David Phinney: April 2007 Archives

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April 30, 2007

Hearing Begins for Former Iraq Prison Commander

Some in Iraq say his code name is Cold Steele. Others say he is facing charges for "being too nice" to Iraqi prisoners.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele's hearing began today in Baghdad on charges that he aided the enemy while in command of the prison at Camp Cropper in Iraq.

Steele's chief attorney, Maj. David G. Barrett, complained during the opening session of the Article 32 hearing that his team had been denied the top secret security clearance to see evidence against their client.

"How can we cross-examine witnesses without that knowledge in such an important capital punishment case?" Barrett said.

At one point during the brief open session, Barrett said he had been thrown out of the office of Col. Mark Cremin, the prosecuting attorneys' boss, during an argument about the defense’s access to top secret evidence.

"Be careful what you say," said investigating officer Col. Elizabeth Fleming, who is presiding over the hearing.

"Yes, ma'am," Barrett replied.

The Associated Press has the story.

Posted by davidphinney at 10:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 29, 2007

Forced Labor More Wide Spread than Sex Trafficking?

The global trafficking for forced labor may be a bigger problem than the higher profile problem of sex trafficking: So says Kristiina Kangaspunta, the chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime ( UNODC ).

"We don't know, but it seems that it might be that forced labor is a bigger part of the human trafficking than human trafficking for sexual exploitation," she explaned at the 16th session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, Austria. She added: "It may be that sexual exploitation is simply reported more often."

Why would that be? Because many nations have bans on sex trafficking but not coersion of labor. Therefore, the numbers on labor trafficking are only based on news reports and guesstimates.

More here.

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Investigation of Former Camp Cropper Commander

The Article 32 Investigation for Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, will be held on Camp Victory starting April 30 and is estimated to last two to three days. Portions, but not all of the investigation hearing is open to press. No video cameras, cameras or other recording devices are allowed in the courtroom, nor will photos or video of the defendant or witnesses be allowed. Opportunities will be provided for filing stories. Attendance is limited to one representative per agency. There are only 12 seats available for media so priority will be given on a first come, first serve basis. Those media attending the hearing will be housed in transient quarters on Camp Victory. -- Public Affairs Office Multi-National Corps-Iraq.

Posted by davidphinney at 12:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 26, 2007

Charges Against Lt. Col. William H. Steele

The Charges Against Steele:
RELEASE No. 20070426-01
April 26, 2007

Charges announced
Multi-National Corps - Iraq PAO

Baghdad, Iraq- Lt. Col. William H. Steele has been charged with offenses under the provisions of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice.
These charges are merely an accusation of wrongdoing. Lt. Col. Steele is presumed innocent unless and until he his proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any alleged offense.

CHARGE I: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 104
Specification: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 1 October 2005 and 31 October 2006, aid the enemy by providing an unmonitored cellular phone to detainees.

CHARGE II: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 134
Specification: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did between on or about 31 October 2006 and 22 February 2007, having unauthorized possession of classified information, violate Title 18, United States Code, Section 793(e), by knowingly and willfully retaining the same and failing to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States.

CHARGE III: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 133
Specification 1: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 20 October 2005 and 22 February 2007, knowingly and wrongfully fraternize with the daughter of a detainee, wherein such acts constituted conduct unbecoming an officer in the armed forces.
Specification 2: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 1 December 2005 and 11 December 2006, knowingly and wrongfully provide special privileges to and maintain an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter, wherein such acts constituted conduct unbecoming an officer in the armed forces.

CHARGE IV: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 92
Specification 1: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 18 February 2007 and 21 February 2007, violate a lawful general regulation, to wit: paragraph 7-4, Army Regulation 380-5, dated 29 September 2000, by wrongfully and knowingly storing classified information in his living space.
Specification 2: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 1 September 2006 and 21 February 2007, violate a lawful general regulation, to wit: paragraph 4-32, Army Regulation 380-5, dated 29 September 2000, by improperly marking classified information.
Specification 3: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, having knowledge of a lawful order issued by the 89th Military Police Brigade Deputy Commander, did, at or near Camp Victory, Iraq, on or about 22 February 2007, fail to obey the order.
Specification 4: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, did, between on or about 18 February 2007 and 21 February 2007, violate a lawful general order, to wit: paragraph 2e, Multi-National Corps-Iraq General Order Number 1, dated 16 December 2006, by wrongfully and knowingly possessing pornographic videos.
Specification 5: In that Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele, between on or about 1 October 2005 and 31 October 2006, was derelict in the performance of his duties in that he willfully failed to fulfill his obligations as an approving authority in the expenditure of Field Ordering Officer funds.

-30-

James Hutton
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Public Affairs Officer

Q&A: Responses to Questions Received Thu 4/26/2007 6:18 AM

Received 21 Apr:

Q1: Where do I get in touch with Lt. Col. Steele, or do you know his whereabouts? My understanding is that he is no longer stationed at Cropper. What happened?

