Douglas Farah

Douglas Farah is an American journalist, author and national security consultant. Farah served as United Press International bureau chief in El Salvador from 1985 to 1987, and a freelance journalist for The Washington Post, Newsweek, and other publications until being hired as a staff correspondent for The Washington Post in 1992. While working for the Post, Farah served as bureau chief of Central American and the Caribbean until 1997, international investigative reporter between 1998 and 2000, and of West Africa between 2000 and 2003. He left the Post in 2004, and has since authored two books and served as a contributor to peer reviewed publications such as the Journal of International Affairs and analysis pieces for Foreign Policy and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Douglas Farah
Born (1957-07-22) July 22, 1957
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Kansas
OccupationJournalist, author, and consultant
Awards1988 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Foreign Correspondence
Websitedouglasfarah.org

Early career

Farah was born on July 22, 1957 and spent his childhood traveling the world with his missionary parents. He graduated from high school in 1974 from the American Cooperative School in La Paz. After traveling around Latin America and working odd jobs,[1] Farah began attending the University of Kansas in 1980. He graduated in 1985 with a B.A. in Latin American Studies and a B.S. in Journalism. During this time he worked for United Press International, and upon graduation he was named UPI bureau chief in El Salvador, a position he held until 1987.[2] In El Salvador his reporting covered the civil war and human rights atrocities, including coverage of right wing death squad activities and the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests.[3] Other reporting included the use of political amnesty to free the Salvadorian murderers of US nationals,[4] the political gamesmanship of Salvadorian president Jose Duarte,[5] the extortion of the country's high ranking civil servants,[6] natural disasters in the region, such as earthquakes,[7] and the expulsion of foreign nationals from the country.[8]

The Washington Post

In 1988 Farah was the recipient of the Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Foreign Correspondence, for a series of articles he wrote on death squads in El Salvador for The Washington Post. He also moved to Colombia on contract with the Post to report on the drug wars in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia—specifically the period of influence for Pablo Escobar.[1] In 1992, after serving as a freelance reporter for several newspapers, Farah became a foreign affairs correspondent for The Washington Post. Soon afterwards he became the bureau chief for Central American and the Caribbean until 1997. In 2000 he was again named bureau chief, this time as chief of West Africa, a position he held until 2003.[2] He reported on many different international affairs issues and civil war conflicts, including the economic reforms in Cuba,[9] the inflation of extreme corruption among public officials as well as the civil war in Sierre Leone,[10][11] the military dictatorship in Haiti,[12][13] the Aristide and Preval era in Haiti,[14][15][16] dictator Charles Taylor and his ties in the blood diamond trade to al Qaeda terrorists,[17] American sanctions against Libya,[18] US military involvement in Colombia,[19] and Russian organized crime.[20] Farah left the Post in 2004.[2]

Books and recent publications

Farah is an occasional contributor to Foreign Policy, covering issues including Hugo Chavez in Venezuela[21] and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.[22] He was also a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog between 2005 and 2011.[23] Farah published articles in Prism[24] and at the end of 2012 Farah published the article Central American Gangs: Changing Nature and New Partners in the Winter 2012 issue of the Journal of International Affairs.[25]

In terms of longer works, upon leaving the Post in 2004 Farah published the book Blood from Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror, based upon the stories he broke regarding the ties between al-Qaeda and West African blood diamonds.[2] The book also covered the story of how Farah had to leave the region due to death-threats and was welcomed back to America by a CIA embarrassed by the fact they knew nothing of his discovery. The book explains how the revelation of international affairs material unknown to the governments of the countries involved led to him being attacked by numerous intelligence services.[26]

Farah also co-authored the book Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible with Stephen Braun. The book tells the story of the international weapons dealer Viktor Bout, and was released a year before Bout was arrested in a DEA sting. The book detailed how Bout was able to deliver weapons to the deviant groups and nations, including militants in the Taliban, Somalia, and Yemen.[27] Publishers Weekly wrote that, "The authors paint a depressing picture of an avalanche of war-making material pouring into poor, violence-wracked nations despite well-publicized U.N. embargoes."[28]

Consultation business

Farah has been interviewed regarding international relations and criminal issues for decades. Following 9-11, he was interviewed by international newspapers regarding the link between African diamonds and terrorist financing.[29] Farah is the principal and owner of IBI Consultants, LLC, which describes itself as "offer[ing] a broad range of expertise and access across Latin America on issues of national security, transnational crime, terrorism, terror finance and non-state armed actors".[30] He has been featured on national broadcast stations as an expert in the field of national security issues, including on CNN.[31] Farah is an expert for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the fields of organized crime, drugs, Latin America, and Central America.[32]

As of 2013, Farah was a Senior Fellow of Financial Investigations and Transparency at the International Assessment of Strategy Center.[2] He is also an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.[33] Farah has testified before the US Congress on more than a dozen occasions. For example, on October 1, 2009, Farah testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on the subject of "Transnational Drug Enterprises: Threats to Global Stability and U.S. National Security from Southwest Asia, Latin American and West Africa".[34] On July 7, 2011, Farah testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence on the subject of "Hezbollah in Latin America: Implications for U.S. Security".[35]

Media appearances

Farah appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on September 13, 2007.[36] He has been interviewed on Univision[37] and CNN.[38] Farah was also interviewed by Terry Gross on her NPR radio show Fresh Air in 2004[39] and 2007,[40] as well as on other NPR radio programs[41] and radio programs on additional networks.[42]

gollark: Not particularly.
gollark: <@201731509223292928> It doesn't. The broadcast tower runs some dedicated code. Besides, the "source code" is run through several compile steps to get what actually runs on potato OS computers.
gollark: It also incorporates your `\nav`, but better.
gollark: As if you can comprehend my code.
gollark: It even persists that now.

