Shocking Hazing at U.S. Embassy in Kabul

[JohnBrowdie]

I am shocked.  SHOCKED!!  guards (even mall guards, or whatever they are) get drunk and frequent prostitutes?  NO!! 

alert eric holder.

Shocking Hazing at U.S. Embassy in Kabul
CBS News: Embassy Security Guards Allege Work Conditions that Put American Lives at Risk
(CBS)  On August 4, rockets land near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. On August 15, a suicide bomber hits close by killing or wounding 98. The attacks punctuate the dangers faced by hundreds of American diplomats and staff who work there. Yet some of the Embassy's own security guards are alleging shocking work conditions that put American lives at risk.

In numerous e-mails, the guards describe a crisis in discipline and morale, understaffing, sleep deprivation, "threats and intimidation." One guard refers to a group of guards and supervisors from the security contractor ArmorGroup as "sexual predators, deviants running rampant."

Guards provided dozens of graphic photos and videos depicting shocking scenes of hazing and humiliation by superiors, most of them too lewd to show. The guards recount a climate of fear and coercion where those who refuse to participate are retaliated against, even fired.

The State Department contracts with a private security firm - ArmorGroup North America, owned by Wackenhut. ArmorGroup employs 450 guards at the Kabul Embassy - two-thirds from Nepal and India, the rest from the U.S. and other English-speaking nations. Fifteen guards have brought their concerns about embassy security to the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, reports CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

"These people have to rely on and trust each other for their lives, and you have a total breakdown in that trust, a complete breakdown in the command structure," said Danielle Brian, with the Project on Government Oversight.

Records show the State Department has warned the ArmorGroup about security problems for at least two years, yet renewed its contract as recently as July.

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[Mike220]

What happened to having Marine Guards. It works everywhere else.

[JohnBrowdie]

What happened to having Marine Guards. It works everywhere else.

good question.  you would think there would be even more reason for proper marine guards at the embassy in a war zone.


I wonder how the holier-than-thou-never-sinned-before-torture-condemning-bush-hating dems are gonna deal with this . . .

Records show the State Department has warned the ArmorGroup about security problems for at least two years, yet renewed its contract as recently as July.

[JohnBrowdie]

uh, hold on.  this is a lot more than drinking and hazing . . . 

Kabul U.S. Embassy Guard: Sexual Deviancy Required for Promotion
Whistleblower Says Bosses Required Sex Acts for Guards Seeking Best shift, Promotion

Private security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul were pressured to participate in naked pool parties and perform sex acts to gain promotions or assignment to preferable shifts, according to one of 12 guards who have gone public with their complaints.

In an interview with ABC News for broadcast tonight on the "World News with Charles Gibson," the guard, a U.S. military veteran, said top supervisors of the ArmorGroup were not only aware of the "deviant sexual acts" but helped to organize them.

"It was mostly the young guys fresh from the military who were told they had to participate," said the guard, who talked on a phone hook-up arranged by the Project on Government Oversight, which first revealed photographs of the parties.

"They were not gay but they knew what it took to get promoted," said the guard, spoke on condition that ABC News not publish his name.

The State Department said it was investigating the allegations and the circumstances surrounding the photographs which show naked and barely clothed men fondling one another. The guard who spoke with ABC News said the drunken parties had been held regularly for at least a year and a half.

The State Department renewed its contract with ArmorGroup to provide security at the Kabul embassy last month even though there have been a series of complaints about its performance.

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[Miss Mia]

uh, hold on.  this is a lot more than drinking and hazing . . . 

That's ****ed up.

[Vonne]

What happened to having Marine Guards. It works everywhere else.

Didn't the state department or military  announce that they preferred mercenaries versus U.S. Marines for guard duty.  My recollection is a bit vague, but there was an interview awhile back where reporters asked why mercenaries were being used for guard duty instead of U.S. Marines... and they carefully worded it... as it's just their preference essentially.

Sorry, I can't even recall whom was being asked about it.  I remember being curious if the preference was because of the more relaxed rules of engagement that mercenaries are allowed to work under.