A1. LTC Steele commanded a compound within Camp Cropper from October 2005 until he completed this assignment in September 2006. He then volunteered to serve in another position in Iraq. He is currently in pre-trial confinement at the Theater Field Confinement Facility (TFCF), pending court-martial charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Q2: How many American detainees are there presently at Cropper and Camp Bucca? What are the charges?

A2. Currently, three American citizens are in MNF-I Theater Internment Facilities. None of the allegations against Lt. Col. Steele are related to these individuals.

Received 23 Apr:

Q3: It has come to my attention that Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele is being detained in Kuwait and awaiting trial under the U.S. military code of Justice. Other military personnel related to this matter may also be held.

A3: Lt Col. Steele is being held in the TFCF in Kuwait. All US Military pre-trial prisoners within the CENTCOM AOR are held in this facility. Military post-trial prisoners are held in the TFCF until they can be transferred to permanent confinement facilities. The TFCF confines only U.S. military prisoners. No other military personnel are pending charges in this matter.

Q4: My understanding is that Lt. Col. Steele was the commander of the Camp Cropper prison. Correct? What are the dates of his Camp Cropper command and his responsibilities?

A4: Answered Above A1

Q5: My further understanding is that Lt. Col. Steele is being held for aiding and abetting imprisoned insurgents and American detainees? Correct? Others may also be involved?

A5: These charges are merely an accusation of wrongdoing. Lt. Col. Steele is presumed innocent unless and until he his proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any alleged offense.

Lt. Col. Steele was charged on March 14, 2007 with the following offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)

Posted by davidphinney at 01:03 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack

April 25, 2007

U.S. Military Prison Officer Arrested in Iraq

A former top prison commander at Camp Cropper, Iraq, has been quietly under arrest for weeks and detained in Kuwait under charges that he was aiding the enemy, according to numerous independent sources.

U.S. officials arrested Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele, 51, as long as three weeks ago. In addition to charges that he was aiding insurgents, he also is accused of having personal relationships with Iraqi women, misappropriating government funds and conduct unbecoming of an officer. (The relationships may not have been sexual.)

U.S. military sources were contacted last Friday: But made themselves unavailable for comment to confirm or deny the charges. However, the Army released a statement Wednesday afternoon claiming that Steele faces nine charges, notably "aiding the enemy." (Press release below the fold)

Other charges: Include retaining classified material; failure to obey lawful orders; wrongfully storing classified materials; improperly marking classified materials; failing to obey an order from a superior officer; possession of pornography and dereliction of duty as an approving official for the expenditure of government funds.

Steel is charge with aiding the enemy because of accusations that he provided "an unmonitored cellular phone to detainees."

Steele's mother in Frostburg, Md., said by phone Friday that she hadn't heard from her son in three weeks and wasn't sure why. Attempts to contact his wife have been unsuccessful. Steele last resided in Prince George, Va., according to Army sources.

Camp Cropper is a high-value holding facility: for insurgents and others is where former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was held for a time. Located near the Baghdad International Airport, the prison camp has been identified as a place where torture has taken place that equals that of Abu Ghraib.

Former American detainees Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel were held without charges for months last year after being taken to Camp Cropper in mid-April, 2006. Both met with Steele briefly before being released, Vance said.

In a lawsuit against the U.S. government and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: Vance and Ertel claim they were subjected to constant abuse 24 hours a day.

Lights were kept on in their cell around the clock. They endured solitary confinement. They had only thin plastic mattresses on concrete for sleeping. Meals were of powdered milk and bread or rice and chicken, but interrupted by selective deprivation of food and water. Ceaseless heavy metal and country music screamed in their ears for hours on end, their legal complaint alleges.

They lived through "conditions of confinement and interrogation tantamount to torture", says the lawsuit filed in northern Illinois U.S. District Court. "Their interrogators utilised the types of physically and mentally coercive tactics that are supposedly reserved for terrorists and so-called enemy combatants."

Vance claims that during the months leading up to his arrest, he worked as an unpaid informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sometimes twice a day, he would share information with an agent in Chicago about the Iraqi-owned Shield Group Security, whose principals and managers appeared to be involved in weapons deals and violence against Iraqi civilians.

A third detainee: Joseph Trimpert, was also arrested the same day as Vance and Ertel and held until August 10, 2006. An anonymous posting on myspace.com seems to represent Trimpert's telling of his experience with photos of his release papers.

Opened in April 2003: The facility began modestly with some 150 detainees, but has since exploded to an estimated 3,000 under the recent U.S. military effort to crack down on insurgents in and around Baghdad. Since 2003, six inmates have died at the facility. according to the military. The latest death is still under investigation. The latest died April 4 and the cause of death remains under investigation.

Brutal treatment is apparently an ongoing problem among the detainees at Cropper, The Los Angeles Times reported April 8:

A former detainee from Camp Cropper, where Saddam Hussein and other high-profile prisoners have been held, said he once watched Sunni militants attack a former police officer whom they suspected of being an informer. He said six men, their faces hidden by towels, gathered around the victim in a dormitory at 2 a.m.

