America’s career military members spend decades working their way up the ranks. And while they can retire after just 20 years, some end up looking to peddle their experience abroad with permission from the State Department and the Pentagon. The Washington Post spent two years working to obtain records for more than 500 of these retired soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. It found that some of America’s top former military leaders, including a former defense secretary, are helping anti-democratic countries with a history of human rights abuses, such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
Retired US military leaders make big bucks by consulting abroad
“The question is who are they serving here? Are they serving foreign governments, or are they serving the country, the United States, that they swore to uphold the Constitution for?” says Craig Whitlock, investigative reporter for The Washington Post. Photo by Shutterstock.
Credits
Guest:
- Craig Whitlock - investigative reporter, The Washington Post - @CraigMWhitlock