The Salvador Option Created ISIS

[Horhey]

18 March 2003: The United States invades Iraq to "shock and awe" the world into U.S. subservience and to establish permanent garrisons in a dependent client state at the center of the world's major energy producing region - "a vital prize for any Power interested in world influence or domination". The latter objective failed due to mass non violent resistance from the country's Shi'ite population, lead by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. See my blog: Defeat: How the U.S. and Britain lost Iraq

[YT]_ca1HsC6MH0[/YT]

"The Salvadorization of Iraq" was the headline of a New York Times Magazine cover story, characterizing the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy. Obviously, this meant "it’s not a pretty campaign", reported Peter Maass:

NARRATOR (Video): This is one of the great untold stories of the Iraq War, how just over a year after the invasion, the United States funded a sectarian police commando force that set up a network of torture centers to fight the insurgency. It was a decision that helped fuel a sectarian civil war between Shia and Sunni that ripped the country apart. At its height, it was claiming 3,000 victims a month.

This is also the story of James Steele, the veteran of America’s dirty war in El Salvador. He was in charge of the U.S. advisers who trained notorious Salvadoran paramilitary units to fight left-wing guerrillas. In the course of that civil war, 75,000 people died, and over a million people became refugees. Steele was chosen by the Bush administration to work with General David Petraeus to organize these paramilitary police commandos.

For a complete history, see my blog: U.S.-Run State Terror in El Salvador Civil War

As first reported by Newsweek:

‘The Salvador Option’, Newsweek, Jan. 9, 2005

The Pentagon may put Special-Forces-led assassination or kidnapping teams in Iraq

NEWSWEEK has learned, the Pentagon is intensively debating an option that dates back to a still-secret strategy in the Reagan administration’s battle against the leftist guerrilla insurgency in El Salvador in the early 1980s. Then, faced with a losing war against Salvadoran rebels, the U.S. government funded or supported "nationalist" forces that allegedly included so-called death squads directed to hunt down and kill rebel leaders and sympathizers. Eventually the insurgency was quelled, and many U.S. conservatives consider the policy to have been a success—despite the deaths of innocent civilians and the subsequent Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal.

Following that model, one Pentagon proposal would send Special Forces teams to advise, support and possibly train Iraqi squads, most likely hand-picked Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and shi'ite militiamen, to target Sunni insurgents and their sympathizers, even across the border into Syria, according to military insiders familiar with the discussions.

Maj. Gen.Muhammad Abdallah al-Shahwani, director of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service, said that the U.S. occupation has failed to crack the problem of broad support for the insurgency. The insurgents, he said, "are mostly in the Sunni areas where the population there, almost 200,000, is sympathetic to them." He said most Iraqi people do not actively support the insurgents or provide them with material or logistical help, but at the same time they won’t turn them in. One military source involved in the Pentagon debate agrees that this is the crux of the problem, and he suggests that new offensive operations are needed that would create a fear of aiding the insurgency. "The Sunni population is paying no price for the support it is giving to the terrorists," he said. "From their point of view, it is cost-free. We have to change that equation."

The "Salvador option" actually originated with the CIA's Phoenix Program in South Vietnam, a paramilitary intelligence gathering campaign, which utilized the technique of "counter-terror", i.e. 'meeting terror with terror', targeting Viet Cong guerrillas and sympathizers for assassination, abduction, torturous interrogation, and subsequent execution. Maggie O’Kane, a multimedia investigations editor at The Guardian observes that:

[O]ne of the things that just strikes me, listening to that, is the sort of extraordinary parallels that exist between Salvador and Iraq. One of the interesting things in the WikiLeaks documents is that General Adnan Thabit, who ran the special police commandos that were carrying out the torture, used the phrase "to fight terror with terror," which is exactly the same phrase that was used by General Montana phon. in El Salvador when they were operating what was called the "platforms," which were basically the torture and interrogation centers where the American advisers were present. And what you have seen is an almost exact parallel between the platforms in El Salvador, which were the regional torture centers, and the platforms in Iraq, which operated in the same way, which was bringing in hundreds of mostly Sunni men and boys and torturing them for information.

