Former Indian servicemen sent to Iraq, Guantanamo

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: A police report has brought into the open that former Indian servicemen were secretly recruited to the US Army and sent to Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.

Kerala Police has informed the government that an unspecified number of Indian servicemen were flown to Iraq and that more than one agency was involved in the operation. Indian security agencies believe that the operation might have begun in the mid-2003 after New Delhi lifted a ban on travelling to Iraq.

The US Army recruited non-Muslim former servicemen who could speak English. The US chose Kerala because of a high literacy rate in that sate. The report said the US Army recruited a large number of Malayalis for work in Guantanamo Bay and more than 100 youths were selected from Ernakulam and Kottayam districts. “US companies are now looking for more volunteers from Kerela for various projects,” a top official said. Source said the US government was looking for at least 2000 security personnel and a recruitment agency, SQ International was working together with the US government to hire those personnel.

The Indian government took no action despite strict labour laws.

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