By summer, after a possible runoff election chooses Karzai’s successor, most of the mid-level and senior U.S. civilians with deep Afghanistan experience who would have the knowledge to help foster strong relations with the new government will be long gone. And, officials familiar with the matter said, they will be replaced by diplomats expected to have far less experience.

The drain of institutional knowledge from Kabul this summer stems largely from the State Department’s staffing policy when it comes to Afghanistan. Unlike other posts for which two- and three-year tours are typical, State usually keeps diplomats in Afghanistan for just one year before pulling them out.

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of contractors working for America's biggest defense companies are taking on a broader role in helping Iraq's military learn to use new weapons in a growing battle against Islamist insurgents. Over the next few months, the U.S. government is expected to begin sending more than $6 billion in military equipment to Iraq. The latest deal includes 24 Apache attack helicopters made by Boeing Co. and nearly 500 Hellfire missiles produced by Lockheed Martin Corp.

The rapidly developing Al-Qaeda incursion is forcing the Iraqi government not only to buy more American weapons and supplies, but also to payroll an army of mercenaries and private contractors, previously hired by the US Defense Department. According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 5,000 specialists have been contracted by the Iraqi government. They are currently working in the country as analysts, military trainers, security guards, translators and even cooks. Some 2,000 of them are Americans.

“When the military had to leave, it made us even more dependent on contractors for security,” Shays said, adding that “The one thing that's a given: We can't go to war without contractors and we can't go to peace without contractors.”

The U.S. private security contractor Academi has trained Brazilian police forces for the World Cup, according to an article published by journalist Patricia Campos Melo, of newspaper Folha de S Paulo. A group of 22 federal policemen as well as military policemen from different states were sent to the Academi training center in Moyock, in North Carolina, where they were taught anti-terrorism techniques in the largest private training center in the United States, that includes scenario facilities, four ship-boarding simulators, two airfields and three drop-zones. According to Lieutenant Ricardo Nogueira, of the Sao Paulo Police, the course -- named "Maritime Interdiction of terrorism" -- focused on the US experience in fighting terrorism.

Raven 23 was a team of Blackwater employees who provided security in Iraq for U.S. government personnel. On September 16, 2007, a car bomb went off, and Raven 23 was called on to secure an evacuation of a diplomat. As a federal court described it later, “a shooting incident erupted, during which [some of the members of Raven 23] allegedly shot and killed fourteen [Iraqi civilians] and wounded twenty others.”

After September 16, the firefight moved to federal district court in the District of Columbia when the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia brought charges against some of the members of Raven 23.

And, as legal battles go, what a firefight it is.

The US-led NATO coalition’s inability thus far to negotiate a bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the Afghan government, necessary for the US and NATO to maintain military forces in Afghanistan beyond 2014, has led many analysts to speculate that Afghanistan’s national security will markedly deteriorate if the country is left to its own devices.

While the successful negotiation of a BSA would formally authorize the United States to maintain between 7000 and 9000 military troops in Afghanistan, if no such authorization materializes, a foreign security force is likely to remain in Afghanistan regardless. In this case, the foreign force is less likely to consist of NATO troops but rather a multitude of private military companies (PMCs), that will continue to operate primarily under the auspices of Western agencies to support diplomatic missions, civil reconstruction efforts and other security operations, says Alessandro Gagliardi.

Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified before Congress on the status of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) development assistance and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. According to the GAO, USAID has invested more than $15 billion in Afghanistan since 2002, but continues to face major oversight challenges. As an example, the GAO cited a recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction finding that billions of dollars in USAID direct assistance is at high risk of misuse and corruption.

“USAID continued to inconsistently apply performance management procedures, falls short in maintaining institutional knowledge, and needs to improve oversight of contractors,” the GAO testified. That last finding is of particular concern, as you’ll soon see.

After posting a contract for a flattering photographer on Monday, the agency pulled its request.

The U.S. Agency for International Development—which has faced accusations of mismanagement and waste with its funding in Afghanistan—recently canceled a contract for "attractive visual images" about its work in the war-torn country. The request—which the agency posted Monday—has since been taken off USAID's website. But the agency called for "timely, attractive visual images," noting that in Afghanistan "negative images flood both social and conventional media with little counter," according to a cached Web page of the request.

CONTRACTOR SUPPORT OF U.S. OPERATIONS IN THE USCENTCOM AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY TO INCLUDE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

BACKGROUND: This report updates DoD contractor personnel numbers in theater and outlines DoD efforts to improve management of contractors accompanying U.S. forces. It covers DoD contractor personnel deployed in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)); Iraq; and, the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).

KEY POINTS: In 1st quarter FY 2014, USCENTCOM reported approximately 99,057 contractor personnel working for the DoD in the USCENTCOM AOR. This total reflects a significant decrease from the previous quarter. The numbers of contractors in other USCENTCOM locations make up about 17.9% of the total contractor population in the USCENTCOM AOR. A breakdown of DoD contractor personnel is provided below

For the past 11 years, logisticians have had their hands full in Afghanistan. For one, the country is landlocked and far from a seaport. The terrain, especially in the strategically important east, is covered with mountains; and the country’s road network is much less advanced than the one in Iraq. Over the years, the Air Force and Army airdropped supplies on remote bases, from large parts for military vehicles parachuted out of airplanes to “Speedballs,” body bags filled with water and ammunition, that could be tossed out of a helicopter to resupply troops under fire.

For most of the past decade, the logistical focus has been on getting equipment out to troops fighting in remote areas. “Doctrine states when you’re starting an operation, it’s always a push,” says Major Rosendo Pagan, executive officer of the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. But with less than 23 months before the vast majority of U.S. Troops are out of Afghanistan, logisticians have focused much of their efforts on what Pagan calls “the pull phase”: bringing equipment back from far-flung outposts.

The recent energy boom in Africa has been one of the main contributors to a huge increase in military spending in the region. International Defense companies have, consequently, begun targeting Africa markets, as the US and European defense markets suffer from drastic spending companies.

According to UPI, the current hot spots are the Horn of Africa, the oil-rich Mediterranean belt and the Sahel region in the North. Former Zimbabwean Army Officer, Col. Joseph Sibanda, singled out Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya as the key areas to focus on. The recent spate of terrorist attacks in countries such as Kenya and Nigeria illustrate the need for a discussion of the latest strategies and technologies to combat security issues and terrorism, and have encouraged countries such as Ghana to adopt a more vigorous stance against security issues.

While the government use of security contractors in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan has been the source of simmering controversy for several years, the issue has now come to a rapid boil. Over the past year, numerous allegations have surfaced regarding excessive use of force by security contractor personnel.

These allegations have led to new efforts to permit the exercise of criminal jurisdiction and to new proposals to increase and unify oversight over such personnel. As often seems to be the case, reactionary changes during times of high profile allegations and media attention appear to lack thorough analysis and planning, and none will completely solve the issues caused by contracting for security services.

CONTRACTOR SUPPORT OF U.S. OPERATIONS IN THE USCENTCOM AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY TO INCLUDE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

BACKGROUND:  This report updates DoD contractor personnel numbers in theater and outlines DoD efforts to improve management of contractors accompanying U.S. forces.  It covers DoD contractor personnel deployed in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); Iraq; and, the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).  

KEY POINTS: In 3rd quarter FY 2013, USCENTCOM reported approximately 129,100 contractor personnel working for the DoD in the USCENTCOM AOR.  This total reflects a slight decrease from the previous quarter.  The number of contractors outside of Afghanistan and Iraq make up about 15% of the total contractor population in the USCENTCOM AOR.  A breakdown of DoD contractor personnel is provided below: