Moscow
U.S. contractors in Iraq have paid millions in federal funds to air cargo companies owned by a Russian businessman on a U.S. blacklist, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. The U.S. froze the assets of notorious arms trafficker Victor Bout last summer, after determining that he had illegally sold weapons to countries and groups covered by an arms embargo, including the Taliban. But the Air Force, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies continued to allow their private contractors to deal with Bout, including renting his airplanes to fly into and out of Iraq. “U.S. taxpayer dollars are going to fatten the wallet of someone associated with the Taliban and with atrocities in places like Liberia and Sierra Leone,” said Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat. Feingold has been leading an investigation into Bout’s activities.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for February 21Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include consequences, secrets, and more
-
Crisis in Cuba: a ‘golden opportunity’ for Washington?Talking Point The Trump administration is applying the pressure, and with Latin America swinging to the right, Havana is becoming more ‘politically isolated’
-
5 thoroughly redacted cartoons about Pam Bondi protecting predatorsCartoons Artists take on the real victim, types of protection, and more
