U.S. Contractor Deaths Soaring in Afghanistan
EmailABC News' Kristina Wong reports: New statistics on U.S. contractor deaths in Afghanistan were released earlier this week. They show that U.S. contractor deaths are soaring, from 189 last June 30th since the war began in 2001, to 521 this June 30th – an increase of 175% in just one year. These numbers include armed private security contractors, as well as those working on development programs, who are American, Afghan and third-country nationals working under a U.S. contract. Statistics can be found here. However, since there could be as many as 120,000 to 125,000 contractors in Afghanistan, 521 deaths comprise only a small percentage of total contractors in Afghanistan, roughly 0.4%. But according to the Department of Labor website, these numbers do not constitute the complete or official casualty statistics of civilian contractor deaths — just the ones insurance claims have been filed for, so the percentage could be higher. Also, they do not count contractors hired directly by the U.S. government (not just under a U.S. contract), and it is unclear whether they include Afghans who participate in cash-for-work programs. To date, there is no reliable way of tracking how many U.S. contractors there are in Afghanistan, according to experts at the Commission for Wartime Contracting, and SIGAR. The Department of Defense is the only agency that regularly tracks and publishes its count each FY quarter. By the end of March 2010, it had 112,092 contractors in Afghanistan. Going by the DOD’s contractor statistics alone, there was an increase from 73,968 last June to 112,092 this March – a 52% increase, accompanying the rise in U.S. and coalition troops in the past year. Thus, while the number of DOD contractors rose about 52% in the last year, the number of contractor deaths during that time rose 175%. Meanwhile, NATO military casualties increased by 57% from last year, and U.S. military casualties rose by 60% from last year, according to http://icasualties.org/ statistics. "In reality it's a contractor surge," Allison Stanger, author of "One Nation Under Contract”, said in a phone interview with ABC News, about the dramatic rise of contractors in Afghanistan. "It's the Pentagon and the State Department trying to do what they were asked to do without the resources." A U.S. official told ABC News last week that the Taliban targeting U.S. contractors " is very clear tactic of the Taliban." The official said in Kandahar city, where Operation Hamkari is taking place, vulnerable contracting companies are being given the option to locate their headquarters on a forward operating base, co-located with the International Security Assistance Force or the U.S. military.
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The Obama Strategy of not allowing the soldiers or contractors, to fire upon the enemy, if there is the slightest chance a civilian is around is killing off soldiers and contractors left and right.. As ABC showed on world news, soldiers under fire could not fire back and the support aircrat could not help these soldiers because the pilot was told civilians might be present
Just another case of OBAMAS (outreach) to the Muslims, that is killing Americans..
Obama VS America
Posted by: Yep I said that | July 16, 2010, 11:12 am 11:12 am
To change that, the politicians must allow the military, to do what is necessary, and stop interfering with military actions.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | July 16, 2010, 11:49 am 11:49 am
Obama’s “outreach to Muslims”, by which I assume you mean his policy to treat them like everyone else, has objectively paid dividends in stopping terrorist attacks. Do you want Americans killed Yep?
To stop these deaths, the politicians must bring the troops home.
Posted by: Flash Override | July 16, 2010, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm
Obama’s “outreach to Muslims”, by which I assume you mean his policy to treat them like everyone else, has objectively paid dividends in stopping terrorist attacks. Do you want Americans killed Yep?
To stop these deaths, the politicians must bring the troops home.
Posted by: Flash Override | Jul 16, 2010 12:38:51 PM
1) His “outreach to Muslims” has not “objectively stopped terrorist attacks”. The attempts are still all around both there and here in the US. Where have you been?
2) No body WANTS Americans killed, so get off your little liberal high horse.
3) To stop those deaths, as you say, “politicians” must bring the troops home. Do you mean Obama? He’s the one who promised to get them back here. He IS the commander-in-chief.
Posted by: Shoe | July 16, 2010, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
To change that, the politicians must allow the military, to do what is necessary, and stop interfering with military actions.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel
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Well said…
Obama VS America
Posted by: Yep I said that | July 16, 2010, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm
Obama’s “outreach to Muslims”, by which I assume you mean his policy to treat them like everyone else, has objectively paid dividends in stopping terrorist attacks. Do you want Americans killed Yep?
