Foreign Policy writes that there are three more Americans being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan or Pakistan;
The Obama administration’s controversial decision to swap five senior Taliban figures for the military’s lone prisoner of war, Bowe Bergdahl, is putting new pressure on the White House to do more to free the three other American citizens who have been missing in Afghanistan or Pakistan for years but have drawn little attention in Washington.
The American civilians thought to be in captivity include Caitlin Coleman, an American citizen who, along with her Canadian-born husband Josh, disappeared in Afghanistan in October 2012. Coleman was pregnant and would have had a child by the following January; if the infant survived, he or she would be considered an American citizen.
The third missing citizen is Warren Weinstein, 72, a government contractor who was doing work in Pakistan when he was kidnapped in August 2011. It was unclear from government officials this week what the status of these Americans was or if active discussions were taking place to secure their release.
Congressman Duncan Hunter (California-Republican) asked the White House why their release wasn’t included in the Bergdahl deal;
“My understanding is that three other Americans remain in custody of militants aligned with the Taliban,” Hunter wrote. “Should this still be the case, I would like to know why these individuals were not included in the negotiation that resulted in the release of five detainees from Guantánamo Bay.”
Hunter…was careful to stipulate that it should not be done by releasing additional detainees from Guantánamo Bay.
Depending on how many are still alive, that could be quite a windfall for the Taliban, getting 15-20 of their criminals released, and that’s more that the President doesn’t have to worry about if he ever gets around to closing Guantánamo Community College like he promised through his 2008 campaign.
Boyle was previously married to Zaynab Khadr, the sister of a Gitmo prisoner who was transferred to Canadian authorities in 2012. Boyle became a spokesman for the Khadr family. He and Zaynab divorced in 2010 and Boyle married the American in 2011 and, the following year, both were taken while in Afghanistan doing Lord knows what. As for Weinstein, the WP called him an expatriate and he seems to have spent many, many years being a father and husband by postcard. Sometimes, when people put themselves in harm’s way, they get harmed. I’ll keep trying to generate some sympathy but I don’t know if I’ll get there.(Hey, if I stroll down an inner city street with money hanging from my pants pocket and get zapped, sure it’s a crime and I’m a victim but I’m guessing the reaction of most folks would be, “What a jerk!” And I would agree.)
2/17 Air Cav Here-Here. Troops are under orders to be in Afghanistan. Civilians, contractors, journalists and so forth are there at their own choice. Being briefed well ahead of time about the dangers they may face in exchange for high dollar jobs. So, no I don’t have a lot of sympathy for civilians there. Compared to the troops, it is virtually none. But if Obama pulls a hat trick again, the current rate of exchange means possibly 4, if the child is alive will get them 20 more of the worst of the worst left. Bad idea. Very bad idea. I remember the videos of the contractors who were beheaded. One even said he was Muslim, trying to garner sympathy. Didn’t make any difference to the murderers. When you tell a guy, hey, here’s $250,000 a year, tax free if you stay long enough to do what you are doing stateside and a lot of what PVT Jones is doing right beside you for E-2 pay, in theater, it is appealing. Plus the, “you’ll be safe, inside the wire, armed troops all around”. But remember though, you are in a war zone…heads up! They will look for people like you so don’t go wandering around sight seeing or otherwise make yourself easy pickings. Some, just didn’t listen. So no I say to any American swap for them. Besides, let her Canadian husband’s country cough up some bucks to get them back. Let Canada put some skin the this game.
I gotta answer this, you know formerly being one of “those nasty contractors”.
First of all, the whole tax free thing is utter nonsense. Like all expats, you get a tax deduction of 90k for working overseas. It does not matter if you work in Afghanistan or Japan. It’s a tax rule for all Expats who manage to remain out of the country for 330 days. So in your scenario, the dude making $250k is not “tax free”. He’s paying a bundle. Even more if he has to spend a day over 35 days in the states for some reason. It’s “tax-free” if you make less than $90K. I know, I paid more than $50K in taxes to cover my salary as a Fire Chief this last year (and admittedly, I made way more than the average contractor-I was upper managment).
