The Book That Started It All
Search
Categories
Archives
-
Recent Posts
-
Isenberg Video
- Here and There with Dave Marash, February 3, 2015
- Sep. 2, 2014 Al Jazeera English segment on Blackwater trial - Comment by David Isenberg
- Jan 2, 2010, Al Jazzeera (English), re Judge Urbina’s dismissal of charges against Blackwater contractors
- June 28, 2010. heard in “Controversy over CIA Blackwater contract,” The World
- August 17, 2010, on C-Span III, speaks on private military contracting
- Examining the role of the military contractor
- Has the Privatization of National Security Gone Too Far? The Future of Military Contracting, November 14, 2008, 9:30-11:00am, New America Foundation
- David Isenberg on PressTV - US contractor with poor ratings hired again
- Outsourcing War and Peace – Video
Recent Comments
- Joseph Burwell on Former student blasts military school for private defense contractors
- Gomes Castro on Families of slain and injured sue Ericsson over claims it funded Middle East terror
- A United States in Perpetual War Should Consider a Foreign Legion as a Pragmatic Solution | NextBigFuture.com on LEGITIMIZING A DE FACTO U.S. FOREIGN LEGION IN AFGHANISTAN: TRANSFER OF MISSION CRITICAL SECURITY OPERATIONS FROM PRIVATE CONTRACTORS TO U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL
- Resource curse alive and well in Afghanistan - Antony Loewenstein on $488 Million Investment in Afghanistan’s Oil, Mining & Gas Industry at Risk
- Il Boom dei contractors in Africa – SURIYA HABIBATI on Mozambique: Hydrocarbon companies deny security deal with Erik Prince – AIM
Articles: Africa
Viewing as Articles
View in Timeline
Africa Corps Adds Drones in Mali
Russian forces supporting Mali’s military junta have begun using kamikaze-style first-person-view (FPV) drones to attack rebel positions in the north of the country, mirroring the tactics Tuareg rebels and terrorists have used relentlessly to drive military forces from their bases in the region. Continue reading
Russia Hoped Africa Corps Would Replicate Wagner’s Success. It’s Not Going Well.
“If you see what they’re leaving behind, like entire drone stations,” Laessing said in an interview from Cairo. “I mean, the Africa Corps, Russia pretended to do a lot of things, but in the end, they failed.” Continue reading
An estimated 200 Russian fighters attacked in Mali
Fighters with Russia’s Africa Corps suffered an attack in northern Mali, targeting a convoy of over 200 Russians and 100 Malian soldiers.
The attackers remain unidentified, but similar incidents last week were carried out by the al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
Russia’s Africa Corps has gradually replaced Wagner as Moscow’s main military force in Africa and has formalized military collaboration with Mali.
Recent months saw Russian instructors providing advanced training for Malian airborne troops, reflecting Russia’s growing influence among Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Continue reading
Two Russian men jailed in Angola for terrorism and spying
Prosecutors also claimed the men were linked to Africa Politology, a Russian disinformation and propaganda network that emerged from the Wagner mercenary group. Continue reading
Remains of the Africa Corps presence at Camp Amachach
On May 1, 2026, forces from the Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA), in collaboration with the terrorist group JNIM, seized the Amachach military camp in Tessalit and ousted Africa Corps and the Malian army (FAMa). Continue reading
Russia Recruits Mercenaries From Foreign Tourists for Fighting Against Ukraine
The victims are forced to choose between deportation with debt, imprisonment, or signing a contract with the Russian Armed Forces—the terms of which they often do not understand due to the language barrier. Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Mercenaries, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Mercenaries, Russia, Ukraine
Leave a comment
In the Sumy region, the Main Intelligence Directorate identified a Russian mercenary from Mauritius who had been killed
The Main Intelligence Directorate reported that Prakash was born on April 16, 1995. He arrived in Russia on June 22, 2025, allegedly as a tourist, and was supposed to return to Africa on July 21, but remained in the aggressor country. Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
Leave a comment
Wagner’s Remnants Are Running an Opioid Empire in the Center of Africa
After years of setbacks, the trade has given Wagner fresh impetus after its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash and much of its operations absorbed into the Russian state. Up to 500 of its members remain far up the Oubangui River in the Central African Republic, where their control over the tramadol trade is enabling them to exploit the country’s rich timber and gold resources. The Global Initiative estimates that Wagner earns $180 million a year from its illicit gold exports there. The trafficking of the painkiller to neighboring countries is providing an additional revenue stream. Continue reading
The Main Intelligence Directorate has revealed the stories of two mercenaries from Cameroon whom Russia sent to carry out suicide attacks
The Main Intelligence Directorate reported that one of them was 23-year-old Ngulure Ibrahim Nkite, who arrived in Russia in February 2026 and signed a one-year contract to serve as a rifleman in April. After brief training, he was deployed to the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk Oblast, where, according to preliminary data, he was killed around May 12 during an assault in the Lyman area of Donetsk Oblast.
The second mercenary killed was 25-year-old Tapinjeu Namekong Loik, who had been studying at Michurinsk State Agrarian University in the Russian Federation. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), he was recruited into the Russian army and signed his contract in March 2026 in Vologda. Around April 23, the Cameroonian was killed near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Casualties, Cuba, Russia, Ukraine
Leave a comment
Wagner’s remnants run an opioid empire in the Central African Republic, WSJ reveals
Remnants of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group have built a drug empire in the Central African Republic on the painkiller tramadol — a fief beyond the reach of law enforcement or even Moscow itself, the Wall Street Journal reported. Up to 500 mercenaries remain along the upper Oubangui River, led by Pavel Prigozhin, son of the group’s late founder. Their control of the opioid trade now funds weapons, militias, and a deepening grip on the country. Continue reading