To stop these deaths, the politicians must bring the troops home.
Posted by: Flash Override
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another radical left wing extremeist trying to justify failed policy…
How many have died IN the US by Islamist terrorist, since Obama took office???????????? how many attempted terrorist attacks have occured since Obama took office???????.. and even though they “failed” they met their objective of “terror”
Obama VS America
Posted by: Yep I said that | July 16, 2010, 1:30 pm 1:30 pm
What’s the big deal of Obama’s outreach to the Muslims? During his presidency, George W. Bush commented publicly in the US and on Arabic television that Islam was a “great religion of peace.” Oh well, is there any reasoning to be found with a tempest in a tea pot?
Posted by: jane | July 16, 2010, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm
I wish Obama would quit fighting this war like George Bush did!
GOP, conservatives, homophobes, bigots, racists, wack nut religions VS America
Posted by: jackson | July 16, 2010, 2:05 pm 2:05 pm
I guess you couldn’t fill these jobs unless there was high unemployment on the homefront.
Posted by: Dontget818 | July 16, 2010, 2:59 pm 2:59 pm
The constant references to Muslims may be a tepid accusatory tactic.. suggesting that the POTUS himself might be one.
Posted by: Dontget818 | July 16, 2010, 3:08 pm 3:08 pm
Good police work and the Muslim community cooperating with the authorities have prevented far more attacks than military action, which has just made things worse. Empirical evidence abounds.
Posted by: Flash Override | July 16, 2010, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm
..the idea was to warn the enemy to leave, before the U.S. troops arrived in their area.. it’s a game of cat and mouse that is always going to favor those who have the least to lose..
Posted by: Dontget818 | July 16, 2010, 3:39 pm 3:39 pm
Civilian casualties won’t go away as long as the Taliban mixes in with the local population, so it is hard for the U.S. to “win hearts and minds,” just as in Vietnam, as I wrote in my blog, capturingthenews.com. We need more good in-depth reporting on what is really happening in this war.
Posted by: Tony Collings | July 16, 2010, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
I would like The media to know if the troops and contractors are being provided the best possible equipment possible. During the Bush years the media was not satisfied when Hummers were blown up by IED’s and soldiers didn’t have body armor. Why the double standard?
Posted by: tillyerkt | July 16, 2010, 8:36 pm 8:36 pm
My God get Our Young Women & Men HOME NOW. Obamas Promises when????????????????
Posted by: star | July 17, 2010, 11:05 am 11:05 am
Doesn’t use soliders to fight, doesn’t fight to win, apologizes to our enemies… No wonder the military men and women are committing suicide with “leadership” like THIS!
Posted by: CBA | July 18, 2010, 12:58 am 12:58 am
What in the world would anyone expect! Do you think those contractors are working on a time and material basis! This whole thing is strictly about money and more money. Meanwhile our troops have to protect them while they rape the country! Take all foreign contractors out of the country, seal the boarders and let them work it out by themselves. The Russians couldn’t stop them and we’re just wasting human lives over there, for what? If they want the American way of life we used to call a free democracy, god blesses them because here in America, we’re losing everything we believed in and worked for. Say, any rentals over there for a broken down family who used to believe in the American way of life! Wow, forget about sealing their borders, we can’t even get that one right here in America!
Posted by: Lawrence Tells | July 18, 2010, 1:22 am 1:22 am
Whose Idea was it to lower the troops numbers in Afghanistan and send in Private Contractors and engineers and private Security contractors back in 2003?
Oh, yeah the Republican Party, Bush, and Cheney.
Back in 2008 Who were the ones who did not want to send in more troops into Afghanistan?
The Republican Party and McCain.
Back in 2008 who promised to begin a new strategy in Afghanistan and send in more troops for that strategy.
In 2008 it was Candidate Obama.
Who fullfilled the promise of a different strategy and sending in more troops with even more as needed?
President Obama.
Posted by: Angie | July 18, 2010, 7:05 pm 7:05 pm