Synopsis: Until Fall From Grace That "Evil Aristide" Was Protected
by "Private" US Military Firm of Ex-CIA ops
Source: Democracynow.org
Published: March 2, 2004 Author: Democracy Now, AMY GOODMAN,
KENNETH KURTZ
For Education and Discussion Only. Not for Commercial Use.
Reports emerged yesterday that the private U.S. security firm guarding
President Aristide was prevented by the White House from sending
reinforcements to Haiti last week to bolster his security. We speak
with the CEO of the firm Kenneth Kurtz. [includes transcript]
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As we reported yesterday on Democracy Now!, Jean-Bertrand Aristide
says he was told by US officials this weekend that if he did not leave
Haiti, paramilitary leader Guy Philippe would storm the palace and
Aristide would be killed. Congressmember Maxine Waters said on this
program that Aristide was told by the US that they were withdrawing
Aristide's US security. But just what was Aristide's "US Security?"
It turns out that Aristide was being guarded by a private security
firm, based in San Francisco. It is called the Steele Foundation. It
is made up of former US special forces soldiers, intelligence officers
and other security experts. The company has been on a State
Department-approved contract with the Haitian government since 1998.
The Miami Herald reports that the White House blocked a last-minute
attempt by Aristide to bolster his US security as the paramilitaries
reached the capital. The paper said U.S. officials prevented
reinforcements from the Steele Foundation from going to Haiti last
week to protect Aristide.
According to media reports, the Steele Foundation asked the U.S.
embassy in Port-au-Prince on Saturday whether the company could count
on American protection in the event of rebel hostilities at the
presidential palace. They were reportedly told that no such protection
would be provided.
The Steele Foundation knows well the Haitian leaders of the current
coup. In December 2001, Steele's guards fought back a coup attempt by
paramilitary leader Guy Philippe - who had been trained by US Special
Forces in Ecuador in the early 1990s. In that coup attempt, Guy
Philippe led two dozen heavily armed men in attacking the National
Palace in Port-au-Prince, killing four people.
Aristide was not in the palace at the time and survived the attempt.
Following the incident, Aristide's Steele guard rose from about 10 to
about 60 in 2000 after an apparent coup attempt the previous December,
according to Herald reports.
Kenneth Kurtz, CEO of the San Francisco-based security company Steele
Foundation.
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TRANSCRIPT...
AMY GOODMAN: Yesterday we managed to reach the CEO of the Steele
Foundation, Ken Kurtz, on the telephone at his corporate headquarters
in San Francisco.
KENNETH KURTZ: The Republic of Haiti contracted with the Steele
Foundation to provide protective services and training to the office
of the president in the Republic of Haiti in 1998, and we have
successfully carried out that contract since then.
AMY GOODMAN: President Aristide is saying that he was kidnapped. Can
you comment on that?
KENNETH KURTZ: I haven't heard President Aristide say that he was
kidnapped. I can tell you that the mission of our company is to
protect the head of state from assassination, kidnapping, and
embarrassment, and that's what we did.
AMY GOODMAN: He says he told a Congressmember - and he was just on CNN
- and he said he was kidnapped.
KENNETH KURTZ: Again, I haven't heard President Aristide say that, so
I cannot comment.
AMY GOODMAN: Have some Steele Foundation security gone with him to the
Central African Republic?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot comment on that.
AMY GOODMAN: And were Steele Foundation personnel there on Saturday
night?
KENNETH KURTZ: We were with the president when he left the country.
AMY GOODMAN: Did you ask the US Government in Haiti whether you could
count on more protection if rebels attacked the president?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot comment on that.
AMY GOODMAN: Were you concerned in these last days that you didn't
have enough personnel there, given the environment?
KENNETH KURTZ: Oh, I think for weeks the government was deeply
concerned about protecting themselves against a rebel force that was
very well armed. I think that over the last few weeks, you saw that
President Aristide asked for international assistance to be able to
protect his government, a democratically elected government against an
invading rebel force essentially.
AMY GOODMAN: How well armed is that rebel force?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot go into specifics. They were well armed.
AMY GOODMAN: Is the Steele Foundation still in Haiti protecting other
personnel of the government of Haiti?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot confirm that.
AMY GOODMAN: Does the Steele Foundation work hand-in-hand with the US
military in a case like this, with US soldiers coming in?
KENNETH KURTZ: No, not at all. In this case we work for the government
of Haiti. We took direction directly - and only from - the president.
AMY GOODMAN: Was the president concerned that the military - or that
his security forces - would be leaving? Did the Steele Foundation ever
tell the president that you would be leaving him, if he did not leave?
KENNETH KURTZ: No, no, of course not. We’ve been in Haiti since 1998,
and we’ve been through one attempted coup d’etat - in December 17th a
couple of years ago. We’ve been through some very, very serious
situations. The people that worked in Haiti, protecting the president,
were 100% dedicated to President Aristide and insuring that we
fulfilled our mission and our focus, which was to insure his safety as
well as the safety of his family.
