Murder mystery in Iraq

Murder mystery in Iraq
by David Batstone
My friend Kirk von Ackermann has joined the list of American casualties in Iraq. Not that long ago he was designated as "missing." He is now "presumed dead." Suspiciously so.


According to a story in last Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle, Kirk disappeared on the afternoon of Oct. 9, 2003, on a deserted road in Iraq that runs between Tikrit and Kirkuk. A tire on his car had gone flat, so he used a satellite phone to call a colleague to request a jack. When his colleague arrived about 45 minutes later, Kirk was nowhere to be found. There was no sign of struggle, not even footprints of possible assailants, which would seem to rule out a ragtag team of Iraqi resistance fighters. Robbery also is out for a motive - Kirk's satellite phone, a laptop computer, and a briefcase containing $40,000 were found left in his car, according to the article.


"It was as if he had been abducted by aliens," Ryan Manelick, another one of Kirk's colleagues in Iraq, told the Chronicle reporter. More like professional assassins, I might add. Manelick and Kirk worked for Ultra Services, a civilian contracting company that supplied U.S. troops in Iraq with essential living services (tents, toilets, etc.) and technology.



That's not the only significant observation Manelick had to make. He also shared with army investigators looking into Kirk's "disappearance" that Kirk was ready to blow the whistle on a kickback scheme that involved business operatives and a U.S. Army officer, according to the article.


Manelick voiced fears for his own safety because he also had divulged details about this scandal. "I'm in fear of my own life," he told the Chronicle reporter. "It's not Iraqis I'm worried about, either," he added. "It's people from my own country." The very next day after the interview, a car pulled up alongside Manelick's 4x4 and a gunner opened fire with a machine gun, according to the article, instantly killing him.


I first met Kirk a couple of years ago on a soccer field in Half Moon Bay, California. I was his son's soccer coach. When Kirk could get off work at his business software company, he would come out to the field to help me out with practices.


As our friendship evolved, Kirk shared with me his background as a former deputy director of intelligence for NATO operations in Kosovo. He told me that he subsequently had worked as a Pentagon advisor on counterterrorism and espionage, and had high-level security clearance. He confessed that he could not share details with me, but he was disturbed by the rise of terrorism internationally and the lack of thoughtful U.S. foreign policy that would nourish democracy and freedom abroad. One thing about Kirk: He was a true believer in the potential for America to do good in the world. In Kosovo, he was convinced that the U.S. presence had helped to stop genocide and build a fragile peace.


When Kirk told me that he was going to Iraq to work with Ultra Services, I could only guess what actual role he would be playing in intelligence and security. Early in April 2003, only weeks after the invasion, he wrote me an e-mail from Iraq, and it was flush with hope of a quick end to the conflict, yet also concern for the long-term destiny of the country:


"As I watch what appears to be the beginning of the conclusion of this conflict in Iraq, I'm struck by something that [I became familiar with] in Bosnia and Kosovo - the children. When I was in the Balkans, I always brought something along for the kids, who had suffered for reasons they simply did not understand. As I look at the Iraqi kids, I realize that [those] in their mid-20s were children when the suffering in Iraq started. After eight years of war with Iran, 12 years of sanctions, and this current war, I wonder what the children of Iraq must be thinking."


In that same e-mail, Kirk solicited my help in thinking through an economic and social development program that would offer Iraqi children a chance to build a new society. I received several e-mails over the ensuing month exuding this same passion to change the tides of an oppressive history.


As the months passed along, however, Kirk began to express a frustration and despair that other American military and business personnel did not share his lofty goals. On Oct. 6, three days before his disappearance, he wrote me the following e-mail:


"The real problem is that - not surprisingly - the [Bush] administration seems to have dramatically overestimated the willingness of corporate America to take the risks of Iraq. Other than myself, there really are no contractors operating in Tikrit, Samarra, Balad, etc.... It cannot be stressed enough that even pro-Saddam Iraqis are not anti-American. They are violently opposed to U.S. occupation forces, but not an individual American. The tribal leader in the city where Saddam was born told me, 'We have our Arab pride, we will fight, we will lose, and then we will move on. No one wanted these days, but these are what we have, although it will not forever be this way.' It's dangerous, but not like Bosnia was."


Kirk obviously could not share with me over e-mail his deeper concerns. Apparently, he was aware of a corruption scam involving U.S. military and corporate services. Perhaps he did not know what real danger he had fallen into from his own people.


My personal connection to a lost American in Iraq adds to my sense of despair over U.S. engagement in Iraq. The smell of rotting fish continues to waft its way out of Iraq - and we catch mere glimpses of the misdirection of billions of dollars passing through the likes of Halliburton, Kellogg Brown & Root, and other less-than-credible corporate enterprises. We need to head down a different road, one driven by integrity.


Kirk worried about the children of Iraq, and their future: He wrote in one of his e-mails to me: "In Bosnia and Kosovo I noticed...the eyes of the kids - knowing that they weren't likely to die anymore, but still so far from hope. Of course, kids are kids and can take a stick and a rock and make up grand adventures, but when war's ravages have subsided it often takes something to reawaken the spirit of belief, especially in young people."


Kirk was right. It is not enough to