• An investigation by the Intercept news site reports that the Pentagon is using local armed groups in the Middle East and Asia to fight proxy wars on behalf of the U.S. The use of what is known as secret 127e covert authority has been documented in multiple African nations, including a partnership with a notoriously abusive unit of the Cameroonian military that continued long after its members were connected to mass atrocities. In the Sinai, the Pentagon funded an Egyptian military unit involved in human rights abuses including torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
(“How the Pentagon Uses Secretive Program to Wage Proxy Wars,” The Intercept, July 1, 2022)
• The ride share company Uber hired pro-Kremlin lobbyist to promote its global expansion and operate in Moscow. The campaign was part of a broad effort to court pro-Putin billionaire oligarchs to curry favor inside the Kremlin. The effort quickly collapsed as the attempt to change the taxi law in Moscow failed, and Uber pulled its investment out of Russia. But the affair illustrated how under Uber, co-founder Travis Kalanick, the company used highly-paid lobbyists and political fixers to gain access to new markets.
(“Uber Hired Oligarch-Linked Russian Lobbyist Despite Bribery Fears,” Guardian, July 11, 2022)
• The chief executive of the Washington State Retirement Fund, Allyson Tucker, is being criticized for her promotion of the non-profit “Opportunity Works” initiative, backed by top private equity firms. The pension fund has invested $12 billion in a top private equity company, Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts since the 1980s, that proposes to help companies distribute equity shares to employees.
(“Labor Slams Pensions for Burnishing Image of Private Equity,” American Prospect, June 17, 2022)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
