Booze, drugs and hookers: Hundreds of offenses by Afghan contractors uncovered

[unhappycamper]

Booze, drugs and hookers: Hundreds of offenses by Afghan contractors uncovered
By The Associated Press
Sunday, December 19th, 2010 -- 11:05 am

At two in the morning on Sept. 9, 2005, five DynCorp International security guards assigned to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's protective detail returned to their compound drunk, with a prostitute in tow. Less than a week later, three of these same guards got drunk again, this time in the VIP lounge of the Kabul airport while awaiting a flight to Thailand.

"They had been intoxicated, loud and obnoxious," according to an internal company report of the incident, which noted that Afghanistan's deputy director for elections and a foreign diplomat were also in the lounge. "Complaints were made regarding the situation." DynCorp fired the three guards.

Such episodes represent the headaches that U.S. contractors can cause in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. They are indispensable to the State Department's mission overseas, handling security, transportation, construction, food service and more. But when hired hands behave badly — or break the law — they cast a cloud over the American presence.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act describe previously undisclosed offenses committed by more than 200 contract employees in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries between 2004 and 2008. They were working under a broad State Department security services contract shared by DynCorp of Falls Church, Va., Triple Canopy of Reston, Va., and the company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide — Xe Services of Moyock, N.C.

Most of the infractions, which include excessive drinking, drug use, sexual misconduct, and mishandling weapons, were violations of corporate and U.S. policies that probably went unnoticed by ordinary Afghans and Iraqis. But other offenses played out in public, undermining U.S. efforts in both countries and raising questions about how carefully job candidates are screened.

[SpiralHawk]

1. There's your steenkin Republicon Family Values for you.

An overflowing cesspool of hypocrisy & skankitude.

As ever it was.

[Lint Head]

2. So does this mean us common American citizens can start raping and killing

and robbing and the government will leave us alone? Or is this just for the contractors? I know I want my taxes lowered
but maybe this Republican thing will just free us all up to start torturing and killing. Won't that be a fun time for everyone.
Except for the victims of course.

[Quantess]

3. Time for a kick.

[WinkyDink]

4. is this a surprise?! These are what excessive amounts of money have ALWAYS bought.

[dflprincess]

5. Our tax dollars at work

and we must continue to spend them this way until at least 2014.