SOURCES - SEARCH FOR STEELE TRANSCRIPT (with images and timecodes)
Timecode Sound Images
1 00:00:00 - 00:00:18 ‘’First to fight for the right and to build the nation’s might, and the army goes rolling along...’’ Soldiers singing in a car, fighting and running around with weapons, Special Police commandos shots.
2 00:00:19 - 00:00:43 Obama SYNC:It’s harder to end a war then begin one. Everything that American troops have done in Iraq, all the fighting, and all the dying, the bleeding and the building and the training and the partnering.All of it has led to this moment of success. Speech Obama at the end of the war. Shots of iraqi soldiers, iraqi cemetery and Arlington cemetery.US flag.
3 00:00:44 - 00:01:08 George Bush SYNC: You deserve better than tyranny and corruption and torture chambers. You deserve to live as free people, and I assure every citizen of Iraq your nation will soon be free. Thank you. Baghdad 2003Bush addressing Iraq March 2003.Pictures of the fall of Saddam and American Soldiers during the awakening.
4 00:01:09 - 00:02:45 COMMENTARY: It’s ten years since America invaded Iraq. Ten years and over 120,000 dead. Among them over 4,400 American soldiers.This documentary tells one of the great untold stories of the Iraq war: how the US administration funded a deadly, sectarian, paramilitary force to fight those threatening the American presence.It was a decision that helped fuel a sectarian civil war that ripped Iraq apart.At its height, three years later, 3000 bodies a month were showing up on the streets of Iraq.This is also the story of James Steele the man the Pentagon sent in to help organise and train those paramilitary squads. He’s a veteran of America’s so called ‘dirty wars’ stretching back to Vietnam and El Salvador.This man was so important to the Pentagon that the then Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saw fit to forward his personal memos to the president and vice president. Iraq post invasion 2003Bombs and explosions by american soldiers.Flag-draped coffins.Special Police commandos with weapons fighting.Iraqis at cemetery and pictures of dead bodies in the street.B/W pictures of Steele.Memo to Donald Rumsfeld from Jim Steele (2005).Picture of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.
5 00:02:46 - 00:03:00 ACTOR’S VOICEMEMO FROM RUMSFELD SYNC:To President George W. Bush,Cc: Vice President Richard B. CheneyFrom Donald Rumsfeld.The attached memo is from a person we have sent into Iraq from time to time, essentially to work with the Iraqi police. Memo to Bush and Cheney, from Rumsfeld.Moving footage of Steele.
6 00:03:01 - 00:03:10 ACTOR’S VOICE Reading Rumsfeld’s Memo about Steele:He is smart, tough and a keenobserver. Nonetheless, you have said you like texture, and this is texture. Freeze frame of Steele footage.Memo 19/09/2005
7 00:03:11 - 00:03:23 SYNC TODD GREENTREEThe name Steele was very well-chosen. With very steely eyes and he communicates a steely sort of intent about things. INTW TODD GREENTREEB/W Peress’ Steele picture.Eyes Only attachment (memo)
8 00:03:24 - 00:03:32 SYNC JERRY BURKE: He did have much higher clearance than the rest of us did and he would make vague reference to meetings with the Secretary of Defence and meeting in the White House. Steele picINTW JERRY BURKE
9 00:03:33 - 00:03:39 SYNC MUNTADHER: I witnessed him, observing the crime of a prisoner being tortured in front of him. INTW MUNTADHER AL-SAMARIClose up clock and intrigue shots.
10 00:03:40 - 00:03:44 SYNC PERRESS: We were in a room in the library interviewing Steele and I’m looking around I see blood everywhere. INTW GILLES PERESS
11 00:03:45 - 00:03:55 COMMENTARY: So who is James Steele and why did the Pentagon choose him to go to Iraq. Close up profile Steele.Title: THE SEARCH FOR COLONEL JAMES STEELE
12 00:03:56 - 00:04:55 COMMENTARY: Vietnam, the conflict in which over 58,000 US soldiers died, is where James Steele was first introduced to counterinsurgency as an alternative way of combatting a guerrilla uprising.Steele served in the Vietnam war in the Black Horse regiment, from 1968-69. He was described by General George Patton Jnr as the best troop commander in his regiment.But if Vietnam shaped his formative military career it was in the war against left wing insurgents in El Salvador, that James Steele secured his reputation as the counterinsurgency specialist. GVs Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.Archive of american soldiers in Vietnam. Close up of Black Horse patch.Archive of Salvadoran army.
13 00:04:56 - 00:05:14 COMMENTARY: Steele arrived in El Salvador in 1984 as the leader of the US MilGroup. A group of US military advisors to the EL Salvadoran army.Todd Greentree got to know James Steele when he was working in the US Embassy in El Salvador at the time. Salvadoran army being trained by americans.
14 00:05:15 - 00:05:25 Greentree SYNC:Colonel Steele, as the MILGROUP commander was in charge of all of the special forces, teams, the training teams that were out at the brigade headquarters. INTW TODD GREENTREE - US EMBASSY OFFICIAL, EL SALVADOR 1980-1984
15 00:05:26 - 00:05:27 Archive Actuality Sync:Rapido! Rapido! American commander in El Salvador training.
16 00:05:28 - 00:05:42 COMMENTARY: The US was trying to defeat a guerilla insurgency and American experts trained the Salvadoran security forces in the dark arts of counterinsurgency. Some of these Salvadoran paramilitary units were effectively deathsquads. Archive of Salvadoran army training and shooting.
17 00:05:43 - 00:06:01 COMMENTARY:Celerino Castillo was a US drug enforcement agent who was involved in training these paramilitaries.He was widely acknowledged for his efforts. Castillo met James Steele in Salvador. Celerino Castillo shot.Pictures of him with Carter and with Bush (senior).B/W pic Steele El Salvador.
18 00:06:02 - 00:06:17 SYNC CASTILLO: A very military type, very disciplined, his decorations, medals and stuff that was given to him by the US military and the Salvadoran military was surrounding his office. So I was very impressed with Colonel Steele. INTW CELERINO CASTILLO
19 00:06:18 - 00:06:29 COMMENTARY: Dr George Vickers got to know and like James Steele when he visited Salvador to write a PhD thesis on US military strategy in Central America. Cutaways Vickers showing his documents of PhD.
