Monday, April 19, 2004

NYTimes.  Long article on PMCs in Iraq.  A market mechanism for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism can work if it is well constructed. But they are there, racing about Iraq in armored cars, many outfitted with the latest in high-end combat weapons. Some security companies have formed their own "Quick Reaction Forces," and their own intelligence units that produce daily intelligence briefs with grid maps of "hot zones." One company has its own helicopters, and several have even forged diplomatic alliances with local clans. There is no central oversight of the companies, no uniform rules of engagement, no consistent standards for vetting or training new hires. Some security guards complain bitterly of being thrust into combat without adequate firepower, training or equipment. There are stories of inadequate communication links with military commanders and of security guards stranded and under attack without reinforcements.  Only now are authority officials working to draft rules for private security companies. 1:23:41 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

I also took a walk with Cam and talked about Presidential politics and social networking technologies.  It would be great if he began to blog again soon (with a particular emphasis on what he has learned on the Kerry and Clarke campaigns).  I know that is tough for a consultant, but it is possible. 1:08:28 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

I had lunch with Ethan Zuckerman and Rachel Barenblat over the weekend, very interesting couple. 8:47:28 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

Bush's $660 m plan to turn 75,000 international troops into an international peacekeeping force is reinforcement of the outsourcing trendline.   These troops will be, in effect, nation-state sponsored PMCs (private military companies) -- with the state serving as the profit making entity. 8:34:08 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

IIRN.  Excellent news source on what is going on in the sub-mainstream news world.  This attack on a Nigerian oil facility unearthed this factoid: Last year the government estimated that more than 10 percent of Nigeria’s daily oil production of about two million barrels a day, was lost to gangs of oil thieves through this illegal trade known as “bunkering.”  The bunkering gangs have flooded the Niger Delta with automatic weapons, aggravating the casualties in local tribal conflicts and making the delta one of Nigeria’s most dangerous regions to live in. 8:04:30 AM    Comment_ Trackback []