register<\/a><\/h3>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq Did you know that private contractors in Afghanistan outnumber U.S. troops three to one? By Micah Zenko May 29, 2015 This past Monday,… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,9,24],"tags":[106,109,122],"class_list":["post-17497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afghanistan","category-casualties","category-iraq","tag-afghanistan","tag-casualties","tag-iraq"],"yoast_head":"\nThe New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq Did you know that private contractors in Afghanistan outnumber U.S. troops three to one? By Micah Zenko May 29, 2015 This past Monday,… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-02T02:35:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/05\/572398971.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1\"},\"headline\":\"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-02T02:35:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1562,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/572398971.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Afghanistan\",\"Casualties\",\"Iraq\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Afghanistan\",\"Casualties\",\"Iraq\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/\",\"name\":\"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/572398971.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-02T02:35:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/572398971.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/572398971.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"description\":\"Unpacking the Private Military Complex\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1\",\"name\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/author\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","og_description":"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq Did you know that private contractors in Afghanistan outnumber U.S. troops three to one? By Micah Zenko May 29, 2015 This past Monday,… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/","og_site_name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","article_published_time":"2015-06-02T02:35:42+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/05\/572398971.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1"},"headline":"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq","datePublished":"2015-06-02T02:35:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/"},"wordCount":1562,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/05\/572398971.jpg","keywords":["Afghanistan","Casualties","Iraq"],"articleSection":["Afghanistan","Casualties","Iraq"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/","name":"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/05\/572398971.jpg","datePublished":"2015-06-02T02:35:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/05\/572398971.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/05\/572398971.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/the-new-unknown-soldiers-of-afghanistan-and-iraq\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The New Unknown Soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/","name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","description":"Unpacking the Private Military Complex","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/d9e91fd1a1523b3c7eebbee93de450a1","name":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a5560375f973ec1134100139d0a52efec4a10061bf9bf693121c8bedec08ef8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/author\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phczRl-4yd","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}