Foro de Inteligencia, Espionaje y Servicios Secretos

All Illegal Private Security
Firms Disbanded in Afghanistan

Tolo news
December 21, 2010

Illegal private security companies will no longer operate in Afghanistan, a top official in the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) said at a press conference on Tuesday

So far 57 private security firms have been dissolved since the beginning of the process in the country, MoI said.

An advisor to MoI, General Abdul Manan Farahi, told reporters that President Karzai's decree about disbandment of private security firms will be applied to all companies with no exception.

He said bases of some 33 private security companies, operating with legal authorisation, were moved out of Kabul.

Still there are more efforts on the ground to ban all private security firms in the country and to make police forces a suitable choice replacing the companies, he said.

"I could say with full confidence that all illegal companies have been disbanded in Afghanistan and there won't be any illegal company operating in the country," Mr Farahi said.

General Farahi said there are initiatives on hand about security companies that are responsible to provide security to embassies and UN offices. Based on the plan they are not able to operate out of their working zone.

"They are no longer be allowed to operate out of their working zones unless they are escorted by police forces," he said.

Some four days ago, President Hamid Karzai once again underscored the need to dissolve all private security firms.


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Documents expose private security firms

Press TV / December 20, 2010

Recently disclosed documents have spilled the beans on the activities of US security contractors, revealing offenses committed by more than 200 security contract employees in different countries.

The documents obtained by the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act highlighted previously kept secret offences committed by personnel working under a broad State Department security services contract in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries between 2004 and 2008.

The security service contracts were shared by private security firms such as DynCorp of Falls Church, Va., Triple Canopy of Reston, Va., and Blackwater Worldwide -- now called Xe Services of Moyock, NC.

Most of the incidents included excessive drinking, drug use, sexual misconduct, and mishandling of weapons -- all of which are considered violations of corporate and US policies.

In one incident on September 9, 2005, five DynCorp International security guards assigned to protect Afghan President Hamid Karzai returned to their compound drunk at 2 in the morning, accompanied by a prostitute.

Less than a week later, three of the same five guards got drunk in the VIP lounge of the Kabul airport while awaiting a flight to Thailand.

Afghanistan's deputy director for elections and a foreign diplomat were also present in the airport lounge.

Such incidents are widely viewed as damaging the US reputation which is already accused of launching a privatized war in the Middle East.

Kabul has confirmed the presence of 52 foreign private security companies, including the notorious American security firm Xe Services.

Karzai has ordered all security companies to be disbanded by the end of this year.

Most of the security contractors are believed to have close ties with Afghan warlords and are also accused of contributing to the rising number of civilian casualties in the country.

Exclusiva AP: Fundador de Blackwater entrena a somalíes

KATHARINE HOURELD
Erik Prince, cuya antigua compañía Blackwater Worldwide se convirtió en sinónimo del uso de fuerzas de seguridad privada estadounidenses en Irak y Afganistán, ha asumido una nueva función, la de ayudar al entrenamiento de efectivos en la anárquica Somalia.
Prince está involucrado en un programa por millones de dólares, financiado por varios países árabes, incluido Emiratos Arabes Unidos, para movilizar a unos 2.000 reclutas somalíes a fin de enfrentar a los piratas que operan frente a las costas africanas, de acuerdo con una fuente cercana al proyecto y con un reporte de inteligencia consultado por The Associated Press.

El nombre de Prince ha surgido en el conflicto en Somalia, en medio del debate sobre cómo deben utilizarse las fuerzas de seguridad privada en algunos de los lugares más peligrosos del mundo. Blackwater, rebautizada como Xe Services, se convirtió en un símbolo de los contratistas de Washington que no eran supervisados debidamente, tras una serie de hechos, incluido uno ocurrido en el 2007, cuando sus guardias fueron acusados de matar a 14 civiles en la capital iraquí.

