African Union peacekeepers are taking up positions in Mogadishu, which has exploded into chaos after a few months of calm. The only problem with this is that they are being protected by security contractors who have been hired by the United States, the main prize winner being DynCorp International. This would be one of Bush's favorite companies to use in this kind of activity even though Dyncorp has been involved in massive government waste and a few not quite right overseas activities.
For instance:
WaPo
In its review of work under DynCorp's $1.8 billion State Department contract, the special inspector general found that the department's lax oversight led it to pay $43.8 million for a residential camp for DynCorp trainers that has never been used.
Some of the work on the camp, including the pool and VIP trailers, was requested by the Iraqi Interior Ministry but was never authorized by U.S. officials.
That is only the beginning of this company raping the American taxpayer and engaging in criminal acts at the same time. Another member of the exclusive Bush Crime Family.
Daily Kos
by Mash Sun Mar 11, 2007
DynCorp has also spread good cheer in Afghanistan in a blow to Karen Hughes' ill-fated public diplomacy mission. DynCorp's heavy-handed mercenaries that protect Afghan president Hamid Karzai have managed to upset not only the Afghans but also America's NATO allies. DynCorp's behavior in Afghanistan earned a rebuke from the State Department:
The US State Department has rebuked a private security firm over the "aggressive behaviour" of guards hired to protect Afghan leader Hamid Karzai.
US State Department's Richard Boucher said the issue was raised with DynCorp, the company that supplied the guards.
There have been several reported cases of apparently over-zealous and insensitive conduct on the part of Mr Karzai's private security contractors.
A BBC correspondent recently saw one of the guards slap an Afghan minister.
Crispin Thorold reported seeing the Afghan transport minister receive a slap from one of Mr Karzai's security guards on a visit to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
To complete the waste and public diplomacy picture, DynCorp adds child prostitution:
DynCorp is the same company whose employees hired child prostitutes while working in Bosnia a few years ago, until some people started complaining. Rather than face local justice or courts-martial, the perpetrators were simply sent home.
One of the whistleblowers, a DynCorp employee named Ben Johnston, lost his job for speaking out. He later told Congress, ''DynCorp is the worst diplomat our country could ever want overseas.''
Texas-based DynCorp's parent, CSC, declined to comment on any of these incidents, saying that it is ''constrained'' from doing so by its contracts with the State Department.
With a resume as illustrious as this, DynCorp appears poised to carry on the tradition of lawlessness into the already lawless Horn of Africa.
As the United States turns more and more to private contractors to support post-conflict operations, it must also extend the realm of accountability to include these contractors. As the story of DynCorp demonstrates, that much needed accountability is lacking. What exists today is government (tax payer) financed lawlessness that only serves to undermine any goodwill America hopes to engender in conflict regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. The fact that firms like DynCorp are constantly rewarded with new contracts, in the face of their bad behavior, fits a pattern of behavior for the Bush Administration - where bad behavior is rewarded and calls for accountability are often punished harshly. It is up to the long comatose Congress to protect the funds we, the tax payers, have entrusted with the government - they must ensure accountability by punishing bad behavior. It is also up to the Congress to ensure that if the United States is going to outsource war fighting and post-conflict operations to mercenaries, these mercenaries must follow the same code of conduct that we expect of our soldiers.
However, a quick look at DynCorp's donor list suggests that the bad behavior will continue, with government sanction. The hearts and minds will have to be won after the money runs out and the feeding trough is empty. Entire Article
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