Summary: The State Department Office of the Inspector General (OIG) last week released a damning performance evaluation of ArmorGroup North America (AGNA), the contractor responsible for guarding the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Among the revelations from the OIG report: * AGNA employed, and the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security failed to scrutinize, “Nepalese guards without verifiable experience, training, or background investigations in violation of its contract.” * “AGNA cannot account for 101 U.S. Government-furnished weapons that have been missing since 2007. AGNA used U.S. Government-furnished weapons for training rather than required contractor-furnished weapons.” * “AGNA regularly allows individuals who are not vetted by Embassy Kabul’s regional security office unescorted access to Camp Sullivan, a U.S. Government-owned camp containing sensitive materials.” The report confirms and expands on the findings of our investigation last year, which pulled back the curtain on a "Lord of the Flies environment" that had taken hold of the Embassy security guard force. Lewd and obscene photos of AGNA security guards helped our investigation garner considerable attention—but the key revelation, as detailed in our letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was that the State Department was failing to conduct oversight of a contractor performing an incredibly important service. This OIG report is just one more piece of evidence demonstrating that the State Department continues to struggle in its oversight of private security contractors--and raises questions about what role private security contractors should play in the U.S. efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