20 00:06:30 - 00:07:04 Vickers: He was totally committed to defeating the guerrilla insurgency in El Salvador. He used to discuss how he travelled around to the military bases where US trainers were based. He talked about the importance of building human intelligence information as opposed to just technical information. I don’t think he had an hesitations about obtaining information by very rough forms that were being carried out by the Salvadorian armed forces under the eyes of US military trainers. INTW DR GEORGE VICKERS, PROF OF SOCIOLOGY.Salvadoran army in pickup trucks.
21 00:07:05 - 00:07:13 COMMENTARY: Steele was the chief American counterinsurgency expert on the ground in El Salvador -- a figure of enormous authority to the El Salvadoran military. Still B/W Official picture of young soldier James Steele.
22 00:07:14 - 00:07:31 SYNC CASTILLO: He is the MilGroup commander in El Salvador. Nothing moves without his authority and their objective was the eradicate the guerilla movement. It’s very well written through history that there were major massacres being conducted. INTW CASTILLO
23 00:07:32 - 00:07:44 COMMENTARY:We put these allegations to retired Colonel Steele and have received no reply. Archive of dead bodies in El Salvador.
25 00:07:45 - 00:08:02 COMMENTARY: By the end of the civil war at least 75,000 salvadoran civilians have died and 1 million refugees had fled the country. The Salvadoran military halted the advance of the guerillas leading some in Washington to believe the US advisory role was a success. B/W Pictures of dead tortured pictures
26 00:08:03 - 00:08:34 COMMENTARY: So much so that even David Petraeus, then an ambitious 33 year old major, visited El Salvador to study this counterinsurgency campaign. The young Petraeus even reportedly stayed in Steele’s house while there.18 years later in Baghdad the now General Petraeus would use Steele’s expertise to fight the Iraqi insurgency. Official picture of young Petraeus.David Petraeus, dressed in camouflage uniform, in Iraq. Close up of his ‘Petraeus’ patch on his cap.
27 00:08:35 - 00:08:55 COMMENTARY: The architects of the Iraq war did not expect a violent uprising - so they started training a regular police force - for what they thought would be a mostly peaceful transition to a Western-style democracy. They brought in retired policemen like Douglas Brand and Jerry Burke to teach the basics of good civil policing. Iraqi police force in uniform.Still pic of Douglas Brand, in uniform, surrounded by Iraqi PoliceStill pic of Jerry Burke with tank in Iraq.
28 00:08:56 - 00:09:02 SYNC Burke:We went in in May, in 2003, with 6 policemen, 6 American police officers. INTW JERRY BURKE
29 00:09:03 - 00:09:07 COMMENTARYThis small group was unequal to the enormous task they were given. Still pic of Burke and the other American Police Officers in Iraq with bullet-proof vest.
30 00:09:08 - 00:09:16 SYNC Brand:To train 30,000+ policemen was a sort of 5-7 year project, but they wanted it done in 18 months. Iraqi police in uniform in line singing,INTW JERRY BRAND
31 00:09:17 - 00:09:28 COMMENTARY: - The man seen here in the navy bullet proof vest , Ahmed Khadhoum was installed as the Iraqi leader of this new civic police force. Ahmed Khadhoum in a Police bullet proof vest shaking hands with a doctor. Coffman and Steele also on camera.
32 00:09:29 - 00:09:46 COMMENTARY: Hovering in the background is the mysterious figure of James Steele, observing and evaluating the situation, sending his classified reports back to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Moving footage of James Steele, with Coffman, Khadhoum and the doctor.Memo from Steele to Rumsfeld.
33 00:09:47 - 00:09:56 COMMENTARY: Steele had arrived in Baghdad in 2003 just after the invasion describing himself as an energy consultant. GVs Baghdad, buildings and dog.
34 00:09:57 - 00:10:04 SYNC BRAND: He came into the country as I understand it to work originally for the electricity board. INTW JERRY BURKE OBECHIEF POLICE ADVISOR TO MOI IRAQ, 2003-2005
35 00:10:05 - 00:10:16 SYNC BURKE: He just sort of showed up one day, went about his business, nobody really understood what he was there to do. As I said he seemed to be without portfolio doing whatever it is that he wanted to take interest in. INTW DOUGLAS BRANDCHIEF POLICE ADVISOR TO MOI IRAQ, 2003-2004
36 00:10:17 - 00:10:52 COMMENTARY: This is the only known video footage of James Steele. As a civilian he had no place in the military chain of command yet he exercised enormous power in Iraq.The man on his left is the special forces Colonel James Coffman -- he reported directly to General Petraeus.Initially the security situation in Iraq was relatively stable and the task of training the police continued. But then everything changed. Video footage of James Steele. Zoom in to his face.Zoom in to Coffman.Iraqi flag shot.Iraqi Police.
37 00:10:53 - 00:11:33 COMMENTARY: The intensity of the Sunni insurgency surprised the Americans. US soldiers started being killed in increasing numbers.Flag-draped coffins were being shipped home with numbing regularity. The war was becoming unpopular in the United States.George Bush’s 2004 re-election was being threatened by the crisis in Iraq. Bombs, explosions, aggressive soldiers with weapons.Pic of flag-draped coffin getting out of a plane.Pic of Arlington cemetery.Pic of anti-war protest in US.Bush, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.
38 00:11:34 - 00:12:04 COMMENTARY: American soldiers were dying at the hands of Sunni Muslims who had lost the most from the fall of Saddam.Now Rumsfeld decided to arm the old enemies of Saddam and his Sunni supporters -- the Shia militias.Saddam had killed tens of thousands of Shia during his rule and now the Shia militias were only too happy to help the Americans put down the Sunni uprising.It was classic counterinsurgency American tank crashed with fire. Shots of AK47 ‘US property’ being unpacked in Iraq.Shia militias with posters and weapons.Special Police Commandos pics.