Generally, those doing things they will get killed doing OR have significant experience, training and clearances get high end jobs. They pay more. They do here in the states too. Someone cleaning shitters, driving a bus or serving chow, even in Afghanistan, does not get paid that kind of money. They would definately not be getting paid that for PVT snuffy’s job-who’s job is most of the time filled by Pakistani’s, Indians and Filipiinos). Yes contractors do get hazardous duty pay and combat differential’s but so do civil servants, DoD employees and soldiers. The lower the job on the totem pole, the less you are going to make. But that’s not all, I still pay my own health insurance, life insurance (both required to work over there), and feed the family at home (out in town, we don’t get commisary though lately that really doesn’t make a difference). Are there benefits? Yes, there are travel benefits, and the work is trmendously rewarding. It is really good if your are a double dipper (a military retiree-I am not) since you still get your retirement but the tax rules above still get you jammed up). I get to participate where I would not normally be able to (I am way too old to join back up). I have deployed far more places and far more extremes as a contractor than I did on Active Duty. Is it great? No. I lived in a tent for most of the decade and put up with being away from my family but it was a J-O-B. Something not all that easy to get at home, even with a clearance and an education.
Obviously, engineers, professionals and other jobs that Former Colonel and Generals seem to fill do make serious Bank. But so does, a Colonel or General who is deployed. Security guys, make money, but they get shot and killed a lot (of which very little fuss is made because they are contractors and who gives a rat’s ass about them right?). These are the stories that people hear about and think contracting is about. Never hear about Cletus the Bus driver making $99K a year. Or the Pakistani guy making $300 a week (which to be fair is a million to him).
I had an Army Major who lives across the street from me once make almost as much as me in Iraq when we were there together. She, an Army Officer and me a contractor (a high end job). Both with Clearances. Difference was that I had to pay my own health insurance and mortgage. She got BAQ and of course Tri-Care. I got a little travel benefit but I had to pay for my own travel back to the states.
Look, I was in the military. I get it, but if I didn’t like the operational tempo, the pay, the benefits,the job, I left. I did. Got an education and experience and later went into the contracting world. Lasted a long time too but honestly, the whole “free to leave” argument is not valid and it does not reduce my desire to use my talents and abilities to serve the country. Yeah, some cotractors are a waste of air and free to leave but it’s a volunteer Army too and it is just not that easy to walk off the battlefield sometimes. Even as a civilian. I was free to leave but I didn’t. I did 6 years in Iraq and 2 in Afghanistan at some seriously hienous locations. I worked all my contracts no matter how sucky they were. But I took pleasure knowing that when I worked, some soldier back did NOT have to deploy and I tried to make things better. After all, I knew what I was getting into.
The key point I am trying to make is that it is not so black and white. A contractor who is an American is trying to do a job, just like the soldiers. The contractor did not make the Army take the contract. They are doing needed work for the Army.
If they are captured doing work for the Army, they should be sought too. Bullets, bombs and bad guys don’t just aim at the soldiers, they aim at AMERICANS. No, I don’t beleive that we as a nation should be trading Terrorists for anyone, but to just blanket a statement that becuase the Captured American is a contractor (i.e. an american citizen) and a not soldier they are somehow “not worthy” of our country trying to get them back is utter bull hockey.
Not all contractors are dirtbags and not all soldiers are heroes. We are all Americans though.
DevilChief, I enjoyed reading your post, and thank you for your service — both in and out of the Army.
Wonderful thoughts. You’ve made the internet a better place, today. +1.
There is nothing wrong with soldiering for pay. Obviously, since the military promotes itself as a career option with attractive pay and benefits. And generalizing about a disparity in earnings says nothing about the PSCs’ motives or how they see their work — especially since our motives are rarely pure and never simple — and probably does little else but engender the sort of non-productive culture clash that existed, e.g., between the DSS and Blackwater. That Chris Kyle chose his marriage over life in the Teams doesn’t make his subsequent service less noble.
As for the illusive benefits received by PSC, Eric Prince (and Congress), made the same point:
“But simply comparing those two numbers, as so many have been wont to do, offers a constrained and dramatically incomplete view of compensation. And you don’t have to take my word for it….The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently estimated that the average active-duty service member received a compensation package worth $99,000….At Blackwater, none of that applied, starting with the obvious. We hired contractors and let them go as needed—the concept of job security never really applied. We offered no regular salary or overtime to the contractors, and we didn’t cover their Medicare, Social Security, or federal income taxes. There wasn’t a retirement plan, health insurance, life insurance, or paid sick leave available, much less paid vacation. And Blackwater wasn’t paying for anyone’s college education. My company’s base pay was solid in order to attract the best candidates, but in this line of work, that really is worth only so much.”
I read somewhere they were on vacation. Sounds like the couple in Alaska that were eaten by the grizzly bears they made friends with.