Canadian taxpayers being gouged for Stephen Harper's illegal and unwinnable war
Robert Peffers
Documents show military approved at least $7.78-million for firms to
guard military bases
Gloria Galloway
Ottawa — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 8:44PM EST
Last updated on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 2:47AM EST
Canadian military officers in Afghanistan approve millions of dollars
each year for private firms that guard military bases and development
projects in the increasingly dangerous Kandahar province.
Defence Department documents obtained under federal Access to
Information legislation show that at least $7.78-million was
authorized for private security between April, 2008, and June, 2009,
by the four senior military officers in Afghanistan who can approve
contracts of up to $1-million.
Most countries that are part of the NATO-led coalition against the
Taliban employ private firms and militias for routine but dangerous
security jobs. In Kandahar, the Canadians have hired private guards to
defend key installations such as the headquarters of the Provincial
Reconstruction Team in Kandahar City, and other development efforts.
But they are not without controversy.
A recent report by the Center on International Co-operation in New
York, which specifically cites the Canadian military's use of private
security, said the absence of effective oversight of the hired guards
undermines the credibility and effectiveness of both the Afghan
government and the international troops.
In June, 41 Afghan members of a private militia employed by the United
States killed the Kandahar police chief and five officers during a gun
battle inside a government compound.
And in Iraq in 2007, private security guards employed by the U.S.
security firm Blackwater Worldwide shot and killed at least 14
civilians in a crowded Baghdad square.
The company, now called Xe, is operating in Afghanistan, but it is
unknown if it is employed by the Canadian military. The Defence
Department will not divulge the names of the firms under contract for
reasons of operational security.
The report by the Centre on International Co-operation said the
Canadian Forces have hired defence services from Gul Agha Sherzai, the
governor of Nangarhar province, who was once governor of Kandahar, as
well as the militia of Colonel Haji Toorjan, a Sherzai ally.
Jeremy Sales, a Defence Department spokesman, said Tuesday that none
of the firms employed by the Canadian military in Kandahar are used in
an offensive capacity.
“They are integral to the security of Canadian personnel and enable
the Canadian forces to focus their efforts on those duties where they
provide the greatest value to the mission,” Mr. Sales said. “All
private security contractors employed by Canada are certified and
registered by the Afghan government and are subject to the Afghan
law.”
Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberal defence critic, said Canada must
occasionally hire private guards because the number of Canadian
soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan is limited.
“But I am worried that when you have security being outsourced by the
military, it can lead to the Blackwater problems. There is a concern
of accountability,” Mr. Dosanjh said.
“Canadians want to know that whatever is being done in their name,
particularly in Afghanistan, is being done appropriately. Canadians
can have – and do have – trust in their armed forces. But I don't
believe many Canadians would have trust in private security firms.”
Defence Minister Peter MacKay, in 2007, gave authority to four
officers in Afghanistan to approve contracts of up to $1-million,
including private security.
“There is no question that sometimes matters are urgent when you are
in the battlefield and you need to get things done quickly and you
can't go through the rigmarole of the regular oversight,” Mr. Dosanjh
said. But “the Department of National Defence must assure Canadians
that there is some oversight with respect to these contracts.”
The documents on the military spending, obtained by Ottawa researcher
Ken Rubin, show only those contracts worth more than $500,000. Many
more payments of less than a half million dollars could have been made
that were not included in the itemization.
Defence officials said it will be several days before they can respond
to questions about the kinds of controls that are exerted over
spending approved by officers in Afghanistan.
But giving senior military leaders signing authority for the goods and
services they need in theatre is a long-standing practice, Mr. Sales
said. U.S. officers in Afghanistan have similar spending capabilities.
As for the $1-million limit, he said, “I think there was a recognition
in theatre that they needed higher authorities to do what they needed
to do because this is a big operation.”
John Fleming
desk in the scriptorium Robert Peffers
<auldbobp...@gmail.com> wrote:
[snip]
You really are a stupid fuck Peffers.
BTW, I've corrected your subject line to show the Prime
Minister who got us into Afghanistan in the first place. I
know this has been pointed out to you before, but with low
level of comprehension, we have to keep pointing it out to
you.
--
John Fleming
Edmonton, Canada
Old MacDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O
And on that farm he had a genome E-I-E-I-O
With a SNP SNP here and a SNP SNP there,
Here a SNP, there a SNP, everywhere a SNP SNP
Old MacDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O