The infiltration of corporations into every aspect of modern life is something that should be resisted, not least because the agenda of a private prison company is rather different to a university. Or should be. Over to you, New York Times: In recent years, where stadium naming rights could be sold, universities and professional sports…
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Just two examples of what privatised “security” means
The Washington Post: The security contractor at a Tennessee plant that stores the nation’s supply of weapons-grade uranium has replaced its general manager almost two weeks after three protesters, including an 82-year-old nun, got into a high-security area. Security firm WSI Oak Ridge confirmed to the Knoxville News Sentinel Wednesday that Steven C. Hafner is…
Private militias polluting Pakistan
My following investigation is the lead story on Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar English: The past decade has seen a significant increase in foreign investments in the private security market around the Middle East. Pakistan is one of the countries that attracted the most attention in this global mercenary business. The American killing of Osama bin Laden last…
Reality and rhetoric in Afghanistan
Charles Glass in Harpers nails it: The week of March 20 was supposed to have been Afghanistan’s first without private-security companies on its soil since the American invasion of 2001. However, a few months ago, the Afghan government delayed for a second time its implementation of Presidential Decree 62, promulgated in August 2010, which called…
Vulture capitalism shifts gear in Afghanistan
Shifts are afoot in Afghanistan over private security but the reality remains murky; what happens when mercenaries try and get respectable? The Afghan government is giving companies extensions ranging from a few weeks to 90 days to change from private security guards to a government-run force, officials said Sunday. The reprieve comes just three days…
What our media don’t tell us about the Middle East
Yet more fascinating insights from the recently released Wikileaks documents of Stratfor, published by Lebanon’s… Al Akhbar. One: US government officials requested that an American private security firm contact Syrian opposition figures in Turkey to see “how they can help in regime change,” the CEO of one of these firms told Stratfor in a company email…
Disaster strikes in Haiti and vultures swoon
While politics in Haiti remains volatile, the reality for millions of its citizens is dire. After the 2010 earthquake, countless foreign companies swooped in the hope of making money from misery. This is the clear definition of disaster capitalism. Two recently reports highlighted the immorality of this situation. Truthout: As Americans were gearing up for…
How vulture capitalism in the “war on terror” really works
I’m on a number of global email lists that discuss privatised security post 9/11. This is from an anonymous retired navy captain: Somebody’s civilian friends or benefactors have always been making money on our wars. The funny twist is how the “military industrial complex” of years gone by has evolved into a “personnel support complex”…
Iraq stands up to remaining (and private) foreign forces
A positive move for a nation that deserves true independence: … Iraq deeply mistrusts private security companies and wants to limit their operations here, officials say, while the contractors themselves have faced bureaucratic delays and detentions. This mistrust stems from perceived arrogant behaviour by employees of these firms in the past and various incidents of violence…
Being “wrong” about war isn’t merely a mistake; it’s a deliberate decision
As the drumbeat for war against Iran grows louder by the day – cheered by the same neo-conservatives, extreme Zionists and hacks who led us into conflict with Iraq – it’s vital to hold to account the commentators who never take responsibility for their war-mongering. A fine piece in Jadaliyya: This is not another article…