Although the Special Police Squads (SPD's) eventually quelled the Sunni insurgency, it also enforced the repressive conditions that gave rise to the Islamic State:

From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads, Guardian, March 6, 2013

In 2004, with the war in Iraq going from bad to worse, the US drafted in a veteran of Central America's dirty wars to help set up a new force to fight the insurgency. The result: secret detention centres, torture and a spiral into sectarian carnage

Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres, Guardian, March 6, 2013

Exclusive: General David Petraeus and 'dirty wars' veteran behind commando units implicated in detainee abuse

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 defence secretary's personal envoy to Iraq's Special Police Commandos, whose intelligence-gathering activities he oversaw. Drawn mostly from violent Shia militia, the commandos developed a reputation for torture and later for their death-squad activities directed against the Sunni community.

 

[Horhey]

A Salvadoran death squad in action, specifically the National Guard Section 2 (Intelligence):

[YT]JQFGSmKPQJc[/YT]

 

[Horhey]

Edit....

 

[KevanG]

How about you post these in the conspiracy thread? A quick search would be less hassle.

 

[Horhey]

How about you post these in the conspiracy thread? A quick search would be less hassle.

My sources are Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, BBC News, and the Guardian. Just because you did not see it on CNN or Fox News does not mean its a "conspiracy theory".

 

[Horhey]

What the **** is wrong with you people? Its like the freakin Twilight Zone. Turn off cable news and read a Goddamn book!!

 

[Victarion]

I'm currently reading The Many Deaths of the Black Company

 

[Horhey]

I'm currently reading The Many Deaths of the Black Company

I meant non fiction scholarly literature, such as:

The American Connection: State Terror and Popular Resistance in El Salvador, Michael McClintock, 1985

Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America, Walter Lafeber, 1993

Weakness & Deceit: U.S. Policy and El Salvador: Raymond Bonner, 1984

Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism, Greg Grandin, 2009

Instruments of Statecraft: U.S. Guerilla Warfare, Counterinsurgency, Counter-Terrorism, 1940-1990, Michael McClintock, 2002

I own all of these. Read them all and have been enlightened by them all.

 

[Horhey]

That's the disconnect isn't it? I come from a different world than most people here. I read scholarship, declassified U.S. documents, and daily news reporting from mainstream sources. That is why what I show here seems foreign to so many.

"The Phoenix Program"

If anyone has to Google what that is then I may be too far out of your league for you to be throwing words around like "conspiracy theory".

 

[KevanG]

I finished reading Shogun by James Clavell last night. Awesome book. It's around 1100 pages.

 

[Horhey]

What's really sad is I doubt very much most people here even knew about Reagan's clandestine wars in Central America at all. They probably assume its a conspiracy theory. This has been a very interesting (and depressing) social experiment.

 

[KevanG]

For one I'm sure a lot of us have some knowledge of what you're talking about since this is the poltics forum and two you come off like a nutjob with these long rambling posts and comebacks about people needing to 'wake up' and 'think for themselves'.

 

[Horhey]

For one I'm sure a lot of us have some knowledge of what you're talking about since this is the poltics forum and two you come off like a nutjob with these long rambling posts and comebacks about people needing to 'wake up' and 'think for themselves'.

Your less than sophisticated comment about this topic being a conspiracy theory sort of gave you away. And its the truth. Stay away from cable news. Read more. All good advice. And I'm rambling because I was banned today from posting threads because of this "conspiracy theory" charge.

 

[KevanG]

People don't read these due to how you behave hence every thread being labeled a conspiracy theory.

 

[Horhey]

People don't read these due to how you behave hence every thread being labeled a conspiracy theory.

I make the case. I lay out the evidence and comment on it. That's it. Then its labeled a conspiracy theory.

