12/4/09
By Noel Brinkerhoff
While the media focuses on the number “30,000” (as in the number of new troops being sent to Afghanistan), an even larger number has widely been ignored: 100,000. This figure represents approximately the number of contractors working in the country at the behest of the U.S. government—a figure that is mostly a guess because no one in the Obama administration can or is willing to offer the exact total.Based on statistics released by the Defense Department, the number of contractors in Afghanistan jumped by 40% between the end of June and the end of September. The Wall Street Journal reported the total to be 104,101, with the vast majority (78,430) being locals hired by companies contracting with the Pentagon. No one is sure how many contractors handle security, as Blackwater did in Iraq. Guesstimates range from 7% to 16%. These contractors are armed and providing protection that frees up soldiers for other operations. However, Army officials have complained that some of these security contractors actually hamper operations because they are “trigger-happy.” Private guards have killed or wounded more than 30 innocent civilians in one district—Maywand—of western Kandahar Province alone. The rest of the contractors handle duties like serving food, driving trucks, construction work and transporting fuel.
