurgents. Call it protection money, call it extortion, or, as the Taliban themselves prefer to term it, "spoils of war," the fact remains that international donors, primarily the United States, are to a large extent financing their own enemy.

Taleban tax: allied supply convoys pay their enemies for safe passage: West funding insurgency in Afghanistan with Taleban payoff system --"We estimate that approximately 25 per cent of the money we pay for security to get the fuel in goes into the pockets of the Taleban." 12 Dec 2008 The West is indirectly funding the insurgency in Afghanistan thanks to a system of payoffs to Taleban commanders who charge protection money to allow convoys of military supplies to reach Nato bases in the south of the country.

Afghanistan Contractors Outnumber Troops --Despite Surge in U.S. Deployments, More Contractors Are Posted in War Zone; Reliance Echoes Controversy in Iraq 22 Aug 2009 Even as U.S. troops surge to new highs in Afghanistan they are outnumbered by military contractors working alongside them, according to a Defense Department census due to be distributed to Congress. The number of military contractors in Afghanistan rose to almost 74,000 by June 30, far outnumbering the roughly 58,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground at that point... The reliance on contractors has prompted a shift in the defense industry, sending more money to logistics and construction companies that can perform everything from basic functions to project engineering. A recent contract is worth up to $15 billion to two firms, DynCorp International Inc. and Fluor Corp., to build and support U.S. military bases throughout Afghanistan.

$7.5 Billion more in US tax dollars for Pakistan money pit: 'US helping Pakistan to invest more in education' --Hillary says bills being finalised in US for socio-economic development aid to Pakistan [ Oh, but we can't extend 'Cash-for-Clunkers,' though, right? Notice the GOP always votes NO for increases on health care and eduction for US citizens, but always votes for an increase in foreign 'aid,' where US 'contractors' distribute the monies? ] 23 Aug 2009 The US is 'helping' Pakistan to invest more in schools and children instead of just its military, as was the case in the past, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday. In an interview with The New York Times, Hillary said spreading education was part of the Obama administration’s policy. Hillary said the bills being finalised in the US Senate and the House of Representatives were aimed at providing aid to Pakistan for socio-economic development, including building schools. US lawmakers have voted to provide $7.5 billion for Pakistan over the next five years in non-military assistance.

US 'lost track of Afghan weapons' 12 Feb 2009 The US military has failed to keep track of thousands of [its] weapons shipped to Afghanistan, leaving them vulnerable to being lost or stolen, a report says. The report has been compiled by congressional auditors, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). It found that, in the four years up to June 2008, the US military failed to keep complete records on some 222,000 weapons entering the country.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Pakistan Seeks More U.S. Military Aid 23 Jul 2009; US to send $110 million in emergency aid to Pakistan 19 May 2009; Pakistan to get billions from U.S. despite oversight concerns 27 Mar 2009; Billions in U.S. Aid to Pakistan Wasted, Officials Assert 24 Dec 2007; US Senate approves Pakistan aid worth $785m 20 Dec 2007.

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