Highlights
& Quotes
A military officer with ties to the weapons industry, rightwing nongovernmental advocacy groups, and government threat assessment panels, Jay Garner’s track record demonstrates the sort of insider connections that are endemic in the U.S. military-industrial complex. His SY Coleman Technologies helped design guidance systems used in the Patriot missile system as well as in Israel’s Arrow defense system; he oversaw Pentagon missile defense programs; he participated in the so-called Rumsfeld Commission on the ballistic missile threat, a Donald Rumsfeld-chaired panel that was heavily criticized for exaggerating the missile threat to the United States (12); and he has gone on junkets to Israel organized by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, an advocacy organization based in the United States that has strong ties to the Likud government in Israel and the Israeli defense forces. (3), (5), (6)
His multiple connections to key figures in the George W. Bush administration no doubt played a role in the decision to select him as the first head of the U.S. Iraqi reconstruction effort. But after a brief and rocky tenure as “mayor of Baghdad,” during which time he was criticized for a series of administrative missteps, Garner was replaced by Paul Bremer. (11)
In a report for Middle East Online (April 2003) about Garner, Francis Temman writes: “David Kirp, a professor of ethics at Berkeley, said that Garner was a ‘charming example’ of American indifference toward the Iraqi people and showed the lack of foresight by the US administration. A retired lieutenant colonel of the space command, Biff Baker, alleged that Garner used his Pentagon connections to win 100 million dollars in contracts for SY Coleman. Garner, who denied any wrongdoing, countered with a defamation suit, and the matter was settled out of court in January.” (6)
Temman also reports: “[Garner] has been regularly denounced by the Council on American-Islamic Relations for his views. ... He has close ties with conservative Israeli groups, attracting criticism when he backed a statement in 2000 by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs praising the Israeli army for showing what it called ‘remarkable restraint’ in the face of the Palestinian uprising.” (3), 2 (5)
Regarding his business dealings, PBS reports: “Garner came to the ORHA after six years in private sector technology firms and 30 years in the U.S. Army. After retiring from active service in 1997, Garner accepted a position as head of SY Technology, a firm that supplies much of the technical support for many of the missile systems used by the military. In 2002, L-3 Communications, a Texas-based technology firm, purchased SY. Garner became a board member of the new company and, in May of that year, head of its Coleman Research division. In March, L-3 was awarded a $1.5 billion Pentagon contract, for which they were the only bidder, to support U.S. special operations forces in the war on terrorism. Garner's close ties to the Pentagon
and his contractor position have come under fire by some. Last year,
Biff Baker, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Army Space Command,
charged that Garner used improper influence to win $100 million
in contracts for SY Technology. Garner denied any wrongdoing and
sued Baker for defamation. ‘I do not go to my friends for
business,’ Garner said in sworn testimony last year, The Associated
Press reported. ‘I get business from my friends, but it's
not solicited by me. It's given to us because of the quality of
our company.’ " (13)
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Institutional
Affiliations
Jewish
Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA): Participant
on JINSA-organized trips to Israel (3), (5)
Government
Service
Former chief U.S. civilian administrator of
Iraq
U.S. Strategic
Command: Member of the Strategic Advisory Board (1)
Army
Science Board: Member, 1998-1999 (1)
Commission
to Assess United States National Security Space Management and
Organization (“Rumsfeld Commission”): Member,
2000-2001 (1), (8)
Assistant
Vice Chief of Staff of the Army: 1996-1997 (3), (8)
U.S.
Army Space and Strategic Defense Command: Commanding General
1994-1996 (1), (2)
Office
of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans: Assistant
Deputy Chief of Staff for Force Development during the 1991
war on Iraq (6), (8)
V
Corps in Frankfurt, Germany: Deputy Commanding General (1),
(8)
Joint
Task Force Bravo - Operation Provide Comfort in Northern Iraq:
Commanding General, 1991 (9)
Corporate
Connections/Business Interests
L-3
Communications: Board member (13)
SY
Coleman Technology, Inc.: President (1) (8)
Education
Florida
State University: B.A. in History (1) (8)
Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania: M.A. in Public
Administration
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