View source for James Steele (United States Army officer)

{{Short description|Retired American colonel and figure of the "Dirty Wars"}}
{{other people|James Steele}}
{{Multiple issues|1=
{{POV|date=January 2022}}
{{Lead extra info|date=October 2022}}
{{Verifiability|date=January 2022}}
}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = James Steele
| image         =
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| allegiance    = United States
| branch        = [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears  = 24 years<ref name="premierespeakers.com">{{cite web|year = 2013|url = http://premierespeakers.com/jim_steele/bio|title = Jim Steele|publisher = Premiere Speakers Bureau|access-date = March 23, 2013|last = premierespeakers.com|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130310042913/http://premierespeakers.com/jim_steele/bio|archive-date = March 10, 2013}}</ref>
| rank          = [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]
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| battles       = [[Vietnam War]]<br/>[[Salvadoran Civil War]]<br/>[[Iran contra]] affair<br/>[[Iraq War]]
| awards        = [[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]]<br/>[[Silver Star]]<br/>[[Legion of Merit]] (4)<br/>[[Bronze Star Medal]] (3)<br/>[[Purple Heart]]<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news |url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington|title = From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads|work = [[The Guardian]]| access-date = March 22, 2013 | last=The Guardian| location=London | date=March 6, 2013}}</ref>
| alma_mater    = {{unbulleted list|[[University of Dayton]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])}}|[[University of Florida]] {{small|([[Master of Arts|MA]])}}}}
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}}
'''James Steele''' is a consultant and retired [[United States Army]] officer whose military career and work as a military contractor from [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] to the [[Iraq War]] drew controversy for allegations of abuse and war crimes.
Steele's military career began during the [[Cold War]], assigned to [[United States Southern Command|postings]] in Central and South America. He was involved in the "[[dirty war]]s", training [[counter-insurgency]] commandos who later carried out violations of [[human rights]].<ref name="PETER MAASS">{{cite news |date= May 1, 2005|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/magazine/01ARMY.html?pagewanted=all&position=&_r=0|title = The Way of the Commandos|work = [[New York Times]]| access-date = March 22, 2013 | last=Mass| first= Peter}}</ref> 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]].<ref>As documented in [[Daniel Kovalik|Dan Kovalik]]'s The Plot to Attack Iran. Skyhorse Publishing. New York. 2018.</ref> 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 [[Iraq]]i paramilitary [[Special Police Commandos]] known as the [[Wolf Brigade (Iraq)|Wolf Brigade]].
==Iraq war counter-insurgency activities==
In 2004, during the [[Iraq War|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 squad]]s.<ref>Buncombe, Andrew and Patrick Cockburn. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraqs-death-squads-on-the-brink-of-civil-war-467784.html "Iraq's death squads: On the brink of civil war"], ''The Independent''. February 26, 2006</ref><ref>{{cite news| title = Wikileaks war logs: who are the 'Wolf Brigade'? – Telegraph| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/8085604/Wikileaks-war-logs-who-are-the-Wolf-Brigade.html| access-date = 2013-03-08| publisher = [[The Daily Telegraph]]| location=London| first=Richard| last=Spencer| date=October 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title = Wikileaks: Americans handed over captives to Iraq torture squads – Telegraph| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/8084720/Wikileaks-Americans-handed-over-captives-to-Iraq-torture-squads.html| access-date = 2013-03-08| publisher = [[The Daily Telegraph]]| location=London| date=October 25, 2010}}</ref> The Wolf Brigade was created and supported by the US and it enabled the redeployment of [[Saddam Hussein|Saddam Hussein's]] [[Republican Guard (Iraq)|Republican Guard]] but with the new task of suppressing the Iraqi insurgency.<ref>{{cite news | title = Iraq war logs: US turned over captives to Iraqi torture squads | url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/24/iraq-war-logs-us-iraqi-torture | access-date = 2013-03-08 | first = David | last = Leigh | publisher = [[guardian.co.uk]]| location=London| date=October 24, 2010}}</ref> 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]].<ref>Snodgrass Godoy, Angelina (2006), ''Popular Injustice: Violence, Community, And Law in Latin America,'' Stanford University Press, pp. 175–180, ({{ISBN|978-0804753838}}).</ref> Steele worked closely with [[James H. Coffman, Jr.|Colonel James Coffman]], an American Army officer who advised Iraqi Special Police Commandos during [[Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq|Multi-National Security Transition Command]] operations, and who has also been implicated in human rights abuses of Iraqi detainees.