Theodore S. Westhusing
Encyclopedia
Colonel Theodore S. Westhusing (November 17, 1960 – June 5, 2005), a West Point
professor of English
and Philosophy
, volunteered to serve in Iraq in late 2004 and died in Baghdad
from an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound in June 2005. At the time he was the highest ranked American to die violently in Iraq since the start of the March 2003 United States-led invasion. He was 44 years old, married with three young children.
and attended high school at Jenks High School
in Jenks, Oklahoma
where he was an outstanding student and starter for the basketball team. He attended West Point, where in his senior year he was selected as honor captain (the highest-ranking ethics official within the cadet corps) and graduated third in his class. He served in the 82nd Airborne Division among other duties, and eventually became a professor at West Point.
In 2003, he wrote a dissertation in philosophy at Emory University in Atlanta, "The competitive and cooperative aretai within the American warfighting ethos". The dissertation explores "an ideal functional description of the American warrior [which] makes heavy demands of the warrior's entire being in supporting and defending the United States Constitution to which he has sworn his allegiance." He held degrees and majored in Russian, Philosophy and Military Strategy.
called the "Multi-national Security Transition Command - Iraq". His primary duty was to oversee the training of Iraqis for civilian police duty, in collaboration with USIS, a private military company
. In mid-May 2005 he received an anonymous letter alleging fraud, waste and abuse by USIS. He also witnessed many of the following charges as well. The accusations included the following:
Although Westhusing initially wrote to his commanders only seven days before his death that the allegations in the letter were false, many have determined that he was forced to write to his commanding officers, General Petraeus and General Fil, in order to keep his position and his commanding officers and USIS's cover on their activities, or perhaps until he could get the information to a source that would not cover up the illegalities. According to documentation, Colonel Westhusing then decided to go forward with the allegations about the illegalities to his commanders and the management of USIS, feeling that his life was now threatened and that he needed to get the information to outside sources before something happened to him. He did this regardless of the consequences to himself, to confront the injustices and to have the allegations exposed. He had also planned on returning to the U.S. to bring these allegations forward, but now feared for his life. This decision led to a subsequent, final confrontation and to his untimely death. There is evidence that something happened in those remaining seven days that caused him to turn angrily upon the management of USIS because of threats, referring to them with intense disgust as "money grubbing" and to their participation in illegal activities with members of the Iraqi police and others.
His anger soon extended to his own commanders for taking no action on his recommendations to bring honesty and efficiency to the Army's training of Iraqis, with particular reference to USIS' role in that training and many illegal activities within the Iraqi Army and police. These commanders included the current Commander of Multinational Force - Iraq, 4-star General David Petraeus
(then a 3-star General in charge of U.S. operations in northern Iraq).
Colonel Westhusing died at Camp Dublin outside Baghdad, Iraq in June 2005, leaving a note saying, “I cannot support a mission that leads to corruption, human rights abuses and liars.”
Westhusing, who was left-handed, was found in his trailer with a gunshot wound behind his left ear from his own 9mm Beretta
service pistol on June 5, 2005, a month and three days before his tour of duty was to end. He had a heated and confrontational meeting with General Petraeus and General Fil that morning concerning these issues with USIS. A DOD Army report also stated that an administrator near his trailer had heard a very loud argument in Colonel Westhusing's office trailer before he was found dead by the contractor. Approximately an hour after this argument and the earlier meeting with Generals Petraeus and Fil and the USIS contractors that morning, he was found by a USIS contractor who then altered the death scene before reporting it. A note was found at his side in which he wrote, in addition to a short explanation, "I am sullied - no more". Three of the seven numbered pages of the document by his side were not disclosed in the investigation. This note was part of a journal he was keeping to document these issues. Other pages were excluded from the Army's final report because of what was considered sensitive government issues.
reporter T. Christian Miller
reported on the possibility that he was murdered by defense contractors who feared he would become a whistle-blower against their alleged fraudulent activity throughout the Iraq War.
FOIA
Documents
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
professor of English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, volunteered to serve in Iraq in late 2004 and died in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
from an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound in June 2005. At the time he was the highest ranked American to die violently in Iraq since the start of the March 2003 United States-led invasion. He was 44 years old, married with three young children.
Early life and career
Westhusing was born in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and attended high school at Jenks High School
Jenks public schools
Jenks Public Schools is a K-12 public school system located in Jenks, Oklahoma.Kirby Lehman is the superintendent of the district, which had 9,982 students in October 2008. Jenks and large parts of south and west Tulsa, Oklahoma are part of the Jenks school district, covering .The school district...
in Jenks, Oklahoma
Jenks, Oklahoma
Jenks is a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, and a suburb of Tulsa, in the northeastern part of the state. It is situated between the Arkansas River and U.S. Route 75. Jenks is one of the fastest growing cities in Oklahoma...
where he was an outstanding student and starter for the basketball team. He attended West Point, where in his senior year he was selected as honor captain (the highest-ranking ethics official within the cadet corps) and graduated third in his class. He served in the 82nd Airborne Division among other duties, and eventually became a professor at West Point.
In 2003, he wrote a dissertation in philosophy at Emory University in Atlanta, "The competitive and cooperative aretai within the American warfighting ethos". The dissertation explores "an ideal functional description of the American warrior [which] makes heavy demands of the warrior's entire being in supporting and defending the United States Constitution to which he has sworn his allegiance." He held degrees and majored in Russian, Philosophy and Military Strategy.
