Talk:Vinnell Corporation
London Times
May 14, 2003
In the shadows; Firm was 'cover for CIA'
By Ian Cobain
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-679768,00.html
AS BEFITS a company that has been accused of being a CIA front, of recruiting "executive mercenaries" and attempting to overthrow the Prime Minister of a Commonwealth state, the Vinnell Corporation kept a low profile in Riyadh.
Its discreet security fooled nobody, however: the bomb attack was the second it has suffered in eight years. In 1995 seven people were killed. This shadowy corporation is said to have been founded during the Depression. Dan Briody, author of The Iron Triangle, a study of Vinnell's one-time owners, the Carlyle Group, serialised last week in The Times, says that there is "no publicity, no press releases, no news clippings".
He adds: "No one knows who the original owners were."
Vinnell's work in Saudi Arabia dates back almost 30 years, when it won a contract to train Saudi troops to guard oilfields. A congressional inquiry found that it had agreed a "no Jews" clause. In the 1991 Gulf War Vinnell employees were seen fighting alongside Saudi troops.
The company has helped the Saudis build their National Guard from 26,000 troops to around 70,000.
In the early Eighties Time magazine reported that two employees were embroiled in a failed attempt to overthrow Maurice Bishop, the left-wing Prime Minister of Grenada, and soon after that a former employee was implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal.
? What does 'See id.' mean ?
Bibliographic References for the Gaul material:
25 See William D. Hartung, Inc. Mercenaries: How a U.S. Company Props Up the House of Saud, THE PROGRESSIVE, Apr. 1996, at 26. 26 See id. 27 See id. 28 See id. 29 See id. 30 Id. 31 See id. 32 See id. 33 See Terry Atlas, Terrorist Blast Points to Saudi's Vulnerability, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Nov. 14, 1995, at 1. 34 See Charles J. Hanley, Firm to Train Saudi Guard Has Ties With Washington Insiders, THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL (MEMPHIS), Mar. 23, 1997, at A22. 35 See id. 36 See id. 37 See id. 38 Id. 39 See Id. 40 See William D. Hartung, Inc. Mercenaries: How a U.S. Company Props Up the House of Saud, THE PROGRESSIVE, Apr. 1996, at 26. 41 See id. 42 See Terry Atlas, Terrorist Blast Points to Saudi's Vulnerability, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Nov. 14, 1995, at 1.
My guess is that the "See Id" or "See id" is the same as Ibid.
AI 5/15/03 05:50 (EST)
'ibid' is what I was expecting. I'll incorporate this into the article after one more confirmation. Thanks. Maynard
