“He wanted to become a billionaire, and he wanted to do it in Kurdistan.” Meet Shlomi Michaels

Here’s a great investigative story about someone you’ve never heard of, but should know about. From Laura Rozen at Mother Jones:

It’s the story of a man with a habit of popping up, Zelig-like, at the nexus of foreign policy and the kinds of businesses that thrive in times of war—security contracting, infrastructure development and postwar reconstruction, influence and intelligence brokering…The trajectory of Shlomi Michaels is testament not only to one man’s driven intensity, but also to the opportunities the war on terror has presented to those with the information, connections, and ambition to seize them.