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US Embassy Guards in Kabul Living Lurid Lifestyle

By the Associated Press

Posted Sep 1, 2009 5:12 PM CDT

(AP) – 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.

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.
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)
An Afghan police man stands guard near the site of a rocket attack near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009.
An Afghan police man stands guard near the site of a rocket attack near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
cognitivefilter
Sep 3, 2009 12:44 PM CDT
really? lord of the flies? everybody dies in the end.....................spoiler alert?
Jes
Sep 2, 2009 12:38 PM CDT
So is this just the American way? Really?
OWLWOMANXXXX
Sep 2, 2009 12:28 PM CDT
are the two old geezers in the photo really supposed to be guards?????lol

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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