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James Steele (United States Army officer)

January 01, 1970

For other people named James Steele, see James Steele (disambiguation).

James Steele is a consultant and retired United States Army officer whose military career and work as a military contractor from Vietnam to the Iraq War drew controversy for allegations of abuse and war crimes.

James Steele
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service24 years[1]
RankColonel
Battles/warsVietnam War
Salvadoran Civil War
Iran contra affair
Iraq War
AwardsDefense Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit (4)
Bronze Star Medal (3)
Purple Heart[2]
Alma mater

Steele's military career began during the Cold War, assigned to postings in Central and South America. He was involved in the "dirty wars", training counter-insurgency commandos who later carried out violations of human rights.[3] He later served in the Vietnam war. From 1984 to 1986, during the Salvadoran Civil War, Steele operated as a counterinsurgency specialist and was a member of a group of United States special forces advisers to the Salvadoran Army.[4] In 1986 he was implicated in the Iran contra affair. In 2004, early in the Iraq War, Steele was sent by Donald Rumsfeld to serve as a civilian adviser to Iraqi paramilitary Special Police Commandos known as the Wolf Brigade.

Iraq war counter-insurgency activities edit

In 2004, during the US occupation of Iraq, Steele was sent as a civilian adviser to train the Special Police Commandos; a paramilitary unit known as the Wolf Brigade that was later accused by a UN official of torture and murder, and of being involved in the use of death squads.[5][6][7] The Wolf Brigade was created and supported by the US and it enabled the redeployment of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard but with the new task of suppressing the Iraqi insurgency.[8] According to Angelina Snodgrass Godoy, this was part of the US drive to use "dirty tactics" against insurgents in Iraq, a counterinsurgency doctrine known as "fighting terror with terror," and one that had previously been exercised or promoted by the US in other countries, including Vietnam and El Salvador.[9] Steele worked closely with Colonel James Coffman, an American Army officer who advised Iraqi Special Police Commandos during Multi-National Security Transition Command operations, and who has also been implicated in human rights abuses of Iraqi detainees.[10][11][12] Coffman reported directly to General David Petraeus and worked alongside Steele in detention centers that were set up with US funding.[13]

Steele was mentioned by US Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz, former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld and others, and was present in various high-profile meetings while keeping a secret role. In 2013, The Guardian and the BBC revealed Steele's connection to torture centres which sprang up after US led Shia groups joined the security forces.[14] According to that report, "Jim" Steele's first experience of war was in Vietnam. Later, from 1984 to 1986, "Steele – a 'counterinsurgency specialist' – was head of the US MilGroup of US special forces advisers to front line battalions of the Salvadoran military, which developed a fearsome international reputation for its death-squad activities." He later "became involved in the Iran-Contra affair, which saw the proceeds from covert arms sales by senior US officials to Iran used to fund the Contras". The Guardian writes, "Soon after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, now retired Colonel James Steele was in Baghdad as one of the White House's most important agents, sending back reports to Donald Rumsfeld and acting as the US defense secretary's personal envoy to Iraq's Special Police Commandos, whose intelligence-gathering activities he oversaw."[15][16]

General Muntadher al-Samari, Iraqi interior ministry commander from 2003 to 2005, revealed the US role in torture carried out by the Special Commandos' interrogation units, claiming that Steele and his colleague Col. James H. Coffman, Jr. knew exactly what was being done. Al-Samari described "the ugliest sorts of torture" he had ever seen, which included the severe beating and hanging of detainees, as well as the pulling off of their fingernails. The Guardian report also claimed that the US backing of sectarian paramilitary units helped create conditions that led to sectarian civil war.[17]

The Guardian's documentary "James Steele: America's mystery man in Iraq" shows a memo from Steele to Rumsfeld which Rumsfeld had released as part of "The Rumsfeld Papers". In the memo Steele stated that SCIRI and its Badr Brigade protected "thugs like the commander of the Wolf Brigade who has been engaged in death squad activities".[18]

