Kuwait Liberation Day in February 1991 was the day Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait by the U.S.-led coalition. John Kiriakou, then in his twenties as a junior Central Intelligence Agency officer, entered the country with U.S. Marines on the day of liberation. “It was very, very exciting. One of the highlights of my life, my adult life.”[1]
The DNC and RNC arrivals
Within days of liberation, Kiriakou observed the arrival of personnel from the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee at the U.S. embassy — there “to help [Kuwait] transition to democracy.” Kiriakou’s reaction at the time: “It’s a monarchy. It’s not going to ever be democratic. … I was in my twenties then — not really savvy enough to know that this is all part of the plan.”[2][3]
The flags
The American flags waved by Kuwaiti crowds as U.S. tanks rolled down the central thoroughfare on Liberation Day were, Kiriakou subsequently learned, organized and distributed in advance by John Rendon, a private contractor and self-described “professional propagandist.” Rendon’s question to Kiriakou, in a subsequent meeting: “You remember when the American tanks are rolling down the main street — the Corniche? And a million people are out there waving little American flags. Where the hell do you think those flags came from? The country’s destroyed.”[4][5]