Over 20,000 private military contractors are stationed in Syria, Iraq, and other U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) areas of responsibility (AORs). Contractor employment in Iraq dropped off to literally nothing in the fiscal year 2014. Since then, use has increased and is now close to Iraq War levels. Overall CENTCOM contractor employment peaked in 2013 and has declined almost every year …

The storm was bad enough in the United States. In Cuba, Hurricane Ian knocked out power over the entire island. The blackness reopened some festering wounds. At least one protest in the western seaside borough of Playa included several hundred people who chanted “turn on the lights,” as well as slogans disparaging President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Nevertheless, many people did not …

A partially-disgraced whistleblower claims that a contractor at Kuwait’s Camp Buehring charged excessive “recruiting fees,” forced employees to work long hours, and confiscated their passports, among other labor violations. “Our taxpayer dollars are being used potentially to support forced labor and human trafficking and that’s just unacceptable,” said Latesha Love, a director at the GAO’s International Affairs and Trade team, …

Two months after he answered questions about allegedly sending confidential documents over a private email server, Marc Bennett was found dead in a Doha hotel room. During his tenure with the Qatar Tourism Authority, Bennett worked to improve the country’s image, where allegations of human rights abuses were rife, and was said to work closely with Qatar Airways boss Akbar …

During the mad scramble to leave the country in August 2021, as many as 300 interpreters may have been left behind. These individuals face the possibility of severe Taliban reprisals, including incarceration or death. “There is no future for these people in Afghanistan,” said Matt Zeller, co-founder of No One Left Behind and senior advisor to the Iraq and Afghanistan …