Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has had his bodyguard of US Special Forces troops withdrawn and replaced by guards from an American "private military corporation".
Hired guns.
DynCorp Inc, a private contractor based in Virginia, is now being used by the diplomatic security service to provide personnel to protect perhaps the most vulnerable head of state after Saddam Hussein of Iraq.
The move by Washington, which had detailed elite soldiers to replace a motley band of local bodyguards amid constant death threats, comes despite the extreme risk Mr Karzai faces. He remains a prime target for al-Qa'eda, remnants of the former Taliban regime and warlords who continue to fight for power in what remains a fragile and cut-throat country. He survived an assassination attempt in Kandahar in September when his Special Forces bodyguards shot the men trying to kill him.
Replaced the soldiers with professional bodyguards. Different skill sets required, most likely a good idea.
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