Two kept a lookout for U.S. soldiers while one man swung a sock stuffed with rocks at the inmate's head, he said. The man tried to get up, but another pressed him down with a foot to the chest. The attackers pummeled his head, spattering themselves with his blood, until he lost consciousness.

When they had finished, other prisoners dragged the victim to the front of the hall, where the U.S. guards would find him.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070426-01
April 26, 2007

Charges announced
Multi-National Corps - Iraq PAO

-30-

James Hutton
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Public Affairs Officer

Q&A: Responses received Thu 4/26/2007 6:18 AM

Received 21 Apr:

Q1: Where do I get in touch with Lt. Col. Steele, or do you know his whereabouts? My understanding is that he is no longer stationed at Cropper. What happened?

Q2: How many American detainees are there presently at Cropper and Camp Bucca? What are the charges?

A2. Currently, three American citizens are in MNF-I Theater Internment Facilities. None of the allegations against Lt. Col. Steele are related to these individuals.

Received 23 Apr:

Q4: My understanding is that Lt. Col. Steele was the commander of the Camp Cropper prison. Correct? What are the dates of his Camp Cropper command and his responsibilities?

A4: Answered Above A1

Q5: My further understanding is that Lt. Col. Steele is being held for aiding and abetting imprisoned insurgents and American detainees? Correct? Others may also be involved?

A5: These charges are merely an accusation of wrongdoing. Lt. Col. Steele is presumed innocent unless and until he his proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any alleged offense.

Lt. Col. Steele was charged on March 14, 2007 with the following offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)

Posted by davidphinney at 11:29 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Spooky Business in a Strange World

The flood of emails continues pouring in about the short news story retelling Donald Vance's three-month imprisonment at Camp Cropper in Iraq.

Vance says he was acting as an FBI informant while working for an Iraqi-owned private security company. He claims he was witnessing the possible illegal sales of arms to insurgents and other nefarious doings and wanted to do something about it. Yet, the US military imprisoned him for some three months -- without charge or explanation.

Answers as to why Vance was held will hopefully come out in a lawsuit Vance is waging against former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They may not be very flattering to the U.S. government.

MEANWHILE: I don't know who this new guy is that sent me the email below, but he seems to represent himself as the "third detainee," Joe Trimpert. Then again, the sender may be an imposter. But it is known that Trimpert was a "Third Detainee" arrested at the same time as Vance.

Vance accuses Trimpert of some pretty ugly business, including brutal acts against Iraqi civilians.

THE LINK: At myspace.com is an intriguing curiosity. (As of 05/16/07, I noticed the contents had been removed, but I previously copied the files. Email me if you are interested). Sent to me by the "Third Detainee," it portrays what appear to be release papers from Camp Cropper's detention facility with these provisions:

-- Disavow and renounce violence
-- Disavow membership to Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party.
-- Will not associate with anyone planning to harm Iraqi security forces

Vance says he never was compelled to sign conditions such as these.

Camp Cropper commander, Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele appears to have approved the release papers -- the same Steele arrested several weeks ago by the US Army for, among, other things, aiding insurgents, misappropriating government funds, and having relationships with Iraqi women.

Vance is a little concerned about this following email from the mystery sender:

"Mr. Phinney

Well,

I've been following Vance's story it's interesting and if there is really a God when judgement day comes, he will definitely have to Explain himself with in regards what to what Really Happened that Day on April 15th, 2006.

And that is all i pretty much have to say about the events that took place on April 15 th-2006 to the Day i was Released August 10th, 2006... Camp Cropper

Regards,
US200341DT

I'm not interested in an interview..."

Here's some bio material from the cryptic myspace.com link (complete with spelling errors, etc.): Just click below.....

-American Citizenship

-I was detained and Held at Camp Cropper from April 16th, 2006-August 10th, 2006

-Detainee Number given to Me: US200341DT

-Called a traitor, told I was going to be sent to Camp Delta/X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay Cuba.

-No access to a Lawyer, No phone Calls.

-Asked for a Copy of the Geneva Convention (Given to Me, but only in Arabic)

-Constatly loud music 24/7, U.S. Military/CiA,FBi/ questioning Me.. trying to get Me to say I was a member of "Al-Qaeda in Iraq"

-Living in a 12x12 Concrete Cell, with a Turkish Toilet aka a hole in the ground to take a crap in.

-Only allowed to go outside at Night for Recreation (I used to kill roaches) inside the play pen. Night Recreation because Americans aren't suppose to be in Camp Cropper.

-4 Doors down from me was Chemical Ali

-Wrote 11 Red Cross Letter's Home to America, Not a One of them Ever Reached the States.

-Constant sounds of the MP's (Military Police) playing with their Taser's all you would hear is this zap zap! noise.

-Requested Books to Read, issued em then taken away within minutes, also requested Soduku haha, PSP,Portable DVD player.

