Under the Radar: Civilian Contractor Deaths

The Department of Labor has released a report that 1,688 civilian contractors have died and 37,000 have suffered injuries working in Iraq and Afghanistan since those wars began. These numbers are incomplete due to the Pentagon's admitted inability to track what contractors are doing in these countries. Apparently, the State Department and USAID also have no idea how many contractors are presently working for them. While civilian contractors are to some extent serving in these countries more voluntarily than their military counterparts (and being far more lucratively rewarded), it is still senseless that so many will return home in coffins, or with injuries that will affect them and their families the rest of their lives.