Un juez federal desechó después los cargos, bajo el argumento de que se violaron los derechos constitucionales de los acusados. El año pasado, el Ministerio del Interior de Irak dio a todos los contratistas que habían trabajado con Blackwater en la época del ataque un plazo de una semana para salir del país. De lo contrario, advirtió, serían arrestados por infringir los términos de su visa.

Aunque los piratas somalíes se han lanzado al abordaje de barcos que navegan con distintas banderas, la mayoría de los gobiernos se muestra reticente a enviar fuerzas por tierra para atacar los refugios de los filibusteros en una nación que ha quedado prácticamente sumida en la anarquía durante dos décadas, y cuyo débil gobierno, apoyado por Naciones Unidas, limita su control a unos cuantos barrios de la capital.

Las fuerzas entrenadas en la actualidad buscarían llenar ese vacío de autoridad. Enfrentarán también a un caudillo vinculado con los insurgentes islamistas, dijo un funcionario.

En respuesta a las solicitudes de una entrevista con Prince, su portavoz envió por correo electrónico un comunicado escueto, en el que aseguró que el fundador de Blackwater está interesado en "ayudar a que Somalia venza al flagelo de la piratería" y ha brindado asesoría en esos esfuerzos.

El vocero Mark Corallo dijo que Prince no tiene "participación financiera" en el proyecto, y se negó a responder preguntas sobre en qué consistía la colaboración de su jefe.

Loopster, Lun Dic 27, 2010 3:04 pm escribió:Algún día saldrán informaciones sobre el uso que recibieron ciertos helicópteros y aviones de BW/PA/AWS/Greystone... y el nuevo proyecto de Prince basado en Abu Dhabi

Blackjack, Mar Ene 11, 2011 4:54 pm escribió:¿Te refieres al Super-Mega-hangar "que tiene de tó" ?

Loopster escribió:No, no es un tema de Xe, es un tema de Prince

Autocitándome:

Loopster, Lun Dic 27, 2010 3:04 pm escribió:
Algún día saldrán informaciones sobre el uso que recibieron ciertos helicópteros y aviones de BW/PA/AWS/Greystone... y el nuevo proyecto de Prince basado en Abu Dhabi


Citando a Blackjack:

Blackjack, Mar Ene 11, 2011 4:54 pm escribió:
¿Te refieres al Super-Mega-hangar "que tiene de tó" ?

Afghan officials cite security firms with U.S. ties for violations
By Joshua Partlow and Rajiv Chandrasekaran Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, January 22, 2011; 6:36 PM

KABUL - The Afghan government has accused several prominent private security companies, including some that work with the U.S. government, of committing "major offenses," a move that U.S. officials fear could hasten their departure from the country.

A list compiled by Afghan officials cites 16 companies, including several American and British firms, for unspecified serious violations and seven others for having links to high-ranking Afghan officials, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post.

A decision to ban the major violators and those that have relationships with senior Afghan officials would affect firms that provide about 800 guards for the U.S. Agency for International Development projects and about 3,000 who work on military construction projects for the coalition, said a senior U.S. official.

"We're wringing our hands over this," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. "We're waiting to hear which companies will get disbandment notices and when they will have to disband."

Among those listed as major offenders are Triple Canopy, based in Reston; Washington-based Blue Hackle; and the British firm G4S, the parent company of ArmorGroup North America, which provides security for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Also listed were the British companies Global Strategies Group, which guards the Kabul airport, as well as Control Risks and Aegis.

The list included nine firms deemed "medium" offenders, 11 with "minor" offenses and nine, including Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, with no offenses detected.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has yet to approve the list or indicate whether these companies face expulsion. A senior Afghan official said "no decision has been made," and suggested that many of the firms were on the list for tax evasion. A NATO official said one of the companies, the British firm G4S, owes the Afghan government $8 million in taxes. The company declined to comment.