***My time in Camp Cropper Sucked more than Monica Lewensky !

Finally Released August 9th, 2006' (The Military/CiA/FBi) said there wasn't enough evidence regarding what really happened. I was given $20.00 bucks, had to pay for my own Ticket thou from Iraq to America. Not Even an apology for being held.

Only a letter of Release.

"Freedom"

-Lesson's Learned, Shit Happens when you least Expect it ("Murphy's Law")

-I suppose i could be still pining/dwelling over what happened, I've pretty much moved on since then. But what the heck is that going to accomplish dwelling on what happened. I know other Americans who are trying to win something, trust Me that incident will never leave the Soul, just gotta deal with it.

- I just feel sorry for my Iraqi counter-parts who might be innocent as well, just happened to be hanging out in a part of town at the wrong time.

-Once I received my so called Freedom from Camp Cropper I can just say it felt like that Movie The Shawshank Redemption times 50 over.

-It's not easy living with what happened in Camp Cropper, and a lot of lies put down by other Detainees/former co-workers.. if the Military were to release files on what really happened on April 15th, 2006' their could be a whole lot of embarrassment for all parties that endured a Vacation at Camp Cropper.

-But Oh Fracking Well, I emailed various news agencies in regards of being held, ect... but i made i clear I wasn't looking for any publicity, still not looking for any stardom like other detainees.. Sure you Can Speak Out but what i've read so Far it has not done a thing except to get a lot of Americans pissed off/ and more mistrust from Our Gov't.. rather you're Gov't.

-Why do i say you're Gov't i do share the same views as what has been written by other detainees regarding (torture or American's), and for anyone who happens to be still in Camp Cropper regardless of their Nationality., so much for due process.

-I do think half the detainees are probably not guilty in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, i couldn't imagine being locked up in GITMO for over a year i'd lose my mind.

-The one thing i missed while being held at Camp Cropper was Music, upon my release and back in America, i went out and bought a new ipod., since the Military/CiD/CIA/FBi confiscated my ipod, Macintosh G4, and bad ass Movietunes projector.

-Present Day, well just moving forward, what can you do? Live in the Past..? Not Me... I've seen some crazy things in my life Example From September 11th, 2001-October 3rd, 2001 I helped recovered Dead Americans from the Pentagon.. this can be verified. **There are still times i feel Dead/ and i'm pretty sure that perhaps other American detainees might feel this as well.

-What to do, that was Then..... This is Now..., i plan to save up as much $ then move outside of America probably to our neighbors in the South Mexico, i really have Desire to live in or work in America again., i spent sometime down in Mexico after returning from Iraq, did you know you can talk trash about the American Gov't down there and not have to worry about being locked up...(i however did not par-take) in such activites but met a lot of American Expatriates living down there, who moved out of America because of politics. I will probably do the same in the near future.

And in closing, i decided to put this up.. to give some insight, if i want celebrity status some day i will post my whole name on Here & perhaps go on Oprah...haha, Thanks but No Thanks. All American Detainees who were with Me should be counting their lucky stars including Me... We could have Easily been in there for Life......, and inshallah the Detainee's being currently held at Camp Cropper/Camp X-Ray/Abu Graib.. i hope they will win their Freedom ...
Who I'd like to meet:
-Jack Idema (American Prisoner of War/Detainee) Afghanistan 2004'

To Read more About Jack Idema visit www.superpatriots.us -Associated Press Photographer Bilal Hussein (Iraqi Detainee Camp Cropper April 12th,2006) I did see Bilal briefly in Cropper but didn't talk to him. I have been in contact with people at the AP via email/phone.

To Read more About Bilal Hussein visit www.ap.org

**The Road To Guanatanmo** 1-10 Video Series

This is pretty damn Close what it feels like to be Detaineed by the American Gov't and treated like an Insurgent even if you're found Innocent in the End....

Posted by davidphinney at 06:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Philippines Warns Companies to Stop Recruiting Workers for Iraq

The US economy thrives on illegal immigration here in the United States so apparently the US State Department doesn't care. It uses Philippine workers and other laborers from countries that have bans on their citizens working in iraq to build its new embassy: Asian Workers Trafficked to Build World's Largest Embassy.

Well, rest assured: It's "under investigation." Once the war in Iraq is over, things will get back to normal.

More on the Philippine ban.

Here's more: "Illegal gateway to Iraq"

The Philippines in 2004 banned the deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq following a flare-up of violence there, but sources in Manila told the GDN that thousands still manage to defy the ban and enter the country in search of jobs - many of which are reportedly high-paying due to the danger involved.

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April 19, 2007

Wolfowitz: White House Ponders Possible Replacements

President Bush as repeatedly affirmed his support for Paul Wolfowitz, the embattled World Bank President, but behind the scenes, White House staff is drawing up a list of possible replacements.

