RECRUITERS FOR GUARD FORCE IN IRAQ CAUSE STIR IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONROVIA 000170

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2019
TAGS: MASS PREL ASEC IZ LI
SUBJECT: RECRUITERS FOR GUARD FORCE IN IRAQ CAUSE STIR IN
LIBERIA

REF: IIR 6 859 0077 09

Classified By: Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield for Reasons
1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) The Project Manager of Sabre International called on
EmbOffs March 3 with two local sub-contractors to brief us on
their efforts in Monrovia to recruit Liberians for armed
static guard positions in Iraq. They said the recruitment
was under the Theatre-Wide Internal Security Services program
funded through the Joint Contracting Command Iraq and have
done similar recruitment in other African countries,
including Uganda. They expect to vet, recruit and train up
to 250 Liberians for the posts. We believe they called on us
after they received inquiries from the GOL wanting to know if
the Embassy was sponsoring this effort. We have also been
receiving calls from GOL officials, press and others asking
for information on the operation, and responded that we were
unaware of any American contractors recruiting for Iraq. The
recruitment drive made the front page of at least one
newspaper.


2. (C) We are extremely concerned about the procedures Sabre
International has used to recruit the potential guards. The
local subcontractors turn out to be a Taylor-era Special
Security Service (SSS) agent as well as a member of the
disbanded Anti-Terrorism Unit. (Note: Taylor's son Chucky
Taylor was recently convicted in Florida for committing
torture while head of the ATU.) The local assistants have
rounded up ex-combatants from the ATU, the disbanded Armed
Forces of Liberia (AFL),the disbanded SSS, and from
different war-era militias. We understand they have also
approached members of the reconstituted AFL, reconstituted
SSS and the police Emergency Response Unit, all of which have
received U.S. assistance and training to maintain order in
Liberia.


3. (C) EmbOffs expressed our grave concern that using
ex-combatants and giving them skill sets superior to the AFL
and police will be a threat to Liberia's security. They
explained the extensive vetting procedures used by the AFL to
weed out those who have committed egregious human rights
violations, and doubted that a three-day vetting, even
including polygraphing, would catch the problem
ex-combatants.


4. (C) Following the conversation, EmbOffs informed various
GOL officials that the Embassy was not aware of the
recruitment and does not condone the activity as it is
presently conceived. Ambassador raised the issue with
President Sirleaf as well, who thought they were being
recruited for non-lethal positions. We expect the GOL to
require the contractors to suspend their operations. We
understand from a press report dated November 2007 that a
similar operation in Namibia ended in the deportation of two
Americans.


5. (C) A recruitment of Liberians would be possible under
much tighter controls, using methods already developed by
DynCorp for vetting the AFL and in cooperation with the
Embassy. The contractors' activities so far has made our
task more difficult, as many of those who have already been
recruited were promised salaries as high as $9,000 a month
and will express their anger if the contracts do not
materialize. The contractors' activities have also given
credence to the canard we often hear that we are training the
AFL for service in Iraq.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD