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Officer's 2005 Suicide A Painful Reminder of Corruption in Iraq
With the Pentagon's inspector general set to arrive in Iraq in a few weeks to personally investigate allegations of corruption in, among other places, the training of Iraqi security forces, it's worth remembering that suspicions of wrongdoing in the command led one officer to take his own life out of apparent shame. In a suicide note left on his bed in Baghdad, Lt. Colonel Ted Westhusing wrote, "I didn't volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in themselves." Westhusing, 44, killed himself on June 5, 2005.
Much about Westhusing's case remains a mystery. According to a definitive Los Angeles Times exploration of his death published in November 2005, the committed Christian and West Point graduate began working for the training command, known as MNTSC-I, in January of 2005. General David Petraeus, who now leads U.S. forces in Iraq, commanded MNTSC-I in 2004 and 2005. Westhusing's primary responsibility was to oversee a private company, USIS, which held a $79 million contract to train Iraqi special forces, and Petraeus told him he had exceeded "lofty expectations."
In May, however, someone -- apparently a USIS contractor -- slipped him an anonymous four-page letter contending widespread corruption within the company and the command. Journalist Robert Bryce obtained the letter (pdf) earlier this year for a piece in the Texas Observer:
Recently I was told that USIS... is only missing 4 weapons. Now, we just spent the last 9 months with almost 200 weapons missing so I wondered how we went from 200 to 4. The missing weapons are common knowledge within the camp and no one seems to be trying to hide it. The take on it is that the Iraqis are stealing them and it is not our problem. This is not true. A lot of weapons were signed out by instructors and never returned. ...Our Log guys have lost total control over what is issued. If you try to match up what USIS is charging the government, the inventory on camp and what has been issued to Iraqis it will not even be close.
The provenance of the letter is unknown, and it alleged even more serious charges -- including contractor murder of Iraqi civilians. Westhusing initially wrote to a commander, Major General Joseph Fil, that USIS was "complying" with the terms of its contract, and that the "evidence suggests the other allegations are not true as well" barely a week before his death. Investigators came to much the same conclusion, though questions about missing weapons were recently corroborated by a Government Accountability Office report disclosing that MNSTC-I lost nearly 200,000 rifles and pistols during 2004 and 2005.
Westhusing -- who friends describe as having fallen victim to depression that spring -- somehow came to believe the claims to be substantiated, perhaps out of a general sense of despair in his mission. He began to make ominous statements about his fate to family members. His wife later told (pdf) Army investigators that Westhusing told her, "The contractors are corrupt, the Iraqi [sic] were untrustworthy."
On June 5, at a USIS meeting at the military complex surrounding Baghdad International Airport, Westhusing expressed anger at construction delays, funding shortfalls and delays in training Iraqis. He excused himself during a noontime break. When a colleague went looking for him, he found Westhusing face-down on the floor in a pool of blood. There was gunpowder residue on his hands; after a three-month investigation, Westhusing's death was ruled a suicide.
Investigators discovered a note in his trailer that "lashed out" at Petraeus and Fil, and ended, "I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. Death before being dishonored any more."
Now, another MNSTC-I official, an Air Force lieutenant colonel named Levonda Joey Selph, faces questioning by criminal investigators for unspecified wrongdoing. Recent government reports have hinted at serious problems with the command's contracting process, leading Lieutenant General Claude "Mick" Kicklighter, the Pentagon inspector general, to travel to Iraq in the coming weeks to helm a broad anti-corruption investigation. Whether it can rectify the problems Colonel Westhusing came to believe exist throughout the contracting process in Iraq remains to be seen. But hopefully it will bring a sense of closure to his wife, Michelle, who said in a sworn statement to Army investigators, "I think Ted gave his life to let everyone know what was going on."
Comments (36)
EH wrote on August 28, 2007 5:28 PM:These people need to start posting things to YouTube and Smoking Gun.
Don Siegleman wrote on August 28, 2007 5:30 PM:I don't think it was a suicide. Betrayus is very corrupt member of MIC.
Becca wrote on August 28, 2007 5:35 PM:Add this to the torture of whistleblowers in Iraq.
rmwarnick wrote on August 28, 2007 5:48 PM:This case cries out for better investigation. LTC Westhusing wasn't a likely candidate for suicide, and the circumstances are suspicious to say the least.
ana wrote on August 28, 2007 6:08 PM:Please learn correct use of "hopefully" and all adverbs.
bjobotts wrote on August 28, 2007 6:09 PM:Feels like MOnday.