Business activities edit

Col. James Steele is currently registered with Premiere Motivational Speakers, through which he charges $15,000 to give speeches on "Security and Counterterrorism Policy".[19] He is also listed as the CEO of Buchanan Renewables,[20] an energy company that produces biomass in Liberia. Steele's company has been accused of corporate malfeasance by the Liberian legislature[21] and was the subject of an investigative report in 2011 by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations. The report describes "how the company, which presents itself as a highly sustainable venture, has a negative impact on the livelihoods of a number of smallholder farmers, has not taken adequate measures to improve the energy situation in Liberia, and has a corporate structure which can be optimally used to avoid paying taxes in Liberia."[22]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ premierespeakers.com (2013). . Premiere Speakers Bureau. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  2. ^ The Guardian (March 6, 2013). "From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads". The Guardian. London. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  3. ^ Mass, Peter (May 1, 2005). "The Way of the Commandos". New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  4. ^ As documented in Dan Kovalik's The Plot to Attack Iran. Skyhorse Publishing. New York. 2018.
  5. ^ Buncombe, Andrew and Patrick Cockburn. "Iraq's death squads: On the brink of civil war", The Independent. February 26, 2006
  6. ^ Spencer, Richard (October 25, 2010). "Wikileaks war logs: who are the 'Wolf Brigade'? – Telegraph". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  7. ^ "Wikileaks: Americans handed over captives to Iraq torture squads – Telegraph". London: The Daily Telegraph. October 25, 2010. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  8. ^ Leigh, David (October 24, 2010). "Iraq war logs: US turned over captives to Iraqi torture squads". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  9. ^ Snodgrass Godoy, Angelina (2006), Popular Injustice: Violence, Community, And Law in Latin America, Stanford University Press, pp. 175–180, (ISBN 978-0804753838).
  10. ^ "Colonel Receives DSC for Leading Iraqi Commandos". Military.com. 2005-08-29. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  11. ^ O'Kane, Maggie; Mahmood, Mona; Madlena, Chavala; Smith, Teresa (March 6, 2013). "Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres | World news". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  12. ^ "James Steele in Iraq: only known video footage". London: guardian.co.uk. March 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  13. ^ "Report Links US Advisers to Iraq Torture Centers". Military.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  14. ^ Mahmood, Mona and Maggie O'Kane, Chavala Madlena, Teresa Smith. "Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres", The Guardian. March 6, 2013.
  15. ^ Mahmood, Mona (March 6, 2013). "From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  16. ^ Mahmood, Mona (March 6, 2013). "Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  17. ^ Deutsche Press Agentur. "Report: US advisers in Iraq linked to torture centers", Stars and Stripes. March 7, 2013.
  18. ^ "Steele memo", The Rumsfeld Papers.
  19. ^ Pitzke, Marc. "Geheimgefängnisse im Irak: Die schlimmste Art von Folter", Der Spiegel. March 7, 2013.
  20. ^ Mahmood, Mona and Maggie O'Kane, Chavala Madlena, Teresa Smith. "From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads", The Guardian. March 6, 2013.
  21. ^ Zeze Eavans Ballah. "Liberia: Buchanan Renewables Engages In Bad Business Practice", The African Standard. June 02, 2012.
  22. ^ "Controversy at biomass-producing company in Liberia" 2013-06-21 at the Wayback Machine, SOMO: Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations. November 10, 2011.

External links edit

  • James Steele: America's mystery man in Iraq – video The Guardian, 6 March 2013
  • BBC-Guardian Exposé Uses WikiLeaks to Link Iraq Torture Centers to U.S. Col. Steele & Gen. Petraeus Democracy Now!, 22 March 2013
  • Documentary: James Steele: America’s mystery man in Iraq, March 2013
  • Searching for Steele – documentary by Maggie O'Kane, broadcast by Al Jazeera English in 2013 (video, 47 mins)

