TPMMuckraker

Will Obama Expand Afghan War Contractor Force? Gibbs Says He’ll Look Into It

Robert Gibbs

Now that we know there are 104,100 private contractors who make the war in Afghanistan possible, TPMDC put the question to Robert Gibbs this morning: will the Obama Administration expand that contractor force, as it sends 30,000 more troops?

Gibbs told our Christina Bellantoni this morning that he isn’t sure, but will try to find out.

“Let me try to get some guidance on that,” Gibbs said. “I don’t know that there was an extensive discussion about that, but let me go back and see.”

It wouldn’t be particularly surprising if there was no extensive discussion of the topic — various government entities don’t even agree on how many contractors are operating in the country. Experts told TPMmuckraker, however, that the ranks of contractors, who provide security and a range of logistcal services, will almost definitely grow as Obama ramps up the war.

Top Stories From TPM

Graham: GOP Is ‘In A Demographic Death Spiral’

Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Snowden: It's An Honor To Be Called A Traitor By Dick Cheney

McConnell To Reid: If You Go Nuclear On Nominations, I’ll Go Nuclear On Everything When I’m Majority Leader

House GOP Passes Abortion Ban In Deeply Symbolic Move

Minuteman Founder Arrested On Suspicion Of Child Molestation

Disqus Conversations

Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Associate Editor

Nick Martin

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Sahil Kapur

Eric Lach

Hunter Walker

Frontpage Editor

Zoë Schlanger

News Writers

Tom Kludt

Video Editor

Michael Lester

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Bruce Ellerstein

Associate Publisher

Kyle Leighton

Assistant To The Publisher

Joe Ragazzo

Designer/Developer

Matthew Wozniak

Design Associate

Christopher O’Driscoll