Post all such revelations under general betrayus on U tube to be copied before it is removed. But you didn't hear that from me...hmm-hm.
code word "sheep"...baah, bah.
bjobotts wrote on August 28, 2007 6:18 PM:Death before dishonor...
anon wrote on August 28, 2007 6:25 PM:Learn to live with shame till you're strong enough to fight again.
If his tragic suicide was supposed to be a statement it was a cop out by someone who was, sadly, deeply depressed and confused. It would have been better to remain alive and "make" a statement revealing what he had found. A sad state of affairs that will be totally ignored by the DoD.
...an anonymous four-page letter...
That .pdf of the anonymous letter is strange. Was it retyped? Perhaps a transcription of audio? Read it. It reads like parts are missing or something. And, duh, it's set up exactly like the last page so, yeah, it's retyped or something. (I'm not saying it's fake or whatever, just that the document presented in the .pdf is more likely a copy than an original.)
wondering wrote on August 28, 2007 6:32 PM:The third paragraph of this morning's New York Times article says:
>> There is no indication that investigators have uncovered any wrongdoing by General Petraeus...
Would the reporters answer this question unless somebody was asking? Why were they asking?
psyopswatcher wrote on August 28, 2007 6:37 PM:So where they getting the ammo and how many of these weapons have been used to kill Americans?
Anonymous wrote on August 28, 2007 8:23 PM:A field grade officer with scruples?
An anomaly to be sure.
Jeez, it's been 50 yrs since I was a GI.
I don't recall one who would not have thrown any of us under a bus or sacrificed any of us in a NY minute to preserve his precious career.
Screw 'em all, the long and the short and the tall.
rummy returns wrote on August 28, 2007 8:24 PM:the story doesn't add up. someone committing suicide because of corruption ? very funny.
Dave in ME wrote on August 28, 2007 8:27 PM:How much you want to bet Westhusing was about to blow the whistle when he "decided" to take his own life?
Son of Defarge wrote on August 28, 2007 8:38 PM:This is starting to sound like a Jason Bourne flick... now we have light colonels killing themselves. Sort of reminds me of Tillman.
The Buffalo In Da' Midst wrote on August 28, 2007 10:11 PM:I wrote up the Westhusing story for an entirely different reason today, illicit arms trade and the U.S. military:
More Missing Weapons & A Mysterious U.S. Military Officer’s Suicide: American Weapons Recovered In Turkey Were Originally Destined For The Iraqi Government
"A senior Turkish security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities, said his government estimates some 20,000 U.S.-bought Glock 9mm pistols have been brought from Iraq into his country over the last three years. "
The post links to:
Someone’s Lying… Someone’s DEFINITELY Lying - Gen. David H. Petraeus: “We believe those weapons (the missing 200,000 AK-47) all certainly were given to Iraqi units.. as well
...about the Bosnian 'Airline' owned by Russian mobster Victor Bout, which was also employed in the past by the taliban.
ShorelineCT wrote on August 28, 2007 11:13 PM:In full: http://leighm.net/wp/2007/08/28/missing_glocks/
Another story with sickening details on the pillage of the US Treasury by contractors "working" the Iraq scam.
The Great Iraq Swindle
How Bush Allowed an Army of For-Profit Contractors to Invade the U.S. Treasury
--From Issue 1034 from rollingstone.com
http://tinyurl.com/2fzcta
But even being the clumsiest war profiteers of all time was not enough to bring swift justice
upon the heads of Mr. Custer and Mr. Battles -- and this is where the story of America's
reconstruction effort gets really interesting. The Bush administration not only refused to
prosecute the pair -- it actually tried to stop a lawsuit filed against the contractors by
whistle-blowers hoping to recover the stolen money. The administration argued that Custer
Battles could not be found guilty of defrauding the U.S. government because the CPA was not
part of the U.S. government. When the lawsuit went forward despite the administration's
objections, Custer and Battles mounted a defense that recalled Nuremberg and Lt. Calley,
arguing that they could not be guilty of theft since it was done with the government's approval.
The jury disagreed, finding Custer Battles guilty of ripping off taxpayers. But the verdict
Sandia Blanca wrote on August 28, 2007 11:18 PM:was set aside by T.S. Ellis III, a federal judge who cited the administration's "the CPA is
not us" argument. The very fact that private contractors, aided by the government itself, could
evade conviction for what even Ellis, a Reagan-appointed judge, called "significant" evidence of
fraud, says everything you need to know about the true nature of the war we are fighting in Iraq.