Wolfowitz cancelled formal appearences on Thursday to meet behind closed-doors with the World Bank's 24-nation board, which is investigating whether he broke any rules in arranging a high-paying job at the US State Department for his partner, Shaha Riza, in 2005. Graeme Wheeler, one of Mr Wolfowitz's two deputies, has already called for him to resign.

Who's on Bush's short list for replacement? Most prominent is Ashraf Ghani, who directed the overhauling the Afghanistan's economy after September 11, The Times reports. "Such an appointment would mark the first time a non-American has held the position in the 60-year history of the global lender".

More in The Times.

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April 18, 2007

Wolfowitz: Girlfriend a 'Must Hire' for Iraq Contractor

It was very much business for a Defense Department contractor, SAIC: But behind the scenes, it looks like a lover or friend in high places may have been pulling the strings for the girlfriend of Paul Wolfowitz, Shaha Riza.

How did Riza land a moonlight gig with the Iraq contractor in 2003? At the request of the Defense Department, according to Reuters. (Riza was working for the World Bank, but forgot to tell the Bank about picking up some extra work in Iraq.) Her beau, Paul Wolfowitz, now president of the World Bank, was then-Pentagon No. 2 and a chief planner of the Iraq invasion at the time.

.... A spokeswoman for Science Applications International Corp., or SAIC, said the Defense Department's policy office directed the company to enter a subcontract with Shaha Riza, under which she spent a month studying ways to form a government in Iraq.

AND THEN SHE WAS PROMOTED: When Wolfie was nominated to be president of the World Bank by president Bush in 2005, he arranged to give Riza a high-paying promotion before she resigned and took a job at the U.S. State Department.

Riza's salary increased from $132,660 to $193,590: Riza was compelled leave the World Bank because of rules against lovers working closely together at the Bank, but the pay hike guaranteed her a cushy salary at her next place of business: the U.S. State Department.

Stay Tuned: There may be a story on how Riza, who carries a British passport, ended up at the State Department. (Did she just send in her resume with a job reference from Wolfie?)

Meanwhile: Senior Democratic congressmen and other critics are pushing for the resignation of Wolfowitz, saying his actions have undermined the campaign against corruption in the developing world that has been a hallmark of his World Bank tenure.

Here's the Reuters story.

More on the saga: Wolfowitz: Girlfriend's Shadowy Iraq Work and Wolfowitz Under Fire: Iraq in the Shadows.

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April 15, 2007

Wolfowitz: Girlfriend's Shadowy Iraq Work

Shaha Riza and long-time companion (read: heart throb) of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, apparently performed moonlighting services for a Pentagon contractor during the run up to the Iraq invasion while also working for the World Bank.

The Government AccountabilityProject (GAP) Notes: Riza worked as a "subject matter expert" on the Middle East at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) -- a major player in intelligence gathering prior to the Iraq invasion. At that time, Paul Wolfowitz was the Deputy Secretary of Defense, a chief architect to the Iraq campaign.

Bank Sources Verified: Riza never applied for nor received World Bank permission to provide these consultant services to SAIC.

A Blatant Employment Violation: Bank sources told Gap that Riza's undisclosed moonlighting for a Pentagon contractor would never have been tolerated at the Bank. They said her apparent secrecy would be grounds for dismissal. World Bank staff rules require employees to clear outside professional activities to prevent conflicts of interest.

"Multiple conflicts of interest probably existed," said GAP International Program Director Bea Edwards in a press release:

1) Riza was reportedly romantically involved with Wolfowitz at the time and the Iraq War was imminent.
2) SAIC was a defense contractor.
3) The World Bank had active projects in Iraq.

"International institutions, such as the World Bank and the United Nations, depend on mutual trust," said Edwards, who interviewed World Bank sources. "Member governments trust that employees work only to serve the institution's mission and that of the international community. A violation of that trust undermines the very foundation of international cooperation."

The Dating Game: Riza began dating Wolfowitz since 2002, the year he separated from his wife of 30 years. President Bush nominated Wolfowitz to World Bank president in 2005 while Riza was working in the bank's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) section.

Influential Friends: Bank regulations prohibit spouses or partners from supervising one another, so Riza was compelled to resign from the Bank -- but not before Wolfowitz first signed off on her promotion and salary increase. She then took that upgrade to a new position at the U.S. State Department, with a job reference from Wolfowitz, where her salary increased from $132,660 to $193,590. (Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earns $186,000.)

Riza carries a British passport and is of Saudi and Libyan descent.

Here's GAP's press release.

More on Wolfowitz and Iraq.

Posted by davidphinney at 07:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Private Security Contractors: 'Who Did the Shooting?'

Steve Fainaru of The Washington Post raises some repeatedly unanswered questions about the July shooting of an Iraqi taxi driver by a Triple Canopy detail in Baghdad. Two employees are now suing the company in U.S. court. They claim the company fired them for reporting the incident as a crime.

