In Iraq, however, that took place as the number of American troops was being drastically reduced until their complete withdrawal at the end of last year. That trend has been growing for the past several years in Afghanistan, and it parallels a similar trend in Iraq, where contractor deaths exceeded military deaths as long ago as 2009. Face to Face: A Times reporter who served as a Marine in Afghanistan returned to interview a Taliban commander he once fought.On Patrol: A group of Times journalists spent 12 days with a Taliban police unit in Kabul.Our reporter and photographer witnessed it. Inside the Fall of Kabul: In the summer of 2021, the Taliban took the Afghan capital with a speed that shocked the world.A photographer captured the jarring changes. A Year Under the Taliban: A single year of extremist rule has turned life upside down for Afghans, especially women.
Last year, at least 430 employees of American contractors were reported killed in Afghanistan: 386 working for the Defense Department, 43 for the United States Agency for International Development and one for the State Department, according to data provided by the American Embassy in Kabul and publicly available in part from the United States Department of Labor. Schooner, a law professor at George Washington University who has studied the civilian casualties issue. “By continuing to outsource high-risk jobs that were previously performed by soldiers, the military, in effect, is privatizing the ultimate sacrifice,” said Steven L. Most of the contractors die unheralded and uncounted - and in some cases, leave their survivors uncompensated. While the military announces the names of all its war dead, private companies routinely notify only family members. And along with the risks have come the consequences: More civilian contractors working for American companies than American soldiers died in Afghanistan last year for the first time during the war.Īmerican employers here are under no obligation to publicly report the deaths of their employees and frequently do not.
Many American generals and diplomats have private contractors for their personal bodyguards. This is a war where traditional military jobs, from mess hall cooks to base guards and convoy drivers, have increasingly been shifted to the private sector. KABUL, Afghanistan - Even dying is being outsourced here.