Embassy Security Co. Allegedly Cut Corners

Former managers for the security contractor protecting the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan said Thursday the company put in a low bid for the work and then outfitted a badly understaffed guard corps with second-rate gear.

The allegations come a week after an independent watchdog group said that the private guards in Kabul employed by ArmorGroup NorthAmerica were subjected to by supervisors who engaged in sexual misconduct and lewd behavior.

James Gordon, former director of operations at ArmorGroup, and John Gorman, a former ArmorGroup manager in Kabul, told reporters they were forced out after trying to get the company to fix a long list of problems.

Gordon, who left ArmorGroup in February 2008, said he alerted the State Department to shortcomings in personnel, equipment and discipline that created security risks, but little changed.

Images of alleged hazing (Graphic Content)
Graphic Content: Additional video of Kabul hazing
Letter to Sec. Clinton describing abuses (PDF)

In a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court, Gordon said ArmorGroup withheld from Congress information about employees who went to brothels in Kabul known to house trafficked women.

ArmorGroup's "goal was to maximize their profits, provide a fig leaf of security at the embassy, and pray to God that nobody got killed," Gordon said.

Wackenhut Services, ArmorGroup's parent company, had no immediate comment on the allegations by Gordon and Gorman. ArmorGroup won the $189 million contract in March 2007.

The State Department is investigating ArmorGroup's handling of the contract in the wake of the watchdog group's report of among the company's employees. The department is also examining conditions at the embassy and nearby Camp Sullivan, the offsite location where the ArmorGroup guards live.

At the same time, department officials have insisted that security at the Kabul embassy, one of the country's most important diplomatic outposts, hasn't been compromised.

The Sept. 1 report from the Project on Government Oversight included photos of guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties flowing with alcohol. So far, eight of the guards who appeared in the photos have been fired and two have resigned. The terminations were made at the State Department's request, reported CBS News correspondent Charles Wolfson. The top ArmorGroup managers in Kabul have also been replaced and alcohol has been banned at Camp Sullivan.

Gorman joined ArmorGroup in April 2007, shortly after it was awarded the Kabul embassy contract.

He said ArmorGroup misled the government by claiming experience and assets the company didn't have. To cut costs and keep profits up, ArmorGroup changed shift lengths for guards from eight to 12 hours and also cut the number of shifts from five to four.

Alcohol has been prohibited at Camp Sullivan, the offsite location near the embassy where the ArmorGroup guards live, and diplomatic security staff have been assigned to the camp, according to the embassy. Before the incident, the State Department did not have any personnel assigned to the camp, Wolfson reported.