* Afghan government moves to eject private security firms
* US says aid work may suffer without workable solution
By Missy Ryan
KABUL, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The Afghan government&${esc.hash}39;s halting steps to banish private security companies guarding aid workers and other Westerners against a growing insurgency has frozen some ${esc.dollar}6 billion in U.S. aid, a U.S. official has said.
A host of multi-year health, agriculture, infrastructure and energy projects, worth a total of ${esc.dollar}6 billion, have been approved by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and are ready to begin, but have been on hold since November, a senior USAID official said on condition of anonymity.
"No new development projects can get underway because they can&${esc.hash}39;t contract security," the official said. "We have expressed concern to the Afghan government that this is a wasted opportunity."
Heavily armed, highly paid private guards hired to keep diplomats, aid workers and U.N. officials safe have become a common sight in Afghanistan since the Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001.
But some of the guards&${esc.hash}39; heavy-handed tactics on the streets, and some of their private behaviour, have earned the the ire of deeply conservative Afghans, including President Hamid Karzai.
Karzai worried Westerners in Kabul last year when he decreed the firms would be banned, with exceptions for embassies, military bases and diplomats.
After security firms finish existing contracts, aid groups and other organisations will be forced to rely on a new Interior Ministry force for protection.
It has added tension to Karzai&${esc.hash}39;s stormy ties with Western backers, whose troops will begin a gradual withdrawal this year.
Another senior Western official said Karzai, politically vulnerable in a country rife with warlords backed by private militias, was motivated by fear.
"The problem isn&${esc.hash}39;t the Brits and Aussies running around; it&${esc.hash}39;s the Afghans. Karzai sees these firms as another militia," said the Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity in interviews conducted in the past few days.
"There are many more Afghans employed by (such firms) and, given Afghanistan&${esc.hash}39;s long history with armed groups outside formal government control, this is a sensitive issue."
WESTERNERS, AID GROUPS A TARGET
As Western officials worry the new Interior Ministry force cannot be made ready in time, the government is considering short-term options for providing security. But for now, Western officials are struggling to predict Karzai&${esc.hash}39;s next move.
Even when the new Afghan protection force does emerge, it is unlikely to inspire confidence among Westerners, given Afghan forces&${esc.hash}39; reputation for being ill-trained and ill-equipped.
Adding to such concerns are a series of "rogue" attacks by Afghans on foreign trainers. Last month, an Italian soldier was shot dead at a base in western Afghanistan by an Afghan soldier.
"I hope they find a bridging solution so companies that haven&${esc.hash}39;t violated the law and are registered will be able to work until the (new force) is up and running," the USAID official said.
Many aid groups still operate without armed guards but bigger USAID contractors, many of them for-profit organisations, believe they can go without security even though attacks on foreigners have soared despite military claims they are turning back a tenacious Taliban insurgency.
Attacks on organisations working for USAID increased seven-fold in 2010 from the previous year, from an average of 8 per month to 55 a month, the USAID official said.
U.S. forces accidentally killed a British woman who headed a USAID agriculture project in eastern Afghanistan last year when they were trying to rescue her from militant kidnappers.
The holdup could also affect future USAID funding because Congress will likely allocate USAID less next year if money is unspent from this year&${esc.hash}39;s budget.
"What we have to do is work with the Afghans to reduce reliance on (security firms) but do so in a way that does not jeopardise critical stability and development projects. I think we&${esc.hash}39;ll get there," the Western official said. (Editing by Paul Tait and Ron Popeski) (If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
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