39 00:12:05 - 00:12:10 COMMENTARYPaul Wolfowitz announced the policy change before a senate committee. Future of Iraq Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
40 00:12:11 - 00:12:18 SYNCWolfowitz Senate Committee:The approach to those militias is to try over time to integrate them into new Iraqi security forces. PAUL WOLFOWITZ Talking at the Senate.
41 00:12:19 - 00:12:35 COMMENTARY: Shia militia from all over the country came in truckloads to Baghdad to join the new Special Police Commandos. They were enraged by suicide bombings of Shia civilians and assassinations and kidnappings by Sunni insurgents and Al Quada militants . Iraqi army dressed in camouflage.
42 00:12:36 - 00:12:42 SYNC Burke: It was their time in power and the opportunity to take revenge against former regime elements that had harmed them. INTW BURKE
43 00:12:43 - 00:12:58 Iraq was on the path towards a sectarian civil war.The US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed the new policing strategy in May 2004. Iraqi Army in line.Rumsfeld press Conference at the Department of Defence
44 00:12:59 - 00:13:17 ARCHIVE Rumsfeld:Journalist: I’ve been reading about how we’re trying to make efforts of placing Iraqi militia to handle insurgents in Iraq.Rumsfeld: We had discussion with General Petraeus yesterday and I had a briefing today from a man named Steele who’s been out there working with the security forces and been doing a wonderful job as a civilian as a matter of fact. Rumsfeld press Conference at the Department of Defence
45 00:13:18 - 00:13:28 COMMENTARY: James Steele, the counterinsurgency expert, was now the man of the moment. His job would be to build a police commando force. B/W Steele pic.
00:13:29 - 00:13:40 SYNC: Paul WolfowitzJim Steele who is a retired Army colonel with incredible bravery and also incredible expertise about police forces in third world countries, he's been in Iraq for the last year Paul Wolfowitz at the Senate armed services committee, 20 April 2004
00:13:41 - 00:14:12 COMMENTARY:The police units would increasingly be made up of members of Shia militias like the Bad’r brigades.Their job was to hunt down Sunni insurgents and their sympathisers. Like El Salvador, it would be a bloody and brutal business.There was no place in this new regime for a conventional police chief like Ahmed Khadoum. He was offered a new posting at the UN in New York.James Steele was clearing house. Death bodies in IraqNY GVs and Ahmed in NY
46 00:14:13 - 00:14:29 SYNC Ahmed Khadoum :Steele said “yes, you should go abroad for a while, get some rest.” They asked me to leave quietly, without a fuss. I was escorted to the airport by my bodyguards and Steele came with us. INTW AHMED KHADOUMShowing the article where said he was leaving.
47 00:14:30 - 00:14:35 COMMENTARY: It was also the end of the line for Douglas Brand. Pic Brand in Iraq
48 00:14:36 - 00:14:45 SYNC DOUGLAS BRANDRumsfeld decided that police training in future would be dealt with by military people. That was a direct instruction from Rumsfeld. INTW BRANDArchive Rumsfeld in Iraq, Dec 25, 2005.
49 00:14:46 - 00:15:10 SYNC BURKE: We had a need for some group on the street to restore order. And this is where that third force concept came from; this paramilitary Special Police Commando unit.They operate more under rules of engagement which is a military term, rather than the rule of law. INTW BURKEArchive Special Police Commandos.
50 00:15:11 - 00:15:21 SYNC BRAND: The last time I saw Steele was when Rumsfeld visited and there he was. INT BRANDStill pic of Rumsfeld, Steele and Rashid Flayeh around table.
51 00:15:22 - 00:15:44 COMMENTARY: Rumsfeld's choice to take overall command of this new policing strategy was a military star in the making. General David Petraeus was much admired by the American media.The commandos would become the cutting edge of this ambitious general’s war against the insurgents. Archive David Petraeus in camouflage in IRaq.Cover newsweek magazine ‘Can this man save iraq?’
52 00:15:45 - 00:16:09 ARCHIVE PETRAEUS INTERVIEW EX DVIDSAPRIL 2005Interviewer SYNC:Now I’ve spent a little bit of time where you were training the Police Commandos and I got the strong impression that you’re putting a lot of priority on the police force today?Petraeus SYNC:Well we’ve helped them develop these special police units. Some of them were their own initiatives initially, and great initiatives, like the Special Police Commandos which they now have nine battalions of those forces, eight of which are in active operations right now. US army broadcast network interview to David Petraeus in April 2005
55 00:16:10 - 00:16:24 SYNC General Muntadher : A directive by General Petraeus ordered the formation of these units. But the people who were directly supervising us were Colonel Coffman and the advisor, James Steele. INTW MUNTADHER AL-SAMARI
56 00:16:25 - 00:16:48 COMMENTARY:Adnan Thabit -- seen here with James Steele -- was a sunni Iraqi General who had been imprisoned by Saddam.He now headed the Special Police Commandos which were financed from a two billion dollar fund, controlled by General Petraeus. B/W Peress’ pic of Adnan and SteeleCutaways Adnan Thabit smoking
57 00:16:49 - 00:17:16 SYNC ADNAN THABITGeneral David Petraeus visited me and he started joking with my soldiers. They were all playing press-up games together and he could see the seriousness of our training. And after that he sent me two advisers, Steele and Colonel Coffman. INTW ADNAN THABIT - COMMANDER SPECIAL POLICE COMMANDOS 2004-2006.Freeze frame Steele and Coffman.
58 00:17:17 - 00:17:36 SYNC THABIT: After this first visit by General Petraeus, he promised he would help us in every possible way.... And the first help we received from him was – he sent me shipment of 150 Dodge pickup trucks. INTW THABITArchive Special Police Commandos with pickup trucks.
59 00:17:37 - 00:17:50 COMMENTARYIt was the first time the Americans could work with a significant Iraqi force that knew the lay of the land and where to find the insurgents.Senior Advisors Steele and Coffman directed the search for the insurgents. Archive Special Police Commandos.
