State Department maintains a Mercenary Air Force Over Pakistan (Dyncorp)

[Robbien]

The airspace along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border is pretty crowded these days: Along with U.S., Afghan and Pakistani military missions, the CIA is running its own covert drone ops. Less well known, but perhaps equally controversial, is the State Department’s counter-narcotics air force, staffed by mercenaries.

A recently released State Department Inspector General report, however, gave an unusually detailed look at the size and scope of these operations. The report fills in more details about America’s growing and undeclared war in Pakistan.

The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (known by the abbreviation INL) operates an air wing of around 14 aircraft in Afghanistan and another 17 in Pakistan. The aircraft help monitor the border, fly crop-eradication and interdiction missions, and move equipment and personnel around the region.

These kinds of missions aren’t new: The State Department has similar Air Wing programs in Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru. Perhaps more importantly, the State Department has outsourced much of this mission. The INL’s air wing in Afghanistan and Pakistan is operated by private military company DynCorp, and the presence of U.S. contractors in Pakistan has proven extremely controversial (the released IG report, not surprisingly, was originally marked “sensitive but unclassified”).

For instance, when it was disclosed earlier this month that the U.S. government was seeking land for an aircraft maintenance base DynCorp, the Pakistani press had a field day. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik had repeatedly denied the presence of U.S. private security contractors on Pakistani soil, but here was the U.S. government, asking for a maintenance base for its contracted air wing.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/state-department-flies-mercenary-air-force-over-pakistan/

[jody]

1. And as Air America did in Vietnam, the CIA covert airline is probably smuggling drugs. n/t

[lib2DaBone]

2. And how much is this covert DynCorp Air Wing CIA Costing us?

... yet kids are going hungry in schools in the United States....

Mr. Obama.. quit wasting your time with the Presstitue Corp at their fancy dinner, and do SOMETHING for the people.... like stopping attacks by DynCorp and Blackwater!

[IndianaGreen]

3. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

Another "Change You Can Believe In" failure!

[Dr.Phool]

4. You just don't understand.

It only works if you believe in it with all of your heart. That's why it's change we can make believe in.

Bush Secret Armies = Bad
Obama Secret Armies = Puppies


Would something this cute stick a Hellfire Missile up your ass?


Jeremy Scahil had an excellent article in the Nation a few months back about Blackwater covert intelligence and assassination operatives in Pakistan.

It's just more of the Same Shit, Different Flies.