Scandalous photographs of contractors at the US embassy in Kabul Monday could hurt US interests in the same way as images of abuse in Iraqi prisons, the head of a US investigating panel said Monday.

“This is the equivalent of Abu Ghraib,” said Dov Zakheim, who chairs the Congress-appointed commission on war-time contracts, referring to the notorious photos of abuse at the US-run jail in Baghdad, which emerged in 2004.

Samuel Brinkley, the vice-president of Wackenhut Services, appeared before investigators to explain photos showing embassy security staff in various states of undress and inebriation, but said he would not try to justify their conduct.

“Let me say that I am not here to defend the indefensible,” Brinkley told the panel.

Full article here