The development has escalated the battle over the fate of private security companies in Afghanistan. For the past six months, Karzai has sought to push out the firms and replace them with government guards. U.S. officials and other foreign diplomats, who generally support Karzai's intentions, have tried to negotiate concessions to keep private guards at their embassies and military bases, as well as guard foreign-funded development projects, including roads and power plants.

U.S. officials believed that they had reached a compromise in December that would protect key operations and give the companies more time before they would have to depart, but the list has raised new concerns that the timeline has accelerated.

"We thought it was pretty much on ice. All of a sudden, it isn't anymore," the senior U.S. official said.

USAID has put several new programs on hold while it waits for a resolution to the issue. An initiative worth hundreds of millions of dollars to support the miliary's counterinsurgency operations, called Stability in Key Areas, was pulled back from the bidding process, in part because of uncertainty over private security companies.

"It is not a stretch to suggest that unless the U.S. government and the Afghan government can reach a reasonable accommodation on this issue, much if not all of the U.S. investment in Afghan development could be placed at risk," said Stan Soloway, president of Professional Services Council, which represents dozens of contractors in Afghanistan.

The list does not explain the violations or say how the Afghan committee arrived at their conclusions. NATO officials have complained about lack of transparency in the process and questioned whether other Afghan priorities, such as collecting more taxes from foreigners, are playing into which firms were targeted.

An executive with a development firm that works for USAID in Afghanistan said officials have expressed concern to its implementing partners that there are "some real problems with the way the list was assembled."

"The lack of transparency makes it very difficult to operate effectively: The rules change every day depending on which department you are talking to," said a second executive with one of the security firms, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "We've heard of companies being pulled up on everything from taxes to vehicle registrations to visas."

Several of the companies could not be reached or declined to comment.

Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry told Karzai that new NATO development projects could require an additional 25,000 guards, according to Afghan officials. This would be on top of the 27,500 private guards currently in the country, a total that alarmed the Afghan government.

Later, Karzai approved a plan that would require all new foreign development projects to employ government security guards rather than private security guards and instructed the Interior Ministry to work out the details, Afghan officials said.

This has troubled U.S. officials, who noted that there is no way the new government force, known as the Afghan Public Protection Force, can be ready in time.

To staff the new public protection force, the first priority will go to those who have registered with the Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration program, which started in 2003 to disband the many militias in Afghanistan, said Syed Abdul Ghafar Sayidzada, a senior Afghan police official. Afghan officials believe they could use these men and their weapons, as well as incorporate employees from defunct private security firms.

Afghan officials say they understand the need to protect development projects. But they believe it is crucial to build up the government force or they will never wean themselves off mercenaries.

"We must strengthen first the Afghan institutions. If not, private security companies will simply be poison for the state," the official said.

El Ministerio del Interior y de Justicia se permite informar a la opinión pública que: 1. El Gobierno colombiano, a través de su Embajador en Tel Aviv, radicó hoy de manera oficial ante la Cancillería de Israel, la solicitud de extradición del ciudadano israelí YAIR GAL KLEIN. Así mismo, el Ministro del Interior y de Justicia, Germán Vargas Lleras, se reunió con el señor Embajador de Israel en Colombia, Avraham Haddad, con el fin de exponerle los detalles de la solicitud.

2. El señor KLEIN es requerido en nuestro país por el Juez Primero de Ejecución de Penas y Medidas de Seguridad de Manizales “para que cumpla la pena de diez (10) años y ocho (8) meses de prisión que le fue impuesta como autor responsable de los delitos de instrucción y entrenamiento en tácticas, técnicas o procedimientos militares o terroristas agravado, por haberse cometido con mercenarios, y concierto para delinquir”, condena ésta que le fue impuesta en segunda instancia por la Sala Penal del Tribunal Superior de la misma ciudad.
3. El Gobierno Nacional confía en que las autoridades israelíes atenderán favorablemente esta solicitud de extradición para que el señor KLEIN cumpla en Colombia la condena que le fue impuesta.