Iraq deployment
Westhusing served with what the U.S. Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
called the "Multi-national Security Transition Command - Iraq". His primary duty was to oversee the training of Iraqis for civilian police duty, in collaboration with USIS, a private military company
Private military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
. In mid-May 2005 he received an anonymous letter alleging fraud, waste and abuse by USIS. He also witnessed many of the following charges as well. The accusations included the following:
- forged employees' résumés claiming elite forces background
- inadequate skills and competence of trainers
- insufficient numbers of trainers in order to maximize profits
- disappearance of large quantities of weapons, radios, and other equipment
- employees boasting of killing Iraqis
Although Westhusing initially wrote to his commanders only seven days before his death that the allegations in the letter were false, many have determined that he was forced to write to his commanding officers, General Petraeus and General Fil, in order to keep his position and his commanding officers and USIS's cover on their activities, or perhaps until he could get the information to a source that would not cover up the illegalities. According to documentation, Colonel Westhusing then decided to go forward with the allegations about the illegalities to his commanders and the management of USIS, feeling that his life was now threatened and that he needed to get the information to outside sources before something happened to him. He did this regardless of the consequences to himself, to confront the injustices and to have the allegations exposed. He had also planned on returning to the U.S. to bring these allegations forward, but now feared for his life. This decision led to a subsequent, final confrontation and to his untimely death. There is evidence that something happened in those remaining seven days that caused him to turn angrily upon the management of USIS because of threats, referring to them with intense disgust as "money grubbing" and to their participation in illegal activities with members of the Iraqi police and others.
His anger soon extended to his own commanders for taking no action on his recommendations to bring honesty and efficiency to the Army's training of Iraqis, with particular reference to USIS' role in that training and many illegal activities within the Iraqi Army and police. These commanders included the current Commander of Multinational Force - Iraq, 4-star General David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
(then a 3-star General in charge of U.S. operations in northern Iraq).
Colonel Westhusing died at Camp Dublin outside Baghdad, Iraq in June 2005, leaving a note saying, “I cannot support a mission that leads to corruption, human rights abuses and liars.”
Westhusing, who was left-handed, was found in his trailer with a gunshot wound behind his left ear from his own 9mm Beretta
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...
service pistol on June 5, 2005, a month and three days before his tour of duty was to end. He had a heated and confrontational meeting with General Petraeus and General Fil that morning concerning these issues with USIS. A DOD Army report also stated that an administrator near his trailer had heard a very loud argument in Colonel Westhusing's office trailer before he was found dead by the contractor. Approximately an hour after this argument and the earlier meeting with Generals Petraeus and Fil and the USIS contractors that morning, he was found by a USIS contractor who then altered the death scene before reporting it. A note was found at his side in which he wrote, in addition to a short explanation, "I am sullied - no more". Three of the seven numbered pages of the document by his side were not disclosed in the investigation. This note was part of a journal he was keeping to document these issues. Other pages were excluded from the Army's final report because of what was considered sensitive government issues.
Controversy surrounding his death
The New York Times/Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reporter T. Christian Miller
T. Christian Miller
T. Christian Miller is an investigative reporter for ProPublica, formerly for the Los Angeles Times. In 1999, he won the for Environmental Journalism. In 2004, he was awarded the Livingston Award for international reporting, one of the most competitive and prestigious reporting prizes in American...
reported on the possibility that he was murdered by defense contractors who feared he would become a whistle-blower against their alleged fraudulent activity throughout the Iraq War.
Funeral
Westhusing's funeral service and burial at West Point were attended by General Petraeus (who returned from Iraq for the event) as well as three other generals of two stars or more.Dramatized accounts
The controversy of Westhusing's death is depicted in the one act play "Duty, Honor, Profit," written by Westhusing's West Point classmate, Dave Tucker, a Seattle playwright.I am Sullied No More
The following is the suicide note left by Col. Westhusing to his commanding officer General Petraeus. The note was featured in an article by Robert Pryce, published in the Texas Observer on March 8, 2007:- Thanks for telling me it was a good day until I briefed you. [Redacted name]—You are only interested in your career and provide no support to your staff—no msn [mission] support and you don’t care. I cannot support a msn that leads to corruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied—no more. I didn’t volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in themselves. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. I trust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my love to my family, my wife and my precious children. I love you and trust you only. Death before being dishonored any more. Trust is essential—I don’t know who trust anymore. [sic] Why serve when you cannot accomplish the mission, when you no longer believe in the cause, when your every effort and breath to succeed meets with lies, lack of support, and selfishness? No more. Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders]. You are not what you think you are and I know it.
- COL Ted Westhusing
- Life needs trust. Trust is no more for me here in Iraq.
External links
- "Letter to a Dead Colonel" by Captain Alex Limkin
- Texas Observer article "I am Sullied - No More", by Robert Bryce, March 9, 2007
- "Soldier's journey ends in anguish", by T. Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times, December 4, 2005
- Chapter excerpt of Blood Money, by T. Christian Miller
- "Taking Terrorism and ROE Seriously" by T. Westhusing
- Was Ted Westhusing Murdered?, Robert Lindsay blog
- Fallen Heroes Memorial
- "For God, Country and Profit?", by Evan Kanarakis, 2006, The Cud
- Warriors With Westhusing: Living with the Psychological Consequences of Unjust War
FOIA
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
Documents
- Anonymous letter sent to Col. Westhusing in May 2005 regarding alleged misconduct by contractors working for the U.S. military in Iraq.
- June 17, 2005 interview of Westhusing’s widow, Michelle, by Army investigators.
- Sworn statements from people who knew Col. Westhusing.
- Bulk of the report done by the Army’s Inspector General.
- Bulk of the report done by the Army Criminal Investigation Command.