60 00:17:51 - 00:18:10 INTERVIEWER WITH PETRAEUS SYNC:(Q: How would you describe the growth of the interaction between Iraqi and American in this particular arena? PETRAEUS SYNC:A: Particularly these advisor teams, you know, when you eat, sleep, live, fight, and sometimes die, along with each other.They have become one band of brothers. It’s the brotherhood of the close fight. US army broadcast network interview to David Petraeus in April 2005
60a) 00:18:11 - 00:18:30 COMMENTARY: With James Steele at his side, Adnan Thabit’s commandos grew into a 5000-strong force with a fearful reputation on the streets on Iraq. Steele made a strong impression with the high level, even battle-hardened Iraqis he worked with. B/W Special Police Commandos Peress’ pics.Cutaways Muntadher.
61 00:18:31 - 00:18:50 SYNC General Muntadher:The best description for him is that he lacks human feeling. I mean, the number of wars he’s witnessed and the various methods of torture that must have been committed, whether in Iraq or elsewhere, somehow their hearts have died. INTW MUNTADHER
62 00:18:51 - 00:19:11 COMMENTARY: General Muntadher al Samari is a former General in the Iraqi army. After the invasion he worked with the Americans to rebuild the police force. But Muntadher was very disturbed by the abuse and torture he witnessed being committed by the police commandos. He tried on a number of occasions to stop it. Cutaways Muntadher Al-Samari reading newspaper
63 00:19:12 - 00:19:20 COMMENTARY: He has never spoken before about the part the US played in running the Special Police Commandoes. Muntadher smoking
64 00:19:21 - 00:19:44 SYNC General Muntadher:The Ministry of Interior had 14-15 prisons - they were secret, never declared. But the American top brass and the Iraqi leadership knew all about these prisons. The things that went on there: drilling, murder, torture. The ugliest sorts of torture I’ve ever seen. INTW MUNTADHER.Still Pics torture.Muntadher pointing laptop with Steele’s picture.
64a 00:19:45 - 00:19:54 COMMENTARY: Gen Muntadher alleges that James Steele had access to all of these prisons, and that he visited one in Baghdad with him. Maggie this is to separate from the two so we are clear what we
64b 00:19:55 - 00:20:15 SYNC General Muntadher: Yes, that’s James Steele...that’s what he always used to wear: jeans and a leather jacket. I remember he always wore his gun here, on the right hand side.
65 00:20:16 - 00:20:34 COMMENTARY: Dr Mowaffak al-Rubaie was Iraq’s national security advisor through the worst years of the war. He met Jim Steele at high level security meetings. Cutaways al-Rubaie holding Steele’s picture.Pic al-Rubaei and Rumsfeld
66 00:20:35 - 00:21:10 SYNC Rubaie:Jim Steele for me was a mysterious guy - we sat in the meeting and he came at the end, pulled the chair and sat there. He did not introduce himself to me. You don’t get anybody in these meetings - there were only only Sanchez, Bremer, myself, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Interior, and him. Full Stop. He was very respected by others and they listened to what he has to say. INTW MOWAFFACK AL-RUBAEI - NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, IRAQ 2004-2009Still pics of Sanchez with Bremer. Pic of MOD [Ali A Allawi] and MoI [Samir S Sumaidaie]
67 00:21:11 - 00:21:46 COMMENTARY: One of the main bases of operation for the commandos was the ancient city of Samarra -- the area was a center for the Iraqi insurgency.It was also Adnan Thabit’s home town and he was determined to inflict a major defeat on the insurgents and their sympathisers.With James Steele advicing, Adnan Thabit’s commandos flooded the city, going door to door, taking hundreds of men from their homes to the interrogation center. Map of Iraq with Samarra and Baghdad.GVs SamarraInsurgents running around Samarra.
68 00:21:47 - 00:21:55 COMMENTARY: US Army medic Neil Smith was in Samarra during the months-long struggle to control the city. Neil Smith at home with photo album showing his pictures of Iraq.
69 00:21:56 - 00:22:29 SYNC Neil Smith:We were in a government zone in Samarra, and where the police station was, was actually right across from where the commandos were headquarted. So there was also special commandos there hanging out, and they wore the maroon beret just like any elite military unit in the world does.They were well equipped like the MOI commandos all had these brand new Dodge Ram pickups that were painted in camouflage and they all looked like they had new weapons and new uniforms. INTW NEIL SMITH MEDIC - 3RD BATTALION 69TH ARMOR REGIMENT US ARMY, 2005.Special Police Commandos archives with new uniforms, red hat, and pickup trucks.
70 00:22:30 - 00:22:59 Samarra was the first place that the connection between James Steele and the activities of the police commandos was made known to the outside world.New York Times journalist Peter Maass convinced General Petraeus to allow him and photographer Gilles Peress to visit the commandos in Samarra. Their host was James Steele. Cover New York Times Magazine ‘The Salvadoritzation of Iraq?’Peter Maass and Gilles Peress.
71 00:23:00 -00:23:10 SYNC Giles Peress:What I heard is prisoners screaming all night long. You know at which point you had a young US captain telling his soldiers, don’t come near this. INTW GILLES PERESS - PHOTOJOURNALIS
72 00:23:11 - 00:23:24 COMMENTARY::Gilles Peress’ stark black-and-white photographs capture how the commandos worked in Samarra.James Steele crops up in these photographs repeatedly. B/W Peress pics.Zoom in to James Steele.
73 00:23:25 - 00:23:45 SYNC Peter Maass:I was staying at the base in Samarra, an American base. And I overheard soldiers - American soldiers - at this base talking about having watched prisoners be kind of strung up, like animals after a hunt, over a bar. Having watched prisoners be actually tortured. INTW PETER MAASS - JOURNALIST NEW YORK TIMES.
74 00:23:46 - 00:23:57 COMMENTARY: Adnan Thabit and the American military made the joint decision to set up the commando headquarters and interrogation center in the city’s main library. Torture pictures
75 00:23:58 - 00:24:07 COMMENTARY: We spoke to two men from Samarra who were imprisoned in the library. Still fearful they asked us to conceal their identities. Torture survivors smoking and holding Steele’s picture.
