St. Pete firm: No military role in Afghanistan

The president of a St. Petersburg company named in a newspaper story about private contractors carrying out military functions in Afghanistan said International Media Ventures is an information firm that does not perform military duties.

"IMV employees conduct all activities within prescribed legal and ethical constraints and do not perform governmental, specifically military, tasks," company President Richard Pack said in a statement on the firm's Web site.

In a front-page story Monday, The New York Times said IMV received money to conduct "intelligence gathering" in Afghanistan and that the information from such operations may have been used to track and kill militants there.

IMV was hired as a subcontractor by Michael Furlong, according to the story. Furlong is no stranger to Tampa, having served as deputy director of the Joint Military Information Support Command and Deputy Commander of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element at MacDill Air Force Base between 2005 and 2008, according to his Air Force biography.

Furlong did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

IMV, said Pack, is a strategic communication and media company with competencies in strategic effects and information planning and synchronization, media analysis and information technology.

The company is providing "information and media atmospherics, research and analysis for good governance and development in Afghanistan, civil society demographics and dynamics, key audience and influence group analysis, and media channel utilization," according to Pack's statements.

Michael Legg, who was named to the IMV board of directors six months ago, said he was "taken aback" when he read the newspaper's story.

"Because of the people there, I have full trust and confidence they are doing the right thing and time will show that," said Legg, whose responsibility is overseeing the management of classified information the company uses. "They are just a communications company."

The New York Times reported that Furlong's operation has been shut down and is under investigation.