THIS raises a whole festering can of worms: U.S. authorities have either failed to acknowledge or failed come to grips with incidents involving the shooting of unarmed civilians by some U.S.-funded private security contractors:

The U.S. military has brought charges against dozens of soldiers and Marines in Iraq, including 64 servicemen linked to murders. Not a single case has been brought against a security contractor, and confusion is widespread among contractors and the military over what laws, if any, apply to their conduct. The Pentagon estimates that at least 20,000 security contractors work in Iraq, the size of an additional division.

Here's Fainaru's long-awaited story: Four Hired Guns in an Armored Truck, Bullets Flying, and a Pickup and a Taxi Brought to a Halt. Who Did the Shooting and Why?

Posted by davidphinney at 12:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 13, 2007

Wolfowitz Under Fire: Iraq in the Shadows

With the 10,000 member World Bank Staff Association is asking Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to step down amid charges of improperly giving pay raises to his girlfriend, a Bank employee, Wolfwitz's role in planning and managing the invasion of Iraq at the Pentagon may come back to haunt him.

Wolfowitz once assured the U.S. Congress that Iraqi oil money would pay for the war and the planned reconstruction of Iraq:

"There's a lot of money to pay for this that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people...and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 (billion) and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three year..... We're dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." [Source: House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, 3/27/03]

Almost $12 billion in Iraqi assets has been found to be left unaccounted for under supervision of the U.S.-controlled Coalition Provisional Authority -- much of it arrived in $100 bills on pallets straight from the Federal Reserve in New York. (Others tell me the amount of Iraqi assets that went missing -- if you inlcude oil smuggling and theft in Iraq -- may be in the neighborhood of $22 billion. )

Some Wolfowiz foes at the Bank hope he is hauled before Congress sometime soon to explain his role in the Iraq war -- a potential embarassment that feasibly could lead to his resigning from the Bank.

Wolfowitz is already blaming World Bank employees for making his girlfriend's salary an issue because of his role in Iraq -- and many Bank employees view him as a principal architect behind the U.S. invasion while at the Pentagon. "For those people who disagree with the things that they associate me with in my previous job, I'm not in my previous job," Wolfowitz said in a statement. "I'm not working for the U.S. government; I'm working for this institution and its 185 shareholders."

For more on the spending of Iraqi oil money, known as the Development Fund for Iraq, see Spending Iraqi Money from two years ago.

More on Wolfowitz at World Bank today: World Bank Staff Seek Wolfowitz's Ouster

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April 12, 2007

Imelda: Giggles for Castro, Sighs for Saddam and Noriega

In the course of two days and some eight hours of conversation: Imelda Marcos talks about her husband, former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his 7,500 tons of gold; her grandson's jewelry line; exile in Hawaii; New York notoriety, the concept of "Imeldific" -- and encounters with world leaders.

Yvette Ferreol of Bloomberg visited with the 77-year-old Imelda at her apartment on the 34th floor of a luxury high-rise in the Manila's swanky Makati financial district. Ferreol writes in a finely crafted profile that photos of world leaders are everywhere in the home, including those of Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qaddafi and Mao Zedong prominently displayed on her piano. Fidel Castro sits in the driver's seat of a car in one photo, with Marcos as his passenger.

Imelda shared her impressions of some of the most iron-fisted rulers of the past century while talking with Ferreol:

Fedel Castro: "Said in his whole life, he has only driven for two people: his mother and Imelda Marcos," she says, giggling.

Mao Zedong: "Look at this photo. It says, 'Mao flirting with Imelda Marcos,'" she says, pointing to a photo of Mao kissing her hand.

Saddam Hussein: "I don't believe in the death sentence. Saddam was a friend of the Philippines. He was the first leader in the Arab world who welcomed Philippine labor.... When I was on trial, he sent his people to me in New York. If there was anything he could do for me, he was ready to help."

Manuel Noriega: "When we were forced into exile in 1986, he was the one who was about to give us a place for asylum. Some time ago, he sent me his book and a letter. I was so touched because I could not do anything to help him."

Most people recall Ferdinand Marcos as having been accused of massive human rights abuses as he oversaw the destruction of the country's economy while the rest of Asia's economies boomed. He was froced from power in 1986 in one of the world's most peaceful revolutions and died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. Imelda Marcos returned to Manila in 1991 and has been involved in numerous court cases in the U.S. and the Philippines over allegations of corruption, amassing illegal wealth and illegally maintaining Swiss bank accounts holding more than $500 million.

Here's the Bloomberg story.

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April 09, 2007

A U.S. Force of 300,000 to 360,000 Supporting the Iraq War?

Writer Don Monkerud adds up the numbers of US troops and contractors in Iraq for tompaine.org:

+ First he takes the high estimate of 120,000 contractors from the Associated Press.
+ Then adds the currently reported total U.S. military in Iraq at 145,000.
+ Plus another 20,000 for President Bush's surge strategy.

THAT ADDS UP TO: 285,000.

