Taliban targets U.S. contractors working on projects in Afghanistan

[cory777]

Source: Washington Post

By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, April 17, 2010

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- The Taliban has begun regularly targeting U.S. government contractors in southern Afghanistan, stepping up use of a tactic that is rattling participating firms and could undermine development projects intended to stem the insurgency, according to U.S. officials.

Within the past month, there have been at least five attacks in Helmand and Kandahar provinces against employees of U.S. Agency for International Development contractors who are running agricultural projects, building roads, maintaining power plants and working with local officials.

The USAID "implementing partners," as they are known, employ mainly Afghans, who are overseen by foreigners. The companies' role is becoming increasingly important as more aid money floods into southern Afghanistan as part of a dual effort to generate goodwill and bolster the Kabul government.

A suicide car bomb that exploded Thursday evening outside a compound used by Western contractors in Kandahar City was the latest and deadliest attack. The 9:30 p.m. blast killed at least four Afghan security guards and wounded 16 other people, including at least two Americans, along with South African and Nepalese employees. The compound houses USAID contractors, including Chemonics International, the Louis Berger Group and the Central Asia Development Group, according to U.S. officials.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/16/AR2010041604521.html?wprss=rss_world/asia

[bemildred]

1. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt

[provis99]

2. we kill their civilians, they kill our civilians...

business as usual in this dirty little colonial war.

[pundaint]

3. Sounds like all our "Defense" spending can't buy better generals.

[howard112211]

5. The whole thing was a clusterfuck from day one. At this point,

no general worth fifty cents will go anywhere near it. Its like asking for a better surgeon after the decision to perform open heart surgery
in a sewer using equipment from ace hardware has already been made at the very top.

[dipsydoodle]

4. I guess they class them as

insurgents and hence free game.

[conspirator]

6. Guerrilla nt

[Mari333]

7. thats your tax money fixing roads, building the infrastructure of

another country...all to secure corporate profits


in the meantime, the USA turns into a 3rd world country