War

The story of William Morgan: American, wanderer, Cuban revolutionary.

The parallel lives of a KGB defector and his CIA handler.

On the ground with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

On the ground with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

A year with Major Steve Beck as he takes on the most difficult duty of his career: casualty notification.

How killing by remote control has changed the way we fight.

How killing by remote control has changed the way we fight.

How killing by remote control has changed the way we fight.

How killing by remote control has changed the way we fight.

The expansion of private-security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan is well known. But armed security personnel account for only about sixteen per cent of the over-all contracting force. The vast majority—more than sixty per cent of the total in Iraq—aren’t hired guns but hired hands. These workers, primarily from South Asia and Africa, often live in barbed-wire compounds on U.S. bases, eat at meagre chow halls, and host dance parties featuring Nepalese romance ballads and Ugandan church songs. A large number are employed by fly-by-night subcontractors who are financed by the American taxpayer but who often operate outside the law.

The expansion of private-security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan is well known. But armed security personnel account for only about sixteen per cent of the over-all contracting force. The vast majority—more than sixty per cent of the total in Iraq—aren’t hired guns but hired hands. These workers, primarily from South Asia and Africa, often live in barbed-wire compounds on U.S. bases, eat at meagre chow halls, and host dance parties featuring Nepalese romance ballads and Ugandan church songs. A large number are employed by fly-by-night subcontractors who are financed by the American taxpayer but who often operate outside the law.

The search for a missing soldier.