January 01, 1970
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For other people named James Steele see James Steele disambiguation This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages The neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message This article s lead section contains information that is not included elsewhere in the article If the information is appropriate for the lead of the article this information should also be included in the body of the article October 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message The verifiability of the claims made in this article is disputed Please help improve this article by verifying its references and removing any that are not reliable or do not support the article Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message James Steele is a consultant and retired United States Army officer whose military career and work as a military contractor from Vietnam to the Iraq War drew controversy for allegations of abuse and war crimes James SteeleAllegianceUnited StatesService wbr branchUnited States ArmyYears of service24 years 1 RankColonelBattles warsVietnam WarSalvadoran Civil WarIran contra affairIraq WarAwardsDefense Distinguished Service MedalSilver StarLegion of Merit 4 Bronze Star Medal 3 Purple Heart 2 Alma materUniversity of Dayton BS University of Florida MA Steele s military career began during the Cold War assigned to postings in Central and South America He was involved in the dirty wars training counter insurgency commandos who later carried out violations of human rights 3 He later served in the Vietnam war From 1984 to 1986 during the Salvadoran Civil War Steele operated as a counterinsurgency specialist and was a member of a group of United States special forces advisers to the Salvadoran Army 4 In 1986 he was implicated in the Iran contra affair In 2004 early in the Iraq War Steele was sent by Donald Rumsfeld to serve as a civilian adviser to Iraqi paramilitary Special Police Commandos known as the Wolf Brigade Contents 1 Iraq war counter insurgency activities 2 Business activities 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksIraq war counter insurgency activities editIn 2004 during the US occupation of Iraq Steele was sent as a civilian adviser to train the Special Police Commandos a paramilitary unit known as the Wolf Brigade that was later accused by a UN official of torture and murder and of being involved in the use of death squads 5 6 7 The Wolf Brigade was created and supported by the US and it enabled the redeployment of Saddam Hussein s Republican Guard but with the new task of suppressing the Iraqi insurgency 8 According to Angelina Snodgrass Godoy this was part of the US drive to use dirty tactics against insurgents in Iraq a counterinsurgency doctrine known as fighting terror with terror and one that had previously been exercised or promoted by the US in other countries including Vietnam and El Salvador 9 Steele worked closely with Colonel James Coffman an American Army officer who advised Iraqi Special Police Commandos during Multi National Security Transition Command operations and who has also been implicated in human rights abuses of Iraqi detainees 10 11 12 Coffman reported directly to General David Petraeus and worked alongside Steele in detention centers that were set up with US funding 13 Steele was mentioned by US Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld and others and was present in various high profile meetings while keeping a secret role In 2013 The Guardian and the BBC revealed Steele s connection to torture centres which sprang up after US led Shia groups joined the security forces 14 According to that report Jim Steele s first experience of war was in Vietnam Later from 1984 to 1986 Steele a counterinsurgency specialist was head of the US MilGroup of US special forces advisers to front line battalions of the Salvadoran military which developed a fearsome international reputation for its death squad activities He later became involved in the Iran Contra affair which saw the proceeds from covert arms sales by senior US officials to Iran used to fund the Contras The Guardian writes Soon after the 2003 US led invasion of Iraq now retired Colonel James Steele was in Baghdad as one of the White House s most important agents sending back reports to Donald Rumsfeld and acting as the US defense secretary s personal envoy to Iraq s Special Police Commandos whose intelligence gathering activities he oversaw 15 16 General Muntadher al Samari Iraqi interior ministry commander from 2003 to 2005 revealed the US role in torture carried out by the Special Commandos interrogation units claiming that Steele and his colleague Col James H Coffman Jr knew exactly what was being done Al Samari described the ugliest sorts of torture he had ever