76 00:24:08 - 00:24:24 SYNC Torture survivor 1: We would be blindfolded and handcuffed behind our backs, then they would beat us with shovels and pipes. We’d be tied to a spit or we’d be hung from the ceiling by our hands and our shoulders would be dislocated. INTW TORTURE SURVIVOR 1
77 00:24:25 - 00:24:36 SYNC Torture survivor 2:They electrocuted me. They hung me up from the ceiling.They were pulling at my ears with pliers, stamping on my head, asking me about my wife, saying they would bring her here. INTW TORTURE SURVIVOR 2
78 00:24:37 - 00:24:53 SYNC Maass: The interrogation centre was the only place in the kind of mini green zone in Samarra that I was not allowed to visit. However, one day, Jim Steele said to me, hey they’ve just captured a Saudi jihadi. Would you like to interview him? INTW PETER MAASS
79 00:24:54 - 00:25:00 SYNC Peress: Was Steele completely together to bring us to the library? Maybe not.. INTW GILLES PERESS
80 00:25:01 - 00:25:10 COMMENTARYMaass and Peress were about to get an unprecedented glimpse into this clandestine world. GVs Samarra at night.
81 00:25:11 - 00:25:37 SYNC Maass: We kind of walk into the entrance area and the first thing that I see is one of the Iraqi guards beating up one of the Iraqi prisoners. And then I’m taken not into the main area, the kind of the main hall - although out the corner of my eye I can see that there were a lot of prisoners in there with their hands tied behind their backs - I was taken to a side office where the Saudi was brought in, and there was actually blood dripping down the side of this desk in the office. INTW MAASS
82 00:25:38 - 00:25:43 SYNC Peress: We were in a room in the library interviewing Steele and I look around I see blood everywhere, you know. INTW PERESS
83 00:25:44 - 00:25:58 SYNC Maass: And while this interview was going on with this Saudi with Jim Steele also in the room, there were these terrible screams, somebody shouting ‘Allah Allah Allah’. But it wasn’t kind of religious ecstasy or something like that, these were screams of pain and terror. INTW MAASS
84 00:25:59 - 00:26:04 COMMENTARY: We asked General Adnan why he thought the prisoners were screaming. GVs Samarra at night
85 00:26:05 - 00:26:15 SYNC Adnan: Maybe sometimes when officers visit prisons the prisoners do start shouting. They’re a bit like whirling dervishes. they love to scream Allah Allah. (Laughs) INTW ADNAN THABIT
86 00:26:16 - 00:26:30 SYNC Maass: They were so loud and they were so disturbing that Steele left the room to go find out you know what was going on because it was breaking up our interview, and while he was gone the screaming stopped and he came back into the room and the interview continued. INTW MAASS
87 00:26:31 - 00:26:39 SYNC Perress: He hears the scream from the other guy who’s being tortured as we speak, there’s the blood stains in the corner of the desk in front of him. INTW PERESS
88 00:26:40 - 00:27:01 SYNC Thabit: There are some killers who would never confess so you have to use tough means to make them confess. You have to use all kinds of means to make them confess. All kinds of means. Torture is not humane, I don’t approve of it, but there are some procedures which, you need to understand, we have to follow in order to make criminals confess. INTW THABIT
89 00:27:04 - 00:27:18 SYNC Torture survivor 2:I remember Adnan Thabit came into the library and he told Captain Dorade and Captain Ali, go easy on the prisoners. Don’t dislocate their shoulders. This was because people were having to undergo surgery when they were released from the library. Night shot from carBlurred image of torture victim 2
90 00:27:19 - 00:27:29 COMMENTARYGeneral Adnan had his own explanation for the bloody desk witnessed during Maass and Peress’ interview with James Steele in the library. Perress still of shadow
91 00:27:30 - 00:27:57 SYNC ADNAN THABITWhat we had started to was to make sure that the terrorists didn’t have any sharp knives, or anything they could harm themselves with. Because they used to cut themselves and blame us!James Steele wouldn’t remain silent about wrongdoing. I’m surprised by this journalist’s report. Thabit interview
92 00:27:58 - 00:28:16 COMMENTARY: Although James Steele did not respond to our requests for an interview about his activities in Samarra he did tell the New York Times that he opposes human rights abuses. Commando archive
94 00:28:17 - 00:28:20 One American soldier in Samarra was deeply affected by what he saw. Neil Smith actuality
95 00:28:21 - 00:28:27 SYNC Neil SmithAt the time, I just felt like everybody knew and nobody cared that there was torture going on. Neil Smith interview
96 00:28:28 - 00:28:35 COMMArmy Medic Neil Smith remembers just how frightened Iraqi civilians in Samarra were of the special police commandos. Military wandering around
97 00:28:36 - 00:29:09 SYNC NEIL SMITHWhat was pretty widely known in our Battalion, definitely in our platoon, that they were pretty violent with their interrogations. That they would beat people, shock them with electrical shock, stab them, I don't know what it else...it sounds like pretty awful things. If you sent a guy there he was going to get tortured and perhaps raped or whatever, humiliated and brutalised by the special commandos in order for them to get whatever information they wanted. Neil Smith interview
98 00:29:10 - 00:29:34 SYNC MUNTADHER:I remember a 14-year-old who was tied to one of the library’s columns. And he was tied up, with his legs above his head. Tied up. His whole body was blue because of the impact of the cables with which he had been beaten. Muntadher interview GVs
99 00:29:35 - 00:29:56 SYNC Maass:The clear priority at that time in Iraq was to not have this incredibly shaky provisional government defeated by the insurgency. That was priority number one to which every other priority, democracy, human rights, etc were subordinate. Peter Maass interview
100 00:29:57 - 00:30:12 COMMENTARY:Petraeus defended his record with the police commandos to PBS Frontline’s Martin Smith. He says he was aware of individual militia members in the commandos but not militia groups. Petraeus actuality archive
00:30:13 - 00:30:40 SYNCPetraeus: I did not see militia groups in the special police during the time that I was there. MS: Did you think about what you could have done differently to have prevented the development of these militias that was effectively developing under your watch?P: Well, again, I have not seen -- we kept hearing this all the time, Martin, that this or that -- [but] to find the absolute evidence of this has actually been quite difficult. PBS Interview Martin Smith-David Petraeus