 

[herakles]

I make the case. I lay out the evidence and comment on it. That's it. Then its labeled a conspiracy theory.

Not to be a dick but don't ALL nations do things that are less than honorable. It is called protecting their national interests.

 

[Horhey]

Not to be a dick but don't ALL nations do things that are less than honorable. It is called protecting their national interests.

Oh absolutely. The U.S. is not unique in this regard. Its part of the institutional logic of all states. It just so happens that the U.S. has the most reach. Any other superpower would be doing the same. But that it doesn't make ok. In a free society, it is the responsibility of citizens to resist those abuses done in their name.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

That's the disconnect isn't it? I come from a different world than most people here. I read scholarship, declassified U.S. documents, and daily news reporting from mainstream sources. That is why what I show here seems foreign to so many.

"The Phoenix Program"

If anyone has to Google what that is then I may be too far out of your league for you to be throwing words around like "conspiracy theory".

Actually, this post, right here? This is the soul of the fanboy right here. Because this is what it all comes down to. All the knowledge, all the minutiae , all the supposed rational arguments, the "experience" and "insight" and "expertise" posters make sure you are aware of in their self professed background...


It all about one thing: The fanboy letting the world know in no uncertain terms that he is superior. There it is in a nutshell. Ethically, intellectually, in some way the fanboy giving his opinion just wants the world to know about his superiority in morals and knowledge.


It's quite silly really.

 

[Horhey]

Actually, this post, right here? This is the soul of the fanboy right here. Because this is what it all comes down to. All the knowledge, all the minutiae , all the supposed rational arguments, the "experience" and "insight" and "expertise" posters make sure you are aware of in their self professed background...


It all about one thing: The fanboy letting the world know in no uncertain terms that he is superior. There it is in a nutshell. Ethically, intellectually, in some way the fanboy giving his opinion just wants the world to know about his superiority in morals and knowledge.


It's quite silly really.

Is it? If someone told you that you were a conspiracy theorist for believing in the Watergate scandal, what would you think?

Anyone not living under a rock knows about Watergate, but what about COINTELPRO?

 

[Victarion]

My question remains: if there was no great gain for the States, why set in motion the events that your posts claim it did with the Salvador option? I'm sure such a power play would be backed by skilled military analysts, looking at various scenarios involving all manner of collateral damage.

 

[Horhey]

My question remains: if there was no great gain for the States, why set in motion the events that your posts claim it did with the Salvador option? I'm sure such a power play would be backed by skilled military analysts, looking at various scenarios involving all manner of collateral damage.

Mainstream news outlets reported it. I'm not "claiming" anything.

In essence, the "Salvador Option" is U.S. military advisers employing paramilitary forces to abduct, interrogate, and sometimes kill insurgents and their supposed sympathizers. The strategy began in South Vietnam with the Phoenix Program but El Salvador is held up as the model for conducting successful counterinsurgency:

Washington Post correspondent Christopher Dickey in, Central America: Anatomy of Conflict, Robert S. Leiken, 1984

The immediate goal of the Salvadoran army and security forces—and of the United States in 1980, was to prevent a takeover by the leftist-led guerrillas and their allied political organizations. At this point in the Salvadoran conflict the latter were much more important than the former.

The military resources of the rebels were extremely limited and their greatest strength, by far, lay not in force of arms but in their "mass organizations" made up of labor unions, student and peasant organizations that could be mobilized by the thousands in El Salvador's major cities and could shut down the country through strikes.

