This October, the US marks the deadliest year of a 9-year war in Afghanistan. Despite the painful unrest and poverty that afflict Afghanistan, under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the US State Department has continued to pour billions into contracts with private security firms with histories of violence, criminal conduct and fraud. This utter disregard for the Afghan people impedes efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan.

The US State Department has just awarded the notorious private security firm Blackwater, which was banned from operating in Iraq, a piece of new contract worth $10 billion to operate in Afghanistan. This is a slap in the face to both the Afghan and American people.

Blackwater has no place in our military conflicts -- a fact that even Clinton once realized when she pledged to ban the company from federal contracts in 2008. The US should respect the US-backed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's recent efforts to ban military contractors and send Blackwater packing.

Tell Secretary of State Clinton to listen to the Afghan people and stop doing business with Blackwater!