103 00:30:41 - 00:30:54 COMMENTARY:But Jerry Burke, who was a senior advisor in police affairs to the Iraqi Interior Ministry says that Petraeus must have known that organized Shia militia were dominant in the police commandos. Burke still
104 00:30:55 - 00:31:13 SYNC Burke: He had to have known, these things were discussed openly, whether it was at staff meetings or before or after staff meetings in general conversation pretty much the whole world in Iraq knew the commandos were Badr Brigade and he must have known about the death squad activities and again it was common knowledge across Baghdad. Jerry Burke interviewCommando archive
105 00:31:14 - 00:31:48 COMMENTARY:Even Petraeus’ own special advisor in the military chain of command, colonel James Coffman - was -- according to many witnesses -- working side- by-side with James Steele in the detention centers where torture was taking place. Colonel Coffman declined to be interviewed by us.About General Petraeus's relationship with James Steele the official speaking for the general said: “Steele was one of thousands of advisors to Iraqi units working in the area of the Iraqi police.” Coffman picturs.Newsweek cover
106 00:31:49 - 00:31:59 Journalist Peter Maass, who interviewed Petraeus at the time, remembers the relationship being a lot closer than the Petraeus statement would indicate. Petraeus archive
107 00:32:00 - 00:32:28 SYNC Maass: It was very clear that they were very close to each other in terms of their command relationship and also in terms of their ideas and ideology about what needed to be done.Petraeus explicitly told me that he believed very very strongly in the commandos, thought that the commandos were successful and wanted them to become bigger stronger and more prevalent in the fight against the insurgency. Petraeus archive
108 00:32:29 - 00:32:50 COMMENTARY: International humanitarian law imposes obligations on those engaged in armed conflict regarding the treatment of prisoners. Not only must prisoners not be abused but those detaining prisoners also have an obligation to ensure respect as well. It is not acceptable to turn a blind eye. Sean Smith photo
109 00:32:51 - 00:33:13 ARCHIVE GENERAL PETER PACE & DONALD RUMSFELDGEN PACE It is absolutely the responsibility of every US service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it.SEC. RUMSFELD: But I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it.GEN. PACE: If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it. Archive from Pace/Rumsfeld press conference
110 00:33:14 - 00:33:55 COMMENTARY: But the masses of secret Iraq war communiques -- released by wikileaks -- showed that US soldiers were routinely handing prisoners over to the Iraqi police force -- even before the police commandoes were officially launchedThe top US military knew from the soldiers daily logs that torture was going on inside detention centres . They even issued a new official military order in June 2004. It was called Frago 242.It directed US troops to note but not investigate torture of Iraqis by Iraqis unless ordered to by headquarters. Footage of wikileaks cables
111 00:33:57 - 00:33:06 But later that month members of the Oregon National Guard were so disturbed by the abuse they witnessed at a police detention center that they intervened to try and stop it. Detainee Still
112 00:33:07 - 00:34:43 SYNC OREGONIAN: I saw some horrific things. I saw one room that had 75 prisoners all crammed into one small space. and they asked for food, help and they asked for medical aid. we gave them every bit of scrap of food we had, every bit of personal water. We could see evidence of a torture chamber, where they had a broken lamp where they used electrical shock - it was quite evident what they had been doing to those fellows. Photos of released prisonersInterview with Southall
113 00:34:44 - 00:34:55 COMMENTARY:Southall’s commander approached the man who appeared to be in charge of this torture centre. According to Southall, the man immediately got on the telephone to US military headquarters. More stills
114 00:34:56 - 00:35:20 SOUTHALLRight after he made that phone call the order came that we were to stand down. we were ordered to pull away right now. I know that that order came from someplace very high. we went directly back to our compound and the commander called us all in there together and told us that what we saw didn't’ happen and to forget about it. Southall interview
114a 00:35:21 - 00:35:46 COMMENTBut the Oregonians don’t forget.They went to the American press and blew the whistle. A high level US military investigation followed and the torture stopped there.There is no evidence that Steele was involved in this incident, but a year later the Special commandos took over the facility and used it for interrogation and torture.
115 00:35:47 - 00:36:31 TODD GREENTREE SYNC:I think there’s great continuity and really, if you go back to Vietnam, to the nature of irregular warfare, and the fact that there is always a sort of “dark side”. It’s not called “dirty war” for nothing; so it's no surprise to see individuals who are associated and sort of know the ins and outs of that kind of war, reappear at different points in these conflicts.After a few months with Steele in El Salvador I didn’t have any contact with him whatsoever until I saw that Peter Maass article and saw that, oh, so he’s in Iraq. Greentree interviewPerress stillsHelicopter footage
116 00:36:32 - 00:36:53 CASTILLO: I first heard about Colonel James Steele going to Iraq and I said they’re going to implement what is known as the Salvadoran Option in Iraq and that’s exactly what happened. And I was devastated because I knew the atrocities that was going to occur in Iraq which we knew had occurred in El Salvador. Castillo interview
117 00:36:54 - 00:37:20 COMMENTARY: It was not surprising that a warrior like James Steele would appear again. He had been sidelined by the US Military after a congressional committee decided that he had lied about his role in Oliver North’s illegal gun-running operation against the left wing government in Nicaragua.However his work in El Salvador had not been forgotten by powerful Washington insiders, like vice president Dick Cheney, who knew Steele. Steele stills from Iran Contra hearing
119 00:37:21 - 00:37:26 COMMENTARY: Cheney was the first senior American politician to draw parallels between El Salvador and Iraq.