Is it really possible to bilk American taxpayers for repainted forklifts stolen from Iraqi
Airways and claim that you were just following orders? It is, when your commander in chief is George W. Bush....snip
Professor Thomas Palaima (Classics, UT Austin) wrote a poignant tribute to Col. Westhusing, who was a friend and a student of Palaima's.
Sandia Blanca wrote on August 28, 2007 11:19 PM:(Trying this link again--click on my id for the article.)
Sandia Blanca wrote on August 28, 2007 11:21 PM:I'm trying to post the link to Prof. Palaima's article; hope it's in the link to my name.
Orwell's Intuition wrote on August 29, 2007 12:09 AM:How bizarre that someone, during a noontime break, decides to "commit suicide," just like that, as if it were a spur of the moment decision. This whole thing stinks to high heaven.
little people wrote on August 29, 2007 1:11 AM:After reading "The Great Iraq Swindle" published days ago in Rolling Stone, the depths of the corruption by DoD crony contractors is beyond belief. This man obviously had a conscience and principles and probably would have been a whistleblower. We know how they are handled by the higher ups. If this man did kill himself it is a tragic loss of a rare individual not content to follow the rest of the herd. If he didn't we'll never know the truth. "National Security Secrets" will be used to ward off any meaningful investigation.
Anonymous wrote on August 29, 2007 2:00 AM:Jesus Christ, this guy was a professor of ethics at West Point and then went to iraq and saw how deep the shit was...The idea that gen betrayus was on, where else, faux radio, calling it an 'accounting' problem...no wonder bush picked him. By the way the links all of you have put up are superb, Thank you for more light.
so for judas...
code word
silver
myshadow wrote on August 29, 2007 2:01 AM:Jesus Christ, this guy was a professor of ethics at West Point and then went to iraq and saw how deep the shit was...The idea that gen betrayus was on, where else, faux radio, calling it an 'accounting' problem...no wonder bush picked him. By the way the links all of you have put up are superb, Thank you for more light.
so for judas...
code word
silver
regular lurker wrote on August 29, 2007 2:20 AM:Why can't we make this stop? The Iraq debacle is a bottomless abyss of needless tragedy. Bring the troops home.
Johnny wrote on August 29, 2007 5:00 AM:http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-murder2807aug28,0,312717.story
"Henry Pierson Curtis | Sentinel Staff Writer
August 28, 2007
A former U.S. Marine shot and killed two political consultants before killing himself last week but investigators still cannot say why, the Orange County Sheriff's Office announced Monday.
Forensic evidence identified Jason Drake as the killer of Republican strategists Rafael "Ralph" Gonzalez and David Abrami, sheriff's Cmdr. Joe Picanzo said.
"
I don't know this person served in Iraq. But it just piqued my brain after reading this TPM article.
Anonymous wrote on August 29, 2007 5:02 AM:http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-murder2807aug28,0,312717.story
"Henry Pierson Curtis | Sentinel Staff Writer
August 28, 2007
A former U.S. Marine shot and killed two political consultants before killing himself last week but investigators still cannot say why, the Orange County Sheriff's Office announced Monday.
Forensic evidence identified Jason Drake as the killer of Republican strategists Rafael "Ralph" Gonzalez and David Abrami, sheriff's Cmdr. Joe Picanzo said.
"
I don't know this person served in Iraq. But it just piqued my brain after reading this TPM article.
Frank wrote on August 29, 2007 10:17 AM:General Petraeus has to be questioned about those missing weapons in open committee sessions. He was the guy in charge. If the missing weapons is is an example of his managerial abilitys we are in deep touble.
If the colonel committed suicide June 5 of this year, there was no three month investigation as written in this story. Another "Tillman" fabrication??
Frank wrote on August 29, 2007 10:22 AM:If the colonel committed suicide June 5 of this year, there was no three month investigation as written in this story. Another "Tillman" fabrication??...
My mistake, it was in 2005 that his suicide was alleged to have happened...
sorry.
Carol Lam wrote on August 29, 2007 11:55 AM:Why can't we make this stop? The Iraq debacle is a bottomless abyss of needless tragedy. Bring the troops home.
IT LOOKS LIKE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MAY HELP US TO STOP THE BUSH CABAL CORRUPTION.
_http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2970370___Calls grow louder for international overview of U.S. markets
Source: Int. Herald Tribune
Calls grow louder for international overview of U.S. markets
By Heather Timmons and Katrin Bennhold
Published: August 28, 2007
Loan crisis blamed on lax regulators
Politicians, regulators and financial specialists outside the United States are seeking a role in oversight of American markets, banks and rating agencies in the wake of recent problems related to subprime mortgages.
