Karzai Gives Security Contractors a Deadline to Get Out

The Afghan government was private security contractors shut down.

Afghanistan's president is setting a four-month deadline for private security companies to cease operations in the country, a spokesman said Monday.

A presidential decree expected to be issued later Monday will detail the process through which the companies should cease operations, spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters in Kabul.

President Hamid Karzai has said repeatedly in recent months that these companies undermine government security forces, creating a parallel security structure. Contractors perform duties ranging from guarding supply convoys to personal security details for diplomats and businessmen.

I'm betting that at least some of these companies will be re-cast as "private logistics companies" so they can keep operating.

Last month police a crowd of angry Afghans shouted "Death to America" after an SUV driven by U.S. contract employees from DynCorp International was involved in a traffic accident that killed four Afghans.

One wonders what the neighbors shout when a local diver is involved in a car accident... "Death of Afghanistan" anyone?

By: Brant