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posted by martyb on Saturday October 06 2018, @11:09PM   Printer-friendly
from the further-privatizing dept.

Afghan officials reject push to privatize war

Afghan officials have rejected a proposal by Blackwater founder Erik Prince to have his private military contracting company take over the training and advising of the Afghan armed forces.

Prince lobbied several Afghan politicians on a recent trip to the country and has been discussing his proposal to privatize parts of the U.S. military mission in the country for over a year, according to Reuters.

But Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has repeatedly dismissed the idea. "Under no circumstances will the Afghan government and people allow the counterterrorism fight to become a private, for-profit business," Ghani's national security adviser said in a statement to Reuters Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis has also rejected the proposal, saying in August, "When Americans put their nation's credibility on the line, privatizing it is probably not a wise idea."

See also: The Last Americans Fighting in Afghanistan
17 years later, Americans tend to consider Afghanistan a failure


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 07 2018, @03:41AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 07 2018, @03:41AM (#745353)

    Oh, but the US government is gonna pay for them? Yeah, you thought Kavanagh was a shit storm. Just wait until the bill for a bunch of mercenaries shows up on the evening news.

    We had mercenaries operate there before. If it costs less to occupy the country with mercenaries, the US may consider doing so. And since the US is what is keeping the Afghan officials from hanging from street lights castrated, they will have to accept whatever the US decides to do.

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday October 07 2018, @04:08AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday October 07 2018, @04:08AM (#745360) Journal

    If it costs less to occupy the country with mercenaries, the US may consider doing so.

    "If".

    And since the US is what is keeping the Afghan officials from hanging from street lights castrated, they will have to accept whatever the US decides to do.

    At least, until the situation falls apart and those officials are no longer in control. Then the people with the power to do that accepting may not be so inclined.