THEN THERE'S THE UNCOUNTED: John Pike with globalsecurity.org estimates another 30,000 are "in the theater" providing Operation Iraqi Freedom support. The Army and Marines have another 10,000 to 20,000 in Kuwait, and a nearby Air Force wing bombing group has 5,000. Current naval exercises in the Persian Gulf, which represents a show of force against Iran, include 10,000 U.S. personnel, the carrier groups Eisenhower and the Stennis, and 15 warships.

THOSE ADD UP TO: 65,000.

THE TOTAL SUM? 350,000. This doesn't count the more than 5,000 British combat troops and naval personnel -- down from a high of 40,000 during the initial invasion -- or the remaining troops from the diminished "Coalition of the Willing," such as Armenia, Estonia, Moldavia and Latvia.

FUZZY MATH? It's hard to say given the Pentagon's continuing reluctance to add up the contractors on the battlefield and in support of the US military or disclose actual troop numbers. But John Pike, a frequent consultant to broadcast network news programs, is usually is in the ballpark. Pike's operation, globalsecurity.org, is one of the best resources on all things military.

Monkerud's op/ed in tompaine.org concludes:

Manipulated figures and private military contractors provide the Bush Administration with political cover to escape public scrutiny and keep injuries, deaths and secret operations out of the public eye. A more accurate and honest view of participation in the Iraqi occupation by the government could give Americans more reason to oppose the waste of lives and resources on this ill-conceived, poorly planned, and disastrous venture.

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April 05, 2007

Detainee: 'My Name Used to Be 200343'

A year ago: Donald Vance learned what its like to be falsely accused by the U.S. military of aiding terrorists. He was held without charge for more than three months in a high-security prison in Iraq, and interrogated daily after sleepless nights without legal counsel or even a phone call to his family.

On Wednesday: The former private security contractor was honored for his ordeal in Washington and for speaking out against the incident. At a luncheon at the National Press Club, Vance received the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling, an award named in memory of Army helicopter gunner Ron Ridenhour who struggled to bring the horrific mass murders at My Lai to the attention of Congress and the Pentagon during the Vietnam War.

Vance was joined by former president Jimmy Carter, who won a lifetime achievement award, and journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran of The Washington Post who was recognised for his recent book, "Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone".

As hundreds at the luncheon finished their lobster salad, Vance, a two-time George W. Bush voter and Navy veteran, recounted the events of his imprisonment and the grief of his fiance and family. They did not know if he was alive or dead, he said. They were already making inquiries to the U.S. State Department on how to ship his body home.

He then drew a wider circle around his experience to include the countless others who have been held falsely without charge and denied normal legal constitutional protections under law. "My name used to be 200343," Vance said recalling his prisoner ID. "If they can do this to a former Navy man and an American, what is happening to people in facilities all over the world run by the American government?"

Vance's nightmare began last year on Apr. 15: When he and co-worker Nathan Ertel barricaded themselves in a Baghdad office after their employer, an Iraqi private security firm, took away their ID tags. They feared for their lives because they suspected the company was involved in selling unauthorised guns on the black market and other nefarious activity. A U.S. military squad freed them from the red zone in Baghdad after a friend at the U.S. embassy advised him to call for help.

Once they reached the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, government officials took them inside the embassy, listened to their individual accounts and then sent them to a trailer outside for sleep. Two or three hours later, before the crack of dawn, U.S. military personnel woke them. This time, however, Vance and Ertel, Shield Security's contract manager, were under arrest. Soldiers bound their wrists with zip ties and covered their eyes with goggles blacked out with duct tape.

The two were then escorted to a humvee and driven first to possibly Camp Prosperity and then to Camp Cropper, a high-security prison near the Baghdad airport where Saddam Hussein was once kept. Vance says he was denied the usual body armour and helmet while traveling through the perilous Baghdad streets outside the safety of the Green Zone or a U.S. military installation.

It was not the way the tall 29-year-old with an easy charm and keen mind had expected to be treated. Vance claims that during the months leading up to his arrest, he worked as an unpaid informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sometimes twice a day, he would share information with an agent in Chicago about the Iraqi-owned Shield Group Security, whose principals and managers appeared to be involved in weapons deals and violence against Iraqi civilians. One company employee regularly bartered alcohol with U.S. military personnel in exchange for ammunition they delivered, Vance said.

"He called it the bullets for beer program," Vance claimed while relating the incident during an interview this week at a cigar bar just walking distance from the White House.

Interrogators at Camp Cropper weren't impressed: Instead, his jailers insisted that Vance and Ertel had been detained and imprisoned because the two worked for Shield Group Security where large caches of weapons have been found -- weapons that may have been intended for possible distribution to insurgents and terrorist groups, Vance said.

In a lawsuit now pending against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the United States and "other unidentified agents," Vance and Ertel accuse their U.S. government captors of subjecting them to psychological torture day and night. Lights were kept on in their cell around the clock. They endured solitary confinement. They had only thin plastic mattresses on concrete for sleeping. Meals were of powdered milk and bread or rice and chicken, but interrupted by selective deprivation of food and water. Ceaseless heavy metal and country music screamed in their ears for hours on end, their legal complaint alleges.

