The Invisible Soldiers: How America Outsourced Our Security
Written by Ann Hagedorn
5/5
()
About this audiobook
The urgent truth about the privatization of America’s national security that exposes where this industry came from, how it operates, where it's heading—and why we should be concerned.
Thirty years ago there were no private military and security companies (PMSCs); there were only mercenaries. Now the PMSCs are a bona-fide industry, an indispensable part of American foreign and military policy. PMSCs assist US forces in combat operations and replace them after the military withdraws from combat zones; they guard our embassies; they play key roles in US counterterrorism strategies; and Homeland Security depends on them. Their services include maritime security, police training, drone operations, cyber security, and intelligence analysis (as Edward Snowden has famously revealed). Even the United Nations employs them.
When did this happen? The turning point came when the US found itself in a prolonged war with Iraq, but without adequate forces. So the Bush Administration turned to the PMSCs to fill the gap. Private contractors and subcontractors eventually exceeded the traditional troops. The industry has never scaled back.
Ann Hagedorn profiles the members of Congress who recognize the dangers of dependence on PMSCs, but have been unable to limit them or even determine their true scope. She takes us to the exclusive club in London where the PMSCs were created, and she reveals the key figure in the evolution of the industry. She introduces us to a US Army general who studies new developments, such as PMSCs’ drone operations, and worries about PMSCs potentially fighting American troops. The Invisible Soldiers will inspire a national dialogue about a little-known international industry on which our security rests.
Ann Hagedorn
Ann Hagedorn has been a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and has taught writing at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is the author of Wild Ride, Ransom, Beyond the River, Savage Peace, Invisible Soldiers, and Sleeper Agent.
Related to The Invisible Soldiers
Related audiobooks
No Shadows in the Desert: Murder, Espionage, Vengeance, and the Untold Story of the Destruction of ISIS Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hard Measures: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved Americ Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran's Global Ambitions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An End to Al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Hawk Down Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mastermind: The Many Faces of the 9/11 Architect, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The CIA War in Kurdistan: The Untold Story of the Northern Front in the Iraq War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hacking ISIS: How to Destroy the Cyber Jihad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Russian Cyber Warfare: The History of Russia’s State-Sponsored Attacks across the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government's Secret Drone Warfare Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Worm: The First Digital World War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shadow War: Inside Russia's and China's Secret Operations to Defeat America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spymaster of Baghdad: A True Story of Bravery, Family, and Patriotism in the Battle Against ISIS Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shadow Warrior: William Egan Colby and the CIA Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do about It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Convenient Terrorist: Two Whistleblowers’ Stories of Torture, Terror, Secret Wars, and CIA Lies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grey Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Generals Have No Clothes: The Untold Story of Our Endless Wars Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Politics For You
Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 48 Laws of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Behold a Pale Horse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elon Musk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dragonfire: Four Days That (Almost) Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Letter from Birmingham Jail Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Out of the Wreckage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An American Marriage: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Can't Joke About That: Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We’re All in This Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Invisible Soldiers
5 ratings0 reviews