Merchant of Death
Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible

Blood from Stones

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Tim Spicer, Aegis and Iraq--What as Surprise!
Well, it looks like Aegis, the company run by British mercenary and profiteer Tim Spicer, who managed to get a $293 million U.S. government contract in Iraq, has run into a spot of trouble. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. military has opened an investigation into whether Aegis employees, responsible for providing close personal protection for diplomats in Iraq, opened fire on civilian vehicles. Videos of the shootings first surfaced on a website maintained by former employees of Agis, and contained a message from Spicer reminding his collegues that their livelihood depends on them maintaining their contract.

Spicer is not an unknown commodity and has a long history of involvement with rogue armed groups. Here is what I have written about him before, along with links to other stories, but here is a brief recap:

One of Spicer's main business partners in the 1990s was Anthony Buckingham, and oil entrepreur with interests in Africa. Together they founded Executive Outcomes, a forerunner of Sandline (see above). One of Buckingham's interests in Africa was Branch Energy in Kenya. On the board of directors of Branch Energy was Sanjivan Ruprah, international arms dealer and frequent partner of Viktor Bout. As Ray O'Hanlon wrote in the the Sept. 29, 2004 issue of Irish Echo, "there is only one degree of separation between Ruprah and Tim Spicer, Buckingham being the connecting dot. This is not to suggest a direct link between Ruprah and Spicer, but suffice it to say, all these individuals have been swimming in the same opaque sea."

Spicer formed Aegis to operate in Iraq. Somehow, despite his open affiliation with a failed, illegal military expedition for which he was to be $36 million (Papua New Guinea) and various mercenary operations in Africa that offered military services in exchange for the right to diamond fields (Sandline, Branch Energy), he not only passed muster, he got a three-year contract at almost $100 million, cost-plus, a year to do his work.

His reviews have not been good. The GAO has consistently found his company to be doing a poor job, but that appears not to matter. It was renewed recently for another year.

If there were ever a perfect case to demonstrate a bit of serious Congressional oversight, it seems to me this would be a fine place to start. Whether one agrees with the invasion of Iraq or not, it is clear that there must be oversight of how U.S. taxpayer dollars are spent. I don't know whether Spicer and/or Aegis did anything wrong in this case. But providing a living for people like Tim Spicer is not, in my book, one of the best ways to spend our money.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Someone Tries to Keep an Eye on Saudi Charities and Financiers
Rep. Sue Kelly, (R-NY) and head of the Congressional Anti-Terrorist Financing Task Force, continues to be one of the few in Congress willing to try to exercise oversight over the Bush administration's often-ineffective efforts to get Sauid Arabia to crack down on charitable contributions that can be used to fund radical Islamic activities. In a recent letter to President Bush, she raises several salient issues on the Saudi response (or lack thereof) to ongoing problems in this relationship. Just as importantly, unlike many in Congress and elsewhere, she does not simply accept what the Saudi government tells her, repeatedly pointing out the discrepancies between word and deed.

"We should make clear that we know Saudi officials are making some assertions about their activities to U.S. officials and members of Congress that are directly contradicted by activities the Saudi government itself is publicizing at home and abroad," Kelly wrote in her unusually blunt missive to the president. "We must get beyond the current state of affairs." The full letter is available here.

Kelly outlines specifics of problems with Saudi Arabia, including the lack of accountability for those blacklisted for funding al Qaeda, including Wa'el Julaidan, Mr. Qadi and others. As far as can be determined, they have not had their assets frozen, as required by the UN resolution that is supposed to be binding. Both continue active lives in the worlds of finance and charities.

"The apparent lack of action regarding designated terror financiers, coupled with the activities of the charities referenced above and reports of insurgents in Iraq financed by private donors in the kingdom, suggest the need for an environment of accountability for financiers of terror in Saudi Arabia," Kelly wrote. Hard to put it any better than that.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Bipartisan Support For Taylor Standing Trial Conveyed to Johnson-Sirleaf
A bipartisan group of Congressional leaders has requested that the Bush administration make it clear to Liberia's president-elect, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, that Taylor's extradition to stand trial for crimes against humanity of of uttmost importance to the United States.

The group was led by Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif, and long-time leader on this issue. He was joined by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and others in the demand that the new government in Liberia, already reeling from riots, inhertited graft, abject poverty and countless other problems, make getting Taylor out of the picture an absolute priority. And rightly so. As long as he remains undeterred, and has access to his cash and international criminal and terrorist ties, not only will Liberia not rest easy, but West Africa and the interests of U.S. and Europe remain in danger. Given Nigeria's unwillingness to turn him over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and, even more worrisome, to exercise no control over his activities or financial transactions, getting him to trial is even more important.

The letter to Secretary of State Rice said in part that, "On the occasion of Liberian President-Elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's visit to Washington, we write to respectfully request that you make the status of former Liberian President Charles Taylor a paramount concern of the United States in your conversations with the President-Elect...The treatment of Taylor is a matter of security and justice for the West African people."

"Mr. Taylor must be held accountable. Achieving this end will require decisive and quick action by President-Elect Johnson-Sirleaf, backed by the United States. While some will argue that the 'timing is not right,' we believe that the present situation provides a unique window of opportunity. Delay only works to Mr. Taylor's advantage. The time for action is now."

While it is heartening to see such a broad swath of Congress, from conservatives to liberals, agree on this issue, it remains to be seen whether the Bush administration is willing to press for resolution. In the past, mixed messges from different parts of the diplomatic and intelligence communities, including mixed messages at from very senior people in different offices, have given Nigerian president Obasanjo the impression, and perhaps it is correct, that the Bush administration is still indifferent to the fate of Taylor. In contrast Congress, so often unwilling or unable to exercise oversight on matters of foreign affairs, has done a remarkable job of sending a consistent message and pursuing the issue of Taylor's extradition. If the executive branch had shown half the willingness to press the issue as Mssrs. Royce, Wolf, Obama and others, the issue would have been resolved long ago.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
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