They lived through "conditions of confinement and interrogation tantamount to torture," says the lawsuit filed in northern Illinois U.S. District Court. "Their interrogators utilised the types of physically and mentally coercive tactics that are supposedly reserved for terrorists and so-called enemy combatants."

Rumsfeld is singled out: as the key defendant because he played a critical role in establishing a policy of "unlawful detention and torment" that Vance, Ertel and countless others in the "war on terror" have endured, the lawsuit asserts, noting that the former defense secretary and other high-level military commanders acting at his direction developed and authorised a policy that allows government officials unilateral discretion to designate possible enemies of the United States.

Because the incident and allegations are now in litigation, the Pentagon has no comment, spokesman Army Lieut. Col. Mark Ballesteros said. He referred all inquires to the U.S. Justice Department, which also had no comment for similar reasons.

Darker allegations: are included in the complaint over false imprisonment. Because he worked with the FBI, Vance contends, U.S. government officials in Iraq decided to retaliate against him and Ertel. He believes these officials conspired to jail the two not because they worked for a security company suspected of selling weapons to insurgents, but because they were sharing information with law enforcement agents outside the control of U.S. officials in Baghdad.

"In other words," claims the lawsuit, "United States officials in Iraq were concerned and wanted to find out about what intelligence agents in the United States knew about their territory and their operations. The unconstitutional policies that Rumsfeld and other unidentified agents had implemented for 'enemies' provided ample cover to detain plaintiffs and interrogate them toward that end."

It may take some time to sort out the allegations as the legal process grinds forward, but, in the meantime, Vance is raising new questions about his detention. He still wonders why his jailers didn't just call the FBI and have him cleared. They had access to his computer and cell phone to determine if his claims were true.

"When I told them to do that, they just got angry and told me to stop answering questions I wasn't being asked," Vance said. "I think they were butting heads with the State Department. I just snitched on the wrong people. I took the bull by the horns and got the horn."

And why weren't managers with the Shield Group held and interrogated?

Interrogators were certainly interested in these other individuals, according to the lawsuit. They wanted to know about the company's structure, its political contacts, and its owners -- most of whom are related to a long-established Iraqi family who fled Iraq during the years the country was ruled by Saddam Hussein, Vance said.

More startling even now is that the company has reformed: At the time they left, Shield Security held U.S.-funded contracts with the Iraqi government, Iraqi companies, NGOs and U.S. contractors. As far as Vance knows, the company still does -- but under a different name: National Shield Security.

'I built their original web site. All they did was change the name," he said. "And they are still being awarded millions of dollars in contracts."

Motion for expedited discovery.

One Tough Job

The most dangerous job in Iraq?: Asking questions about the missing billions of dollars in Iraq assets.

The country's top corruption fighter, Radi al-Radhi, who runs the Public Integrity Commission, tells the Associated Press that 20 members of his organization have been murdered since it began its work.

On Wednesday al-Radhi said that $8 billion in government money was wasted or stolen over the past three years. After opening an investigation into scores of Oil Ministry employees, he claimed he was threatened with death.

Meanwhile: An estimated $2 billion disappeared from funds to rebuild the electricity infrastructure.

Former Electricity Minister Ayham al-Samaraie, who holds both U.S. and Iraqi citizenship, was convicted in that case and sentenced to two years in prison.

Who can forget?: Iraqi officials arrested al-Samaraie last August. He was convicted of corruption and given a two-year sentence. Just months later, he broke out of an Iraqi-run jail in the Green Zone on Dec. 17 with the help of a private security company (free dinner to anyone who tells me what company that was). Al-Samaraie claimed he had become an assasination target, according to published reports. He turned up in Chicago on Jan, 15 where he had immgrated there 30 years ago and became a partner in a suburban engineering firm. After the 2003 Coalition invasion, Al-Samaraie raced back to Iraq and became a member of the transitional Iraqi government.

More from the AP:

Al-Radhi said the commission has investigated about 2,600 corruption cases since it was established in March 2004, a few months before the United States returned sovereignty to Iraq. He estimated $8 billion has vanished or been misappropriated.

Corruption in the country, while traditionally rampant, is encouraged by constitutional clause 136 B, al-Radhi said. It gives Cabinet ministers the power to block his investigations.

So far, he said, ministers have blocked probes into the theft or misspending of an estimated additional $55 million in public funds.

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April 02, 2007

New Iraq Contract Lasts Until 2010?

MPRI, Alexandria, Va., was awarded on March 27, 2007, a $15,313,655 firm-fixed-price contract for instructors for the Counterinsurgency Center for Excellence. Work will be performed in Baghdad, Iraq, and is expected to be completed by June 15, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on Jan. 19, 2007, and four bids were received. The Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan, Baghdad, Iraq, is the contracting activity (W91GER-07-C-0007).

Defenselink.

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David Phinney

The ROUGH CUT .... phinneydavid (at) yahoo.com