Their argument is simple: The United States is exporting financial products, but losses to investors in other countries suggest that American regulators are not properly monitoring the products or alerting investors to the risks. "We need an international approach, and the United States needs to be part of it," said Peter Bofinger, a member of the German government's economics advisory board and a professor at the University of Würzburg.
While regulators in the United States have not been receptive to the idea in the past, analysts said that Europe and Asia have more leverage this time around. Washington might have to yield if it wants to succeed in imposing bilateral regulations on state-owned investment funds from emerging economies.
"America depends on the rest of the world to finance its debt," Bofinger said. "If our institutions stopped buying their financial products, it would hurt."
Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/28/business/reg.php
___
Banks and investment funds from China to France were recently hit with heavy losses after buying mortgage-related securities and complex financial products originating from the United States. In many cases, investors were caught by surprise because American rating agencies gave the products top ratings, leading buyers to believe there was little risk. International investors are also asking why American banks were allowed to give mortgages to home buyers who could not repay them.
"In a globalized economy with hedge funds, leveraged buyouts and all these investment funds, we have to ask the question about more transparency," said Claude Bébéar, the chairman of the supervisory board of AXA, one of the world's largest insurers.
Half a dozen U.S. banking and financial regulators - including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board - would not comment. Several mentioned, however, that they were not the sole regulators of the subprime market.
Anonymous wrote on August 29, 2007 12:28 PM:A need to get the facts right, before writing blog articles that cause comments apparently accepting all the accounts given. Col. Westhusing died at Dublin Base, Iraq on June 5, 2005. He was found by the contractor, USIS, on his back in a pool of blood with the gun in front of his feet halfway to the north wall of his temporary quarters, Trailer 602A. This and other facts are described in the Report of Investigation of his death available through the FOIA, by writing the ARMY CID Reporting Office, Ft. Belvoir, VA. Also, where did the statement attibuted to COL. W's wife come from?
Rodney wrote on August 29, 2007 7:37 PM:I wish these soldiers could testify in open hearings before Congress rather than commit "suicide".
mysticalsister wrote on August 29, 2007 8:47 PM:I just want to say I love you guys. Sometimes I feel like I'm lost in an alien world populated by mindless big gulp sucking zombies. Reading your thoughts, and sharing many of them, I don't feel so alone.
sponson wrote on August 29, 2007 10:48 PM:psyopwatcher, Iraq is probably the most heavily armed country per capita in the world. On top of that, the US left hundreds of Army bases and ammo depots totally unguarded, right from the start of the war and all the way through. ABC News and others filmed Iraqis making off with truckload after truckload of ammo in 2003 after the US had "taken control of Iraq" under the Rumsfeld "force lite" plan. And don't forget the 760,000 pounds of explosives left unguarded and then taken away as well at the start of the war. We see the results every day.
ahem wrote on August 30, 2007 12:12 AM:Thatks for bringing this up. Lt. Col. Westhusing was an example of the best the military brings forth. His death was a tragedy for his family, but it also seemed awfully symbolic.
stan68ar wrote on August 30, 2007 11:02 AM:Your facts are somewhat off - strat with the Fact that Ted was a Colonel in Iraq.
The ties between the contractor issue and the noted pistols (glocks in fact) that were missing is not there. Weapons missing in Iraq are AK 47s and soviet weapons issued to Iraqi Military forces.
Ted had many justified frustrations with contractors - but your reaching with the conspiracy theory you present here. I have written on the subject in my blog based upon personal interaction with COL Westhusing and may have a right to see the facts a little differently.
Bob Bateman wrote on August 30, 2007 11:49 AM:I served with both Stan (above) and LTC (frocked to COL) Westhusing in Iraq. Indeed, I was with him in his last meeting w/ then-LTG Petraeus, and worked with him tangentially in planning issues for the Ministry of Interior...and like Stan, and others, didn't see this coming. In part because we were always all so damned busy ourselves, we all missed the signs that we should have spotted in his behavior. As a former USMA professor myself, I might've been able to bridge a gap (I was a MAJ at that time, so rank was an inhibitor), but I didn't.
In the end though, it was an internal (to his own mind) thing which put Col. W over the top. In looking back now at photographs from a mission we did just a week or three earlier, I can "see" now what I didn't then. The chaos, and ambiguity, and tragedy, which is all war, but which is worse in a guerilla/insurgency, was too much for his internal code to handle.
Conspiracy theories are not needed. The reality was tragic enough.
Bob Bateman