seen which included the severe beating and hanging of detainees as well as the pulling off of their fingernails The Guardian report also claimed that the US backing of sectarian paramilitary units helped create conditions that led to sectarian civil war 17 The Guardian s documentary James Steele America s mystery man in Iraq shows a memo from Steele to Rumsfeld which Rumsfeld had released as part of The Rumsfeld Papers In the memo Steele stated that SCIRI and its Badr Brigade protected thugs like the commander of the Wolf Brigade who has been engaged in death squad activities 18 Business activities editCol James Steele is currently registered with Premiere Motivational Speakers through which he charges 15 000 to give speeches on Security and Counterterrorism Policy 19 He is also listed as the CEO of Buchanan Renewables 20 an energy company that produces biomass in Liberia Steele s company has been accused of corporate malfeasance by the Liberian legislature 21 and was the subject of an investigative report in 2011 by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations The report describes how the company which presents itself as a highly sustainable venture has a negative impact on the livelihoods of a number of smallholder farmers has not taken adequate measures to improve the energy situation in Liberia and has a corporate structure which can be optimally used to avoid paying taxes in Liberia 22 See also editFarabundo Marti National Liberation Front Foreign internal defense Salvador OptionReferences edit premierespeakers com 2013 Jim Steele Premiere Speakers Bureau Archived from the original on March 10 2013 Retrieved March 23 2013 The Guardian March 6 2013 From El Salvador to Iraq Washington s man behind brutal police squads The Guardian London Retrieved March 22 2013 Mass Peter May 1 2005 The Way of the Commandos New York Times Retrieved March 22 2013 As documented in Dan Kovalik s The Plot to Attack Iran Skyhorse Publishing New York 2018 Buncombe Andrew and Patrick Cockburn Iraq s death squads On the brink of civil war The Independent February 26 2006 Spencer Richard October 25 2010 Wikileaks war logs who are the Wolf Brigade Telegraph London The Daily Telegraph Retrieved 2013 03 08 Wikileaks Americans handed over captives to Iraq torture squads Telegraph London The Daily Telegraph October 25 2010 Retrieved 2013 03 08 Leigh David October 24 2010 Iraq war logs US turned over captives to Iraqi torture squads London guardian co uk Retrieved 2013 03 08 Snodgrass Godoy Angelina 2006 Popular Injustice Violence Community And Law in Latin America Stanford University Press pp 175 180 ISBN 978 0804753838 Colonel Receives DSC for Leading Iraqi Commandos Military com 2005 08 29 Retrieved 2009 04 02 O Kane Maggie Mahmood Mona Madlena Chavala Smith Teresa March 6 2013 Revealed Pentagon s link to Iraqi torture centres World news The Guardian London Retrieved 2013 03 06 James Steele in Iraq only known video footage London guardian co uk March 6 2013 Retrieved 2013 03 08 Report Links US Advisers to Iraq Torture Centers Military com Retrieved 2013 03 08 Mahmood Mona and Maggie O Kane Chavala Madlena Teresa Smith Revealed Pentagon s link to Iraqi torture centres The Guardian March 6 2013 Mahmood Mona March 6 2013 From El Salvador to Iraq Washington s man behind brutal police squads London guardian co uk Retrieved 2013 03 07 Mahmood Mona March 6 2013 Revealed Pentagon s link to Iraqi torture centres London guardian co uk Retrieved 2013 03 07 Deutsche Press Agentur Report US advisers in Iraq linked to torture centers Stars and Stripes March 7 2013 Steele memo The Rumsfeld Papers Pitzke Marc Geheimgefangnisse im Irak Die schlimmste Art von Folter Der Spiegel March 7 2013 Mahmood Mona and Maggie O Kane Chavala Madlena Teresa Smith From El Salvador to Iraq Washington s man behind brutal police squads The Guardian March 6 2013 Zeze Eavans Ballah Liberia Buchanan Renewables Engages In Bad Business Practice The African Standard June 02 2012 Controversy at biomass producing company in Liberia Archived 2013 06 21 at the Wayback Machine SOMO Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations November 10 2011 External links editJames Steele America s mystery man in Iraq video The Guardian 6 March 2013 BBC Guardian Expose Uses WikiLeaks to Link Iraq Torture Centers to U S Col Steele amp Gen Petraeus Democracy Now 22 March 2013 Documentary James Steele America s mystery man in Iraq March 2013 Biography of Jim Steele Counselor to US Ambassador for Iraqi Security Forces Searching for Steele documentary by Maggie O Kane broadcast by Al Jazeera English in 2013 video 47 mins Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Steele United States Army officer amp oldid 1222364421, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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