120 00:37:27 - 00:37:35 ARCHIVE Dick Cheney SYNC:Today El Salvador is a whale of a lot better because we held free elections of power, that concept is enormous, and it will apply in Afghanistan, and it will apply as well in Iraq. Cheney archive
121 00:37:36 - 00:37:58 TODD GREENTREE SYNCDick Cheney as a Congressman made any number of visits to Central America, as did members of the Reagan administration, who were the forerunners of the neoconservatives that then come into office, and really take that whole approach to its next level in Iraq. El Salvador footageBush-Cheney still
122 00:37:59 - 00:38:26 Vickers SYNC:And I opened the cover story of the New York Times magazine and saw that it described the creation of this new police commando unit within the Iraqi Interior Ministry, and mentioned that the US military adviser in charge of this was Jim Steele, I was probably more alarmed when I started to hear reports a few months later that that particular unit was carrying out death squad activities in Iraq. Vickers interviewSteele still
124 00:38:27 - 00:38:55 COMMENTARYThe publication by Wikileaks of thousands of diplomatic cables show that by July 2005, the US embassy in Baghdad was telling Washington about the abuse being committed by the commandos.COMMENTARYWe also learnt that Adnan Thabit was a guest at the American embassy in Baghdad.He met the US ambassador for counterterrorism and talked about his approach to policing. This is an extract from what he‘s reported to have said: Thabit sitting in a chair
127 00:38:56 - 00:39:19 CABLE EXTRACTSummary: Fight Terror with Terror... Major General Thabit, who created and commands the Special Police Forces, is a Sunni officer who served time in prison for attempting to overthrow the Saddam Regime......They expressed the view that it's necessary to fight terror with terror and that it is critical that their forces be respected and feared as this was what was required in Iraqi Society to command authority... Actor
128 00:39:20 - 00:39:28 COMMENTARYWe asked ambassador Crumpton if he had been aware that Adnan Thabit’s commandos were engaged in torturing detainees. Commando archive
129 00:39:29 - 00:39:44 SYNC FORMER AMBASSADOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISMHENRY CRUMPTONWell, I assure you that if I knew there was torture going on at that time with the people I was talking to, I would have raised it and discussed it. You are implying that I didn't know that and I resent that question... the way you phrased it frankly. Crumpton interview
130 00:39:45 - 00:39:58 COMMENTARYBut there are indications that the US government knew what the commandos were doing. white house
131 00:39:59 - 00:40:04 CABLE VOICED UP...we remain troubled by the indications that at times units commanded by Thabit cross the line.
132 00:40:05 - 00:40:15 COMMENTARYDespite these concerns Adnan Thabit remained officially in charge until the middle of 2006. He told us that the American officials he dealt with were aware of what his men were doing. Thabit wandering around his house
133 00:40:16 - 00:40:33 SYNC GENERAL ADNAN THABITUntil I left the Americans knew about everything I did; they knew what was going on in the interrogations and they knew the detainees.And even some of the intelligence about the detainees came to us from them.They are lying. Thabit interview
134 00:40:34 - 00:41:26 COMMENTARYThe Police Commandos were growing in numbers and importance, They had a national headquarters in Nisour Square in Baghdad. It could hold around 1000 detainees at any one time and was the nerve center of a national network of interrogation centers. This notorious detention centre was situated just outside the fortified Green Zone and less than a mile from the American and Iraqi joint command.Major General Muntadher remembers that James Steele and Petraeus’ military advisor James Coffman were a constant presence here. He says they were there to receive the high value detainees from the so called “intelligence committees” that operated at each regional Commando centre. Google mapsCommando archiveNissour Square picsTorture pics
135 00:41:27 - 00:41:55 SYNC MUNTADHER:James Steele would come to meetings everyday in Nisour Square...We'd all have a big lunch feast together.On a daily basis, the Americans - because Nisour Square was near the American base - they had breakfast with General Adnan Thabit, and then at 12 midday, they had lunch with him.They didn't leave Nisour Square until very late at night. Muntadher interview
136 00:41:56 - 00:42:16 COMMENTARYTwo Iraqi generals who worked with Steele say that one of Steele’s responsibilities was to give the commandoes lists of people that the Americans wanted picked up.Steele would then allegedly arrange to transfer them to a US-run interrogation center near Baghdad airport. Detainee in car
137 00:42:17 - 00:42:34 TODD GREENTREE SYNC:Colonel Steele is one of the few people who understands how to organise and conduct intelligence-driven operations against specific targets in the leadership and operational cells of an insurgency or terrorist organisation. Greentree interview
138 00:42:35 - 00:42:43 COMMENTARY:Getting that intelligence from detainees was routine for the commandos and their American overseers. Detainee still
139 00:42:44 - 00:43:20 SYNC MUNTADHER AL SAMARREIOne of the detainees was screaming. By chance James Steele was there outside washing his hands. He opened the door and saw the detainee. He was hanging by his legs, upside down. James Steele didn't react at all when he saw this man, it was just normal for him. He closed the door and came back to his seat in the advisors’ room.
140 00:43:21 - 00:43:33 COMMENTARYAnd there was worse. One man who survived Samarra and Nisour Square says that the police commandos lied about the fate of some of his fellow detainees.