AMY GOODMAN: Are many of the forces that you work with, or the
personnel that the Steele Foundation works with, are they veterans of
US Special Forces?
KENNETH KURTZ: Our personnel are all trained in their respective
skills. The Steele Foundation is a multinational corporation. Our team
in Haiti, I can confirm, is an international team.
AMY GOODMAN: The attempted coup was carried out by whom? In December
17th.
KENNETH KURTZ: I think there were a number of people. Guy Philippe was
certainly involved in that. I think, that historically, if you look at
the individuals that are involved in this "rebel force," they are all
historical individuals in Haiti, who had a very active role in some
extreme violence in the country.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think President Aristide had reason to be
concerned?
KENNETH KURTZ: I can’t speak on behalf of President Aristide.
AMY GOODMAN: Were your men concerned?
KENNETH KURTZ: We were concerned about the overall security situation
in the country. As protecting the president, we consistently made sure
that we had proper resources in place.
AMY GOODMAN: Did the US Government ever tell the Steele Foundation to
leave?
KENNETH KURTZ: No.
AMY GOODMAN: What did they tell you?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot comment on that.
AMY GOODMAN: Did they ever say they wouldn't help you in these last
days, when it got more and more precarious, more and more dangerous?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot comment on that.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you feel that you had the support of the US Government
there in protecting President Aristide?
KENNETH KURTZ: It was our job to protect President Aristide, not the
job of the United States Government.
AMY GOODMAN: I’m looking at a piece in the Miami Herald, that says,
"The Bush Administration blocked a last minute attempt by President
Aristide to bolster his bodyguards - mostly former US Special Forces
members - fearing he wanted them to organize and lead a counterattack
against the rebels... US Officials also forced a small group of extra
bodyguards from the Steele Foundation to delay their flight from the
United States to Haiti from Sunday to a later day - too late to help
Aristide, said the sources, who are close to Aristide." Is that true?
KENNETH KURTZ: No. No. It's not.
AMY GOODMAN: Did those reinforcements come?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot comment.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you feel President Aristide's life was in danger when
he left?
KENNETH KURTZ: I think that the security situation in the country was
very serious, and I think that if international assistance would have
arrived, it would have certainly stabilized the situation.
AMY GOODMAN: Did you call for it as well?
KENNETH KURTZ: It wasn't our place to call for that. Our only mission
was to provide protection to the office of the president.
AMY GOODMAN: And you felt that if forces had come in, it would have
shored him up? It would have protected him?
KENNETH KURTZ: I think it would have stabilized the security situation
in the country.
AMY GOODMAN: Did any of your men get delayed in coming down and adding
to the contingent around the president?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot comment on that.
AMY GOODMAN: Steele Foundation was the company that was there to
protect the president. In the end, the president clearly felt he had
gotten the message, he said, from US Forces, that he would no longer
be protected. Why do you think he felt that way?
KENNETH KURTZ: I cannot comment on why President Aristide, or what
President Aristide said. I guess anybody watching the news can see
that the security situation in the country was dire.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think that the US Military could have made a
difference at the end?
KENNETH KURTZ: Well, I would probably turn that question around you
to, and ask, "Looking at the US military, coming in the day after he
left, and that, in itself, insuring some stability, do you think that,
if they would have come in a day before, it would have created
stability?"
AMY GOODMAN: And that is Kenneth Kurtz, CEO of the Steele Foundation.
You can hear the whole interview on our website at democracynow.org.
Steele Foundation works in security around the world, including in
Iraq. I asked Mr. Kurtz if the Steele Foundation is providing security
for Paul Bremer. He said he would not comment. That does it for
today's program. Again, our website has comprehensive coverage of the
situation in Haiti - democracynow.org.
To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click here
for our new online ordering or call 1 (800) 881-2359.
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BlackJade writes: "As Aristide's US intelligence and "special forces"
protectors "give," so they "take away." With Aristide dependent on a
US "private military firm," the Steele Foundation, which consists of
"retired FBI, CIA and military personnel," it isn't difficult to see
how Aristide was set up for a fall, if he fell out of favor with
Washington. These "private US military firms," i.e. MPRI, DynCorp,
Vinnell, and the Steele Foundation, facilitate this US "play both
sides" strategy.
Kurtz has "no comment" on if "Steele Foundation is providing security
for Paul Bremer"? Well, their position in US-occupied Iraq, and the US
client states, Saudi Arabia & Kuwait, is very well-coordinated.