Dirty Hands

The success of U.S. policy in El Salvador -- preventing a guerrilla victory -- was based on 40,000 political murders

By Benjamin Schwarz, RAND Corp., Dec. 1998

​

As I was told repeatedly by U.S. military and intelligence personnel who were as clear-eyed as they were aghast, the dirty little secret shared by those determined to prevent an FMLN takeover -- a group that included both the Salvadoran armed forces and the United States government -- was this: the death squads worked.​

Testimony: The Maria Guardado Story

[YT]BzaEIpARXu0[/YT]

Truth, Torture, and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture, Jennifer Harbury, 2005

Maria Guardado, Citizen of El Salvador

Maria Lorenzo Guardado was living in San Miguel, El Salvador, when she was abducted in 1980. Tough, pretty, and exceedingly bright, she was working with a local peasant union and, despite the risks, was involved in a number of political activities. When the threats began, she was hardly surprised, but she kept on with her efforts nonetheless. She had already been badly beaten by the local police once before, and she knew that she was being followed by members of the security forces.

In January she was dragged from an ice cream parlor in broad daylight by a group of masked and armed men, one of whom she was nonetheless able to recognize as a member of the security forces. They blindfolded her and threw her into a vehicle, driving off at high speed and eventually stopping at an unknown location. There she was beaten, raped, and given electrical shocks to her breasts and genitals. The men insisted that she give the names and addresses of her colleagues, but she refused. Certain that she would be killed, she was unwilling to cause the torture and death of yet another person. When she yielded no information, they impaled her through the rectum with a stake, causing her to hemorrhage so severely that she lost consciousness.

When she awoke, the vehicle had stopped again and the men were dragging her inside a building. here she heard the same voices of the men who had abducted her, but also a new and startling voice. In it, she heard the unmistakable accent of a North American. She was familiar with the accent not only from the radio and television programs, but also from working with the many international human rights workers who had accompanied the popular marches and protests. The American was apparently in charge, asking who would be the first to torture her, for example, then asking who would go next, and what would be tried, throughout the entire session. They took turns stamping on her kneecaps, broke her wrist and ribs, burned her arms and legs repeatedly, and jumped on her back, fracturing the discs in her spine. She screamed, but gave no information. Finally the American said, "She's dead, get rid of her."

She felt herself being carried back to the van. Once again they drove and drove, stopped and threw her onto a grassy patch of land. She has no no idea where they were. Again she was beaten, this time so severely that her pelvis broke, and she was left for dead. Miraculously, she survived, and was able to crawl to a nearby roadway. There a taxi driver spotted her and drove her home, leaving her on the steps of her front door at dawn. Her terrified relatives moved her from safe house to safe house until she was strong enough to travel, then hurried her into exile. Despite everything, she has spoken out about her experiences since the day of her escape.

For complete history, see my blog: U.S.-Run State Terror in El Salvador Civil War

 

[Marvolo]

Sounds like rendition type stuff to me. Its pretty well known and something the US and other countries definitely employed in the middle east. That much Im pretty sure isnt a conspiracy theory.

None of this is really surprising. All militaries and especially the CIA employ counter terrorism in various forms and degrees of legality. Thats unlikely to change.

 

[Horhey]

Sounds like rendition type stuff to me. Its pretty well known and something the US and other countries definitely employed in the middle east. That much Im pretty sure isnt a conspiracy theory.

None of this is really surprising. All militaries and especially the CIA employ counter terrorism in various forms and degrees of legality. Thats unlikely to change.

This is what happens when the goal of winning the war conflicts with human rights:

Ethics and Counterrevolution: American Involvement in Internal Wars, Kermit D. Johnson, University Press of America, 1997

El Salvador was a domino the United States would not let fall. As the four lieutenant colonels put it in American Policy in Small Wars: The Case of El Salvador, "The importance of commitment goes beyond morality."

El Salvador's Unreformed Military, Americas Watch, Christian Science Monitor, 05/25/90

US officials have never demanded that human rights concerns take precedence over winning the war when, as they often do, these goals conflict.

This one of the reasons its so important for the intervention to be legitimate.

P.S. I'm going to be deleting a lot of this stuff so it doesn't clog up the search engines and hide my blog.

 

[Kelly]

One of your threads will actually stay open when you learn to post in a less than confrontational manner. Chill out!