Warriors, guns, and money, continued

by Jason Vest

Q: Of all the characters you came across, does any one stand out?

A: One of the German arms dealers who worked extensively for the US government during an [important] part of the Cold War. The story of Ernst Werner Glatt, a right-wing German who worked for the Pentagon and CIA for 40 years, and who was a key participant in the most amazing covert operations of our time, including an operation in 1977 to arm the Somali government, had never been reported on.

I've been working as a journalist for 15 years, and I felt like [Glatt's story] was the most important I had ever undertaken. Glatt was completely unknown prior to this -- his name appears in the press twice, and both times only in passing. I mean, here's a guy who was probably one of the most significant arms dealers of the 20th century -- a guy who moved guns against the Soviets at the same time as [he was] stealing weapons from them, so the Pentagon could test them against their own -- and he was still cloaked in the shadows.

Q: But Glatt's more or less retired, while people like Al Haig, who was secretary of state in the Reagan administration, and Frank Gaffney, who was Reagan's deputy assistant secretary of defense, are still active players in manipulating defense policy.

A: Don't get me wrong -- I think the [stories about] Al Haig and Frank Gaffney are important. But they're known quantities, and what's there is less surprising.

But Glatt -- first, this guy was truly unwritten history, which was exciting to home in on. Secondly, let's face it -- arms dealing, no matter what you think of it ethically or morally, is exciting. It's a world of phony passports, fake end-user certificates, bribes, and there's something exciting and compelling about it. Because you're not supposed to know about it, let alone discover it, and to actually learn about it -- it was just tremendously exciting.

Thirdly, Glatt's fascinating. Extremely intelligent, extremely articulate, speaks at least six languages, has traveled all over the world -- whatever I think of his political views and actions, it's hard not to be intrigued.

Q: So how did you assemble the biography of one of US intelligence's most guarded human assets?

A: The process was extremely elaborate and drawn out, to say the least. It took a year and a half to research and write the Glatt section of the book. I first contacted him through his attorney in November of 1998 and he called me, agreeing to meet me in January of 1999 in Frankfurt. But he backed out at the last minute. I would fax his various estates around the world trying to find him, hoping he'd come around -- and still he wouldn't give me an on-the-record interview. But I did speak to him off the record, on several occasions. And he did confirm much of what I'd learned from others.

Q: Was there any point, as you discovered new layers of his persona and operational background, at which you were disturbed?

A: Actually, I confess to having a certain admiration for him. No matter what I think of what he did -- and I realize there are those who will consider this an ethically repugnant point of view -- it's hard not to like him. When you talk to people about arms dealers, their first reaction is, they're all whores -- CIA people would tell me you can't trust any of them. In fact, I was surprised. Because about Glatt, frequently people said he had a visceral hatred of communism. US intelligence said they knew they'd never catch him double-dealing.

Q: An arms dealer with a code of honor?

A: Yes, after a fashion. He had beliefs he's been faithful to. Compare him to a guy like Al Haig, who, in my view, will say anything or do anything to make money. [With Haig] you have an ardent anti-communist who's only too happy to do business with the Chinese. Haig will represent any dictator, left or right, if he pays the bills. My sense of Glatt is that he wouldn't do that. Maybe I was fooled, but I don't think so. It's sort of funny that I'm paying tribute to his loyalty to principles I don't subscribe to, but I did find a certain type of honor in him.

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Jason Vest is a Washington-based investigative reporter and a contributing editor for In These Times.