References
  1. "Official website biography". Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  2. "Douglas Farah: Senior Fellow, Financial Investigations and Transparency". International Assessment of Strategy Center. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  3. Douglas Farah (November 28, 1989). "Dying Jesuit Said to Shout 'Injustice';Salvadoran Court Hears Testimony of Sequestered Witness in Killings". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  4. Douglas Farah (November 13, 1987). "El Salvador Amnesty Frees Marine's Killers". United Press International. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  5. Douglas Farah (September 30, 1987). "Duarte stand is tough concerning peace talks". United Press International. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  6. Douglas Farah (September 11, 1985). "Police seek leads in kidnapping of Salvadoran chief's daughter". United Press International. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  7. Douglas Farah (October 12, 1986). "Death toll estimated at 500 in El Salvador quake". United Press International. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  8. Douglas Farah (July 18, 1986). "Religious workers are ordered out of El Salvador". United Press International. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  9. Douglas Farah (August 10, 1992). "Tourism Brings Dollars, Resentment to Cuba". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  10. Douglas Farah (April 16, 2000). "Bribery at Every Turn in Lawless Sierra Leone". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  11. Douglas Farah (May 11, 2000). "Sierre Leone erupts". Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  12. Douglas Farah (September 20, 1994). "Accord leaves feared Haitian army intact". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  13. Douglas Farah (June 16, 1993). "Aristide hailed in try to head off embargo". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  14. David Broder (March 17, 1999). "Peacekeeping without any peace to keep". Star-News. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  15. Douglas Farah (September 29, 1994). "Haiti tests democracy's waters". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  16. Douglas Farah (April 4, 1995). "Aristide aide's tie to killing mounts". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  17. OFEIBIA QUIST-ARCTON (June 20, 2005). "Charles Taylor Still a Controversial Figure in Western Africa". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  18. Douglas Farah and John Mintz (September 30, 2003). "US charges Muslim activist". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  19. Dana Priest and Douglas Farah (May 25, 1998). "U.S. Force Training Troops in Colombia". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  20. Douglas Farah (September 29, 1997). "Russian Mob, Drug Cartels Joining Forces". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  21. Douglas Farah (June 13, 2012). "The Bolivarian Legacy". Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  22. Douglas Farah (March 4, 2011). "Harvard for Tyrants". Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  23. "Douglas Farah Archives". Counterterrorism Blog. Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  24. Douglas Farah (2012). "Terrorist-Criminal Pipelines and Criminalized States: Emerging Alliances". Prism. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  25. Douglas Farah (Winter 2012). "Transnational Organized Crime : Central American Gangs: Changing Nature and New Partners". Journal of International Affairs. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  26. Gail Ross (March 22, 2004). "Review: BLOOD FROM STONES - The Secret Financial Network of Terror". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  27. Scott Shane (August 29, 2010). "An Arms Sales Suspect, Bargaining With Secrets". New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  28. "Review: Merchant of Death - Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible". Publishers Weekly. June 11, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  29. "Antigo Presidente da Libéria "beneficiou Al-Qaida e Hezbollah"". Económico com Lusa. August 8, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  30. "Our Critical Issues". IBI Consultants, LLC. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  31. Ashley Hayes (November 17, 2010). "Who is the 'Merchant of Death?'". CNN. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  32. "Douglas Farah". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  33. "Douglas Farah: Adjunct Fellow(Non-resident), Americas Program". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  34. Douglas Farah (October 1, 2009). "Transnational Drug Enterprises: Threats to Global Stability and U.S. National: Security from Southwest Asia, Latin America and West Africa" (PDF). House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  35. Douglas Farah (July 7, 2011). "Hezbollah in Latin America: Implications for U.S. Security" (PDF). Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  36. "The Daily Show: Season 12, Episode 115". IMDb. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  37. Gerardo Reyes (September 7, 2011). "Informes de inteligencia describen a Bolivia como un 'Narcoestado'". Univision. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  38. Mick B. Krever (October 12, 2011). "Prosecutors say accused Russian arms dealer knew Americans were targets". CNN. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  39. "Radio Daily Schedule: May 3, 2004". KQED-FM. May 3, 2004. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  40. "Profiling the 21st Century's 'Merchant of Death'". July 11, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  41. "Alleged Arms Dealer Accused Of Terrorist Ties". NPR. November 17, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  42. "Episode: Nov 30, 2009". The World Beyond Washington. November 30, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
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