<ref name="coffman">{{cite web|url=http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Defensewatch_082905_DSC,00.html|title=Colonel Receives DSC for Leading Iraqi Commandos|date=2005-08-29|publisher=Military.com|access-date=2009-04-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/pentagon-iraqi-torture-centres-link |title=Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres &#124; World news |work=The Guardian |date= March 6, 2013|access-date=2013-03-06 |location=London |first1=Maggie |last1=O'Kane |first2=Mona |last2=Mahmood |first3=Chavala |last3=Madlena |first4=Teresa |last4=Smith}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = James Steele in Iraq: only known video footage | url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/mar/06/james-steele-iraq-video | access-date = 2013-03-08 | publisher = [[guardian.co.uk]]| location=London| date=March 6, 2013}}</ref> Coffman reported directly to [[General David Petraeus]] and worked alongside Steele in detention centers that were set up with US funding.<ref>{{cite web | title = Report Links US Advisers to Iraq Torture Centers | publisher= Military.com | url = http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/03/07/report-links-us-advisers-to-iraq-torture-centers.html?comp=7000023317843&rank=9 | access-date = 2013-03-08 }}</ref>
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.<ref>Mahmood, Mona and Maggie O'Kane, Chavala Madlena, Teresa Smith. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/pentagon-iraqi-torture-centres-link "Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres"], ''The Guardian''. March 6, 2013.</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|title = From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads|url =https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington | access-date = 2013-03-07 | first = Mona | last = Mahmood | publisher = [[guardian.co.uk]] | location=London | date=March 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres | url =https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/pentagon-iraqi-torture-centres-link |access-date = 2013-03-07 | first = Mona | last = Mahmood | publisher = [[guardian.co.uk]] | location=London | date=March 6, 2013}}</ref>
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 in Iraq (2006-07)|civil war]].<ref>Deutsche Press Agentur. [http://www.stripes.com/mobile/news/middle-east/iraq/report-us-advisers-in-iraq-linked-to-torture-centers-1.210834 "Report: US advisers in Iraq linked to torture centers"], ''Stars and Stripes''. March 7, 2013.</ref>
''[[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 (Iraq)|Wolf Brigade]] who has been engaged in death squad activities".<ref>[http://library.rumsfeld.com/doclib/sp/3868/2005-09-23%20to%20President%20George%20W%20Bush%20re%20Texture-%20Memo%20Attached.pdf#search="Steele memo"], ''The Rumsfeld Papers''.</ref>
==Business activities==
Col. James Steele is currently registered with Premiere Motivational Speakers, through which he charges $15,000 to give speeches on "Security and Counterterrorism Policy".<ref>Pitzke, Marc. [http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/us-militaerberater-steele-unterstuetzung-fuer-grausame-folter-im-irak-a-887357.html "Geheimgefängnisse im Irak: Die schlimmste Art von Folter"], ''Der Spiegel''. March 7, 2013.</ref> He is also listed as the CEO of Buchanan Renewables,<ref>Mahmood, Mona and Maggie O'Kane, Chavala Madlena, Teresa Smith. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington "From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads"], ''The Guardian''. March 6, 2013.</ref> an energy company that produces biomass in [[Liberia]]. Steele's company has been accused of corporate malfeasance by the Liberian legislature<ref>Zeze Eavans Ballah. [http://www.africanstandardnews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=458:zeze-evans-ballah-monrovia-liberia&catid=3:newsflash "Liberia: Buchanan Renewables Engages In Bad Business Practice"], ''The African Standard''. June 02, 2012.</ref> 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 [[smallholding|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."<ref>[http://somo.nl/news-en/controversy-at-biomass-producing-company-in-liberia/view?set_language=en "Controversy at biomass-producing company in Liberia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621040030/http://somo.nl/news-en/controversy-at-biomass-producing-company-in-liberia/view?set_language=en |date=2013-06-21 }}, ''SOMO: Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations''. November 10, 2011.</ref>
==See also==
*[[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front]]
*[[Foreign internal defense]]
*[[Salvador Option]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/mar/06/james-steele-america-iraq-video James Steele: America's mystery man in Iraq – video] [[The Guardian]], 6 March 2013
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/22/new_expos_links_torture_centers_in BBC-Guardian Exposé Uses WikiLeaks to Link Iraq Torture Centers to U.S. Col. Steele & Gen. Petraeus] [[Democracy Now!]], 22 March 2013
* [http://documentary.net/james-steele-americas-mystery-man-in-iraq/ Documentary: James Steele: America’s mystery man in Iraq], March 2013
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130310042913/http://premierespeakers.com/jim_steele/bio Biography of Jim Steele, Counselor to US Ambassador for Iraqi Security Forces]
*[http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2013/09/201392103333392771.html ''Searching for Steele''] – documentary by Maggie O'Kane, broadcast by Al Jazeera English in 2013 (video, 47 mins)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, James}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:United States Army colonels]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Iraq War]]
[[Category:American motivational speakers]]
[[Category:American chief executives of energy companies]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War]]