According to their own website:
"The Steele Foundation is strategically located throughout the Middle
East to provide your organization with real-time intelligence, a quick
response anywhere in Iraq, and local insight. In order to achieve
these objectives, The Steele Foundation provides 24/7 operations in
Iraq coordinated and supported by four interlinked offices located in
Kuwait City, Baghdad, Amman, and Riyadh - which in turn are supported
by Steele Foundation offices on five continents.
Conducting business in Iraq requires trustworthy associations and an
understanding of each region's culture. The Steele Foundation has
built strong relationships with tribal leaders and Sheiks throughout
Iraq and the region."
Aristide said that "he was told by US officials this weekend that if
he did not leave Haiti, paramilitary leader Guy Philippe would storm
the palace and Aristide would be killed" and Philippe was "trained by
US Special Forces in Ecuador"? This follows a familiar pattern of CIA
fronts, which finance and assist "regime changes." Did Canda Support a
Coup in Haiti?
"The International Republican Institute, a Republican-Party backed arm
of the National Endowment for Democracy, gave the Haitian opposition
political parties three million dollars a year. A month ago “rebels”
armed with American-made weapons marched into the country from the
Dominican Republic. This unsavoury lot of wanted murderers, former
coup plotters and narco-traffickers includes Emmanuel Constant who has
already gone on record saying that in the mid-1990s he was on the CIA
payroll. Rebel leader Guy Philippe was trained by the U.S. military as
an army officer in Ecuador, according to a report published Friday by
Human Rights Watch. Already it's been reported that Philippe has met
with high-ranking members of the political coalition that opposed
Aristide and he's been seen around U.S. marines.""
Post Extras:
BlackJade
(revolutionary)
03/04/04 11:55 PM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1342870, reply to 1342789 ] (Score: 2)
Flag to: aerial, Aeryn_Sun, AdaC, AGAviator, amalgamy, angle, Arator,
aristeides, askel5, Axle, Backhoe, Baron_Stein, BlackVeil, bluegrass,
boston_liberty, Buckeroo, Carry_Okie, CubicleGuy
Post Extras:
BlackJade
(revolutionary)
03/04/04 11:57 PM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1342877, reply to 1342789 ] (Score: 2)
Flag to: D_Joyce, demidog, Desertgirl, djarum, DocLady, Earth_AD,
Eric, ExiledInTaiwan, Fletch, GovernmentMule, heretic, hoplophile,
Indie2, irtorqued, Itisalmosttolate, Jack_Barbara, Jefferson_Adams,
JRadcliffe, John Deere
Post Extras:
BlackJade
(revolutionary)
03/04/04 11:59 PM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1342880, reply to 1342789 ] (Score: 2)
Flag to: JohnGalt, KingKangaroo, Kudzu, laconas, LiberteeBell, loner,
LSJohn, madrussian, Magician, Malarski, MadameAxe, Mercuria,
Mr_MJS_2U2, Mr_Nuke_Buzzcut, NAFV, NewAmsterdam, NewsWatcher, NMC_EXP
Post Extras:
BlackJade
(revolutionary)
03/05/04 12:01 AM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1342883, reply to 1342789 ] (Score: 2)
Flag to: nunya_bidness, OKCSubmariner, OWK, PaleoCon, PaloVerde,
pariahville, PeteAtomic, Pistias, plummz, Randal, ratcat, Rdavis84,
reprehensor, RidinShotgun, Selfgov, shez, SourDove
Post Extras:
BlackJade
(revolutionary)
03/05/04 12:04 AM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1342888, reply to 1342789 ] (Score: 2)
Flag to: Spar, steve50, SwimmingUpstream, texoma, thoughtcriminal,
ThreeOfSeven, toddbrendanfahey, Travis_McGee, Valis, Zviadist, zylstra
Post Extras:
steve50
(insurgent)
03/05/04 05:33 AM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1343118, reply to 1342888 ] (Score: 2)
Haven't heard any direct comments from Aristiede in a few days. Must
be some truth to the rumor he's being held incommunicado until the
spin has time to set.
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Ford Prefect: Zaphod, old mate, I trust you about as far as I could
comfortably spit out a rat.
Post Extras:
angle
(rebel)
03/05/04 05:35 AM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1343121, reply to 1342789 ] (Score: 1)
I cannot comment.
I guess it sounds better than "declined to respond to our request for
an interview".
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I give a damn. That's the problem.
Post Extras:
NewsWatcher
(well of great wisdom)
03/05/04 05:37 AM
Re: Head of U.S. Security Firm That Guarded Aristide Speaks Out [
To: BlackJade | Post 1343126, reply to 1342789 ] (Score: -1)
I watched the news constantly and saw the rebels many times.
I only saw them with foreign weapons such as Chartered Industries of
Singapore SAR-80 rifles and Israeli UZI submachineguns and vintage US
small arms.
When the CIA arms insurgencies, they generally provide them with
Israeli small arms, or Egyptian-made Soviet pattern small arms.
.
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