Smuggled workers on Afghan bases cause alarm

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Smuggled workers on Afghan bases cause alarm
By: Sara A. Carter 01/24/11 8:05 PM
National security correspondent

Foreign workers without proper clearances or identification are being smuggled onto U.S. and NATO bases in Afghanistan, a breach in security that presents a serious threat to troops and civilian employees, according to documents and interviews with U.S. officials.

International Security Assistance Force police documents obtained by The Washington Examiner charged employees for two contracting companies, Stallion Construction and Engineering and DynCorp International with skirting security procedures at Kandahar Airfield, and escorting undocumented foreign laborers onto the base without appropriate clearances or jobs.

Lured by recruiters in their home countries with promises of decent jobs, foreign workers from the Philippines flew on commercial flights into Kandahar Airfield where they were met by unscrupulous subcontractors who helped them bypass security measures to enter the base, according to the documents.

"This report is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg," said a U.S. official in Afghanistan with direct knowledge of the violations. "The military police report is only one example of what has been going on for some time at the major bases across the country. This is a serious security issue and human rights issue as well."

Michael J. Thibault, co-chairman for the Commission on Wartime Contracting -- an independent, bipartisan legislative commission established to investigate contracting fraud in Afghanistan and Iraq -- told The Examiner that the commission is aware of the "very serious nature of the violations" and is investigating. "While it's tragic what has happened to these workers, the number one issue has to remain safety both of American troops, Americans working on the base and others authorized to be there," he said. "If they can bring people in, imagine how easy it must be to bring materials onto the base that can directly threaten troops. If you don't know who is inside the wire how can you protect those who are inside."