Douglas Valentine

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Thanks, Brendan, for your comments and encouragement. One small correction: while I believe that Hersh does knowingly spread CIA propaganda, as some sort of quid pro quo, I think Scahill is spreading it without understanding that he is being used.

I must say your recent anti-war article is impressive. Scahill and Hersh, in quoting confidential sources, do seem to be spreading CIA disinformation, as you assert.

Thank you for your continued fine work and courage.

Brendan

Hi Douglas, thanks for your reply. My email address is cayetanoluis@hotmail.com.

My apologies; my name is Luis (author of question about Iraqi death squads).

What do you think the American role in the formation and activities of the Iraqi death squads has been? There have of course been many reports of death squad violence over there; this has often been couched in terms of a sectarian conflict, with the Americans standing in the way of a greater number of atrocities that would occur should they withdraw. We have also heard about the "Salvador Option", a plan ostensibly approved by Rumsfeld which was meant to involve special units hunting down and assassinating key figures in the insurgency, based on a model roughly similar to the assassination programs in El Salvador and Vietnam. We now know that specialists from the civil war in El Salvador - including the man who was instrumental in organising the death squads there - were sent to Iraq to help reorient the counter-insurgency effort. From what you know, would you say it is likely that the death squad violence is to a significant degree orchestrated by organs of the American colonial administration itself, or is it more a case of sectarian interests infiltrating the Iraqi ministries and using them for their own ends? (possibly with the benefit of some American training that was rendered earlier?) Edward Herman has referred to the "genocide option" of ripping the country apart to create smaller, more manageable states. To me it seems that the degree of American control in Iraq is over-stated, and that talk of a deliberate strategy of organising death squads to foment unrest risks spilling over into vulgar conspiracy theory. Or are the death squads in fact likely to be part of a program that affords the White House "plausible deniability"? What do you think? And do you know of any good work that's been done on this? (Michael Schwart's book "War without end" alludes to some American involvement in the creation of the first death squads, but seems to suggest that these groups acquired a momentum of their own, and anyway his book doesn't deal centrally with this).

Hi Luis, great comment. There is quite a lot of evidence that the CIA created death squads in Iraq, for its colonial purposes, but, of course, the US does not have a monopoly on them. And, as you note, CIA created death squads are used by Iraqi secret policemen and militia for their own purposes, though the CIA is aware of this. I don't think thy need training, other than in weapon and surveillance systems they hadn't had before. Herman is right, that is policy: but it's not the only policy, and these polcies (stated andd unstated) are not mutually exclusive. It's helps to understand that: and that there are always conspiracies within and without stated policies. Don't get bogged down in this or that, just stick to what happens, and that you don't know everything because "plausible deniability" is a policy. Do you see what I mean?

Thanks for mentioning Schwart's book, i didn't know about that. I know of no boooks that deal with this. Let's talk more, you could probably teach me a few things. If you don't mind, send your email too. Many thanks for your intelligent comment.

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Doug
oops. Did you get the question I had on Mexico? I didn't know if you wanted my email which is davideabeles@yahoo.com
David

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Mr Valentine,
I am currently reading The Hotel Tacloban, and enjoying it very much. It was a gift as my father too served during this time and was shot down over Japan. Your early statement of how your father would not participate in other typical verteran organizations or talk of the war was so my father. You described him to a tee, right down to the nightmares. I only wish I could have gotten my father to talk. Thank you for this book.
Susan from Florida

Hi Ron, thanks for your comments and yes, I remember very well your review of Wolf. Thanks for offering to look at Pack too. It would be my pleasure to send you a copy of the book. Best, Doug

Hi Douglas,
I just read your most recent piece on the CIA killings in Afghanistan. Good stuff. I was wondering if you might be interested in me reviewing Strength of the Pack. If you recall, I reviewed The Strength of the Wolf. If you are interested, please let me know and I can provide a mailing address for your publisher.
Thanks,
Ron Jacobs

Mr. Valentine,
I have purchased and read your Phoenix Program and Strength of the Wolf books. Both are masterpieces.

When are you going to write up the truth about Oswald in Mexico City so we can get to the bottom about who really killed JFK?

Thank you! I heard that Jefferson Morley wrote a book about Oswald in Mexico. Maybe it will hhave the answers? I'd like to know too.


I like it very much!
-- Susie from Idaho

me: Thank you, Susie.