{"id":34132,"date":"2019-05-05T22:35:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T22:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/?p=34132"},"modified":"2019-05-05T22:35:24","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T22:35:24","slug":"afghanistans-hired-guns-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Afghanistan\u2019s Hired\u00a0Guns The number of private contractors in America\u2019s longest war jumped at an unprecedented rate in the last three\u00a0months. By Paul D. Shinkman Senior National Security Writer April 26, 2019,&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>You must be logged in to view this content.<\/p>\n<h3>Click here to <a href=\"\/register\">register<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Afghanistan\u2019s Hired\u00a0Guns The number of private contractors in America\u2019s longest war jumped at an unprecedented rate in the last three\u00a0months. By Paul D. Shinkman Senior National Security Writer April 26, 2019,&hellip; You must be logged in to view this content. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131481,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[106],"class_list":["post-34132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afghanistan","tag-afghanistan"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns - 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\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired\u00a0Guns The number of private contractors in America\u2019s longest war jumped at an unprecedented rate in the last three\u00a0months. By Paul D. Shinkman Senior National Security Writer April 26, 2019,&hellip; You must be logged in to view this content. &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-05T22:35:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/static\/img\/usn-logo-large.svg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Isenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Isenberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Isenberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\"},\"headline\":\"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-05T22:35:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1156,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.usnews.com\\\/static\\\/img\\\/usn-logo-large.svg\",\"keywords\":[\"Afghanistan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Afghanistan\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.usnews.com\\\/static\\\/img\\\/usn-logo-large.svg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-05T22:35:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.usnews.com\\\/static\\\/img\\\/usn-logo-large.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.usnews.com\\\/static\\\/img\\\/usn-logo-large.svg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns\"}]},{\"@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\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\",\"name\":\"David Isenberg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Isenberg\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/author\\\/worden35\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns - 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\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","og_description":"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired\u00a0Guns The number of private contractors in America\u2019s longest war jumped at an unprecedented rate in the last three\u00a0months. By Paul D. Shinkman Senior National Security Writer April 26, 2019,&hellip; You must be logged in to view this content. &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;","og_url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/","og_site_name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","article_published_time":"2019-05-05T22:35:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/static\/img\/usn-logo-large.svg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"David Isenberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Isenberg","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/"},"author":{"name":"David Isenberg","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668"},"headline":"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns","datePublished":"2019-05-05T22:35:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/"},"wordCount":1156,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/static\/img\/usn-logo-large.svg","keywords":["Afghanistan"],"articleSection":["Afghanistan"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/","name":"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/static\/img\/usn-logo-large.svg","datePublished":"2019-05-05T22:35:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/static\/img\/usn-logo-large.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/static\/img\/usn-logo-large.svg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/afghanistans-hired-guns-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Afghanistan\u2019s Hired Guns"}]},{"@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\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668","name":"David Isenberg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Isenberg"},"url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/author\/worden35\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phczRl-8Sw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34132","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\/131481"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}