http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/10/07/security.contractors.afghanistan/A Senate report released Thursday rips into the Pentagon for failing to keep track of tens of thousands of private security contractors in Afghanistan, a failure that places both the mission and U.S. troops at grave risk.
"The report describes a number of private security contractors funneling U.S. taxpayer dollars to Afghan warlords and strongmen who are linked to murder, kidnapping, bribery, pro-Talilban and anti-coalition activities," Armed Services Committee Carl Levin said at a briefing.
"We must shut off the spigot of U.S. dollars flowing into the pockets of power brokers and warlords who act contrary to our interests and who contribute to the corruption that weakens the support of the Afghan people for their government and for our effort," said Levin, D-Michigan.
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Levin said some contractors are necessary to provide security, for instance guarding the perimeter of U.S. installations. But too many of them are poorly vetted prior to hiring, and aren't trained or provided with weapons and other equipment.