According to scientists, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder not only affects the brain’s physical composition. It also changes hormone secretion and overall neurochemistry. After they endure stressful situations, for people without PTSD, the body returns to homeostasis, which is a self-regulating system that our bodies use to return to stability. That is not the case for someone living with PTSD symptoms. …
Are Contractors Good or Bad for U.S. Foreign Policy?
Frankly, the U.S. reputation in many parts of the world is already pretty low. Private military contractor activities, especially in places like Afghanistan, may have made this reputation better or worse. In a 2008 RAND survey, 35% of diplomatic personnel working with armed contractors in Iraq between 2003 and 2008 reported managing the consequences of actions by armed contractors against …
DoD Reports on Contractors in Syria, Iraq
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 …
Hurricane Ian Protests Rock Havana
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 …
Whistleblower Accuses Kuwait Contractor of Human Trafficking
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, …