NEWS THAT A 49 YEAR-OLD DYNCORP security team leader died in company housing from a drug overdose in Kabul on March 19 affirmed multiple reports that dirty dealings continue in Afghanistan by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sponsored front companies.
Although his name is being withheld until an investigation is completed, Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post revealed on April 18 that this,“employee procured drugs on monthly trips to Thailand, and that his superiors were aware of his conduct and failed to take action.” She also stated that “the company ignored signs of drug abuse among employees.”
This wasn’t an isolated case.
On April 17, Matthew Lee of the Associated Press reported that,
“four other employees have tested positive for drugs when the company conducted tests after the man’s death.”
Considering that 80 percent of the world’s heroin originates from Afghanistan, and that DynCorp is the State Department’s largest contractor, it is no surprise that allegations have surfaced over the years that DynCorp is clandestinely involved in illegal black market operations.
BAIT AND SWITCH
At play here is a classic example of bait and switch.
On the one hand, according to Declan Walsh of The Guardian on Aug. 16, 2008, two years ago,
“the U.S. spent $88 million on an eradication program run by DynCorp, a company that employs many retired American Special Forces soldiers.”
So, while giving the appearance of being antidrug, what the CIA in reality has done is “privatize” its illegal activities.
In a lengthy article entitled Dirty Tricks, Inc.: The DynCorp Government Connection, Uri Dowbenko provides an excellent overview of how this symbiotic relationship works.“Using private companies for government work has been long exploited by the CIA and Pentagon, who like to use proxies, such as contractors or mercenaries to fight their covert wars.
The benefits for federal agencies include ‘plausible deniability’ with respect to assassinations and drug trafficking, as well as the ability to bypass the Military Code of Honor and accords of the Geneva Convention. In other words, by privatizing ‘dirty tricks,’ a federal agency cannot be held liable.”
LONG HISTORY OF DRUG RUNNING
Ninety-five percent of DynCorp’s revenues are generated from the U.S. government. In its employ, DynCorp recycles ex-military veterans, retired intelligence agents, and those involved in previous scandals.
For example, Associated Press reporter Ken Guggenheim disclosed on June 5, 2001 that a DynCorp subcontractor, Eagle Aviation Service and Technology (EAST),
“helped Oliver North run guns to Nicaraguan rebels in what would be known as the IranContra affair.”
Planes delivering weapons to Central America returned to the U.S. filled with drugs. (See Hillary (and Bill): The Drugs Volume)
Further evidence linking DynCorp to the narcotics trade can be found in articles by The Nation’s Jason Vest (DynCorp’s Drug Problem), and Robert Lawson’s DynCorp: Beyond the Rule of Law, wherein he describes how contract employees were caught smuggling heroin out of Colombia within the last decade.
EVEN MORE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
The most recent death of a DynCorp smuggler wasn’t the first.
In 2000, 29 year-old Michael Demons died of cardiac arrest after overdosing on cocaine in Florencia, Colombia. Robert Lawson reproduced a quote from a high-ranking police officer given to Semana magazine about DynCorp’s apparent immunity from prosecution.
“No authority, whether the Civil Aviation Authority, police or army, is authorized to search DynCorp’s planes. Nobody knows what they carry on their return to the United States because they are untouchable.”
He concludes,
“Washington is sitting pretty. It may secretly approve of and encourage counterinsurgency operations conducted by DynCorp, but it doesn’t have to take responsibility for them.”
DynCorp has escaped penalty for decades because, as Rachael Guevera of The Progressive noted in October, 2002,
“Many DynCorp executives are former CIA or military personnel, [while] others were formerly of Enron or Citigroup.”
In addition, their mercenaries were past antiCastro contract personnel or members of the Iran-Contra Secret Team.
Serious allegations have been levied over the years regarding DynCorp’s involvement in the transport of prostitutes, plus the human trafficking of children and young women in Bosnia.
These claims were serious enough for Rep. Cynthia McKinney (DGa) to question Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in March, 2005; whereas whistleblower Kathryn Bolkovac was fired for her knowledge of the Bosnian sex trade.
In a lawsuit against DynCorp, former employee Ben Johnston alleged that the federal contractor,“engaged in slavery, sexually exploiting children, dealing in obscene material, and procuring fraudulent identification documents for underage victims.”
So why is DynCorp still receiving billions in government contracts without serious congressional investigations?
Without any action, its clear that DynCorp will keep sheep-dipping their operatives by providing new cover, while engaging in their old tried-and-true blackop practices.
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