Deep underground in a secured bunker in western
Pennsylvania, employees of a Carlyle Group portfolio company
perform background checks on government and airlines
employees, as well as on thousands of private-sector job
applicants.
The former Office of Federal Investigations, known as the US
Investigations Services since it was bought by the Carlyle Group
upon privatization, is just one of the many controversial companies
in its portfolio that Dan Briody examines in his latest book, The
Iron Triangle - Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group.
The Carlyle Group offers rich ground and Briody sifts through
its involvement with mercenaries, its habitual employment of former
heads of state and ex-employees of the CIA, and the group's close
connections with the present Bush administration. He provides a
clear account of how George Bush senior (an adviser to the group)
helped reverse US foreign policy towards Korea in a way that helped
benefit Carlyle's business there.
The fact that former US presidents are entitled to receive CIA
briefings and that Bush senior, a former director of the CIA,
regularly gets what CIA insiders call "the president's daddy's
daily briefing" also does little to distance the group from
perceptions of possible impropriety.
Much of the book covers already well documented Carlyle
controversies, but Briody's account of the group's rise to
prominence and notoriety brings colour to some of the key
characters in the secretive group.
Declassified letters from Frank Carlucci, chairman emeritus, to
members of the current administration are quite eye opening. "Dear
Don, Thanks for the lunch last Friday," writes Carlucci on February
15 2001 to former wrestling buddy and secretary of defence Donald
Rumsfeld. "It was great seeing you in such good spirits even if you
are 'all alone'." With Carlyle's vast network of friends close at
hand it's hard to see why Don should feel quite so lonely.