JPMorgan Hires 4-Star General Notorious for Extrajudicial Killings in Iraq
Proving yet again the ubiquitous ties between government and private
interests, four-star General Ray Odierno — who retired as the U.S.
Army’s Chief of Staff on August 14 — made a rather abrupt leap in career
choice to senior adviser for JPMorgan Chase less than a week later.
Not that the commander of the 4th Infantry Division — whose notorious reputation during the Iraq “War” included a penchant for
indiscriminate, mass detention and extrajudicial killings of civilians —
was otherwise considering humanitarian work when the megabank advising
position happened to open up. It would seem the new role is perfect for
Odierno, as he will be advising CEO Jamie Dimon, the Board of Directors,
and the Operating Committee with “international planning and country
risk analysis, technology, operations, and the rapidly evolving issues
of physical and cyber security,” according to a company statement.
JPMorgan’s statement mentions the ex-general’s role with “physical
security” in his upcoming duties, but even a cursory glance at the
practices by those under his command in Iraq makes those goals seem,
well, questionable.
A military intelligence specialist at the time, Sgt. Kayla Williams,
said they passed by Odierno’s 4th Infantry Division, whose soldiers
appeared “mean and ugly. They stood on top of their trucks, their
weapons pointed directly at civilians . . . What could these locals
possibly have done? Why was this intimidation necessary? No one
explained anything, but it looked weird and felt wrong.”