141 00:43:34 - 00:43:43 SYNC DETAINEEThey started releasing some of the detainees.They were claiming that these detainees would return to their families. They were killing them and dumping their bodies on the streets of Baghdad. Blurred interview with torture victim
142 00:43:44 - 00:44:10 SYNC JERRY BURKEIt became very obvious that this was more criminal activity by the Special Commandos. They were eliminating their own opposition and terrorising citizens from the Sunni community.We lost the support of a lot of Iraqi citizens who became very cynical and very anti-American. Even the ones who were friendly with us couldn't understand why we were allowing this to happen. Still of dead bodies on street. Interview with Jerry BurkeStill of detainees in captivity
143 00:44:11 - 00:45:03 SYNC ARCHIVE PENTAGON PRESS CONFERENCENOVEMBER 2005RUMSFELDGood afternoon, folksSYNC JOURNALISTAre you concerned over and in fact is the United States looking into growing reports of uniformed deaths squads in Iraq perhaps assassinating and torturing hundreds of Sunnis and if that's true what would that say about stability in Iraq?SYNC RUMSFELDI can't comment on hypothetical questions. I have not seen reports that hundreds are being killed by roving death squads at all. I am not gonna get into this speculation like that.SYNC JOURNALISTWell, Sir, that’s not a hypothetical I don't believe; the Sunnis themselves are charging that hundreds have been assassinated.People shot in the head, found in alleys.SYNC RUMSFELDWhat you are talking about are unverified, to my knowledge at least, unverified comments. I just don't have any data from the field that I could comment on in a specific way. Rumsfled press conference
144 00:45:04 - 00:45:21 COMMENTARYBut Donald Rumsfeld should have known about the death squad activities.James Steele had written to Rumsfeld six weeks earlier warning him that the Police Commandos -- armed and financed by the US-- were effectively a Shia militia engaged in death squad activities. Rumsfeld press conference
145 00:45:22 - 00:45:40 ACTOR’S VOICE: MEMO TO RUMSFELDMemo to Don Rumsfeld, from James Steele....thugs like the commander of the Wolf Brigade who has been involved in death squad activities, extortion of detainees and a general pattern of corruption... Nearly all of the new recruits within the commandos are Shia.Many of the are Badr members... Memo read by actor
146 00:45:41 - 00:46:11 COMMENTARYGeneral Muntadher resigned from the Interior Ministry. He had come to view the Commandos as death squads.Two close colleagues were killed following a summons to the Ministry. Their bodies were found on a rubbish tip.He got out of Iraq and fled for his safety to Jordan.Despite the risk he decided to speak out about what was happening inside the Ministry of Interior. GVs muntadher in Beirut
147 00:46:12 - 00:46:21 Sync MuntadherHow many people have been taken by the forces of the Ministry of Interior, only for their families to later find their bodies at the morgue. Muntadher on Al Arabiya
148 00:46:22 - 00:46:58 COMMENTARYA few days after the broadcast General Muntadher was contacted by James Steele.It seemed that former Colonel Steele had made an unexpected trip to Jordan. He was very anxious to meet with Muntadher.James Steele was staying at the luxury Sheraton Hotel in Amman.He asked if they could meet about 7pm that night?Muntadher agreed and went to the hotel. Hotel, taxi GVs
149 00:46:59 - 00:48:36 SYNC MUNTADHERHe was asking me about the prisons. I was surprised by the questions and I reminded him that these were the same prisons where we both used to work.I reminded him of the incident where he opened the door and Colonel (Jabar) BLEEP was torturing one of the prisoners and how he didn’t do anything.He said “But, I remember that I told the officer off”So I said to him:“No you didn’t – you didn’t tell the officer off. You didn’t even tell General Adnan that this officer was committing human rights abuses, against these prisoners.”And he was silent. He didn’t comment or answer.I was surprised by this.He wanted to know specifically: did I have any information about him, James Steele?Did I have any evidence against him? Photographs, documents: things which proved he committed things in Iraq; things that he was worried that I might reveal.This was the purpose of his visit.I am prepared to go to the international court and stand in front of them and swear that high ranking officials such as James Steele witnessed crimes against human rights in Iraq. They didn’t stop it happening and they didn’t punish the perpetrators. Muntadher interview in hotel room
150 00:48:36 - 00:48:49 Neil: People should know about what was going on. Because I was shocked when I came back to the States and found out that most people didnt even know what we were involved in torture over there. interview with Neil SMith
151 00:48:50 - 00:49:08 COMMENTARY: There is little chance that James Steele will be be investigated.WIthin months of entering the White House president Obama issued a statement saying: “We’ve been through a dark and painful chapter in our history, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past.” White House GV
152 00:49:09 - 00:49:55 James Steele and David Petraeus left Iraq in September 2005.The ranks of the police commandoes increased to over 17,000 and the allegations of abuse against them soared.A year later the country was in the grip of a bloody sectarian civil war.At its height this civil war was claiming the lives of 3000 people a month. Some were so badly tortured they could not be identified.Many of the victims found a final resting place in desolate town dumps like this one. A rusty tin can marks each grave. Actuality of Steele and Khadoum walking at hospitalArmy standing in lineGhaith footage from Iraqi graves
156 00:49:56 - 00:50:35 Adnan Thabit has now retired on an Iraqi government pension, and lives in Jordan.Donald Rumsfeld resigned as Defense Secretary at the end of 2006. He never replied to any of our questions.Rumsfeld had presented James Steele with the Distinguished Public Service Medal for his “extraordinary service” in Iraq. Steele is now living in Bryan, Texas and gives occasional lectures on counterinsurgency. He did not respond to our many requests to be interviewed for this documentary. Steele and Rumsfeld and Flayah photographSteele photograph
157 00:50:36 - 00:51:07 CREDITS
TITLES
General Muntadher al-Samari
Iraqi ministry of interior, 2003-2005
Todd Greentree
US embassy official, El Salvador, 1980-1984
Douglas Brand OBE
Chief policy adviser to Iraqi ministry of interior, 2003-2005
Jerry Burke
Chief policy adviser to Iraqi ministry of interior, 2003-2004
George Vickers
Professor of sociology, City University of New York, 1975-1997
Celerino Castillo
Senior Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, El Salvador, 1984-1991
Mowaffak al-Rubaie
National security adviser, Iraq, 2004-2009
Ahmed Kadhom
Baghdad police chief, 2003-2004
General Adnan Thabit
Commander of special police commandos, 2004-2006
Neil Smith
Medic, 3rd Batalion 69th Armour Regiment, US army, 2005
Gilles Peress
Photojournalist
Peter Maass
New York Times journalist
Henry Crumpton
US ambassador for counter-terrorism, 2005-2007
Lieutenant General David Petraeus
Multinational security transition command, Iraq, 2003-2005
Captain Jarrell Southall
2nd Battalion, 162nd National Guard Infantry, US army
OTHERS (the numbers are just the timecode for me)
1.32 President George W Bush
Addressing Iraq, 19 March 2003
16.18 US army broadcast network
29.44 Paul Wolfowitz, speaking to Congress, 20 April 2004
US deputy defence secretary, 2001-2005
33.01 PBS Frontline, 2007
35.31 General Peter Pace
Chairman of joint chiefs of staff, 2005-2007
Pentagon press conference, 29 November 2005
35.43 Donald Rumsfeld
US defence secretary, 2001-2006
Pentagon press conference, 29 November 2005
36.18 Iraq warlogs, WikiLeaks
ITV News, October 2010
38.04 Photographs taken by
Oregon national guardsmen
41.16 Dick Cheney,
Vice-presidential debate, 2004
49.41 Pentagon press conference, 29 November 2005