US Embassy Guards in Kabul Living Lurid Lifestyle

By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 1, 2009 5:12 PM CDT
US Embassy Guards in Kabul Living Lurid Lifestyle
An Afghan soldier stands in the foreground while International Security Assistance Force soldiers stand guard on the road to the U.S. Embassy May 21, 2003 in Kabul, Afghanistan.   (Getty Images)

Guards hired by the State Department to protect diplomats and staff at the US embassy in Afghanistan live and work in a Lord of the Flies environment in which they are subjected to hazing and humiliation by supervisors, a government oversight group says. In a 10-page letter to Hillary Clinton, the independent Project on Government Oversight contended the situation has led to a breakdown in morale and leadership that compromises security.

Sen. Claire McCaskill called on the State Department to open an investigation into the management of the contract with ArmorGroup North America. One email from a guard describes lurid conditions at Camp Sullivan, the guards' quarters. It details scenes of abuse including guards and supervisors urinating on people and "threats and intimidation from those leaders participating in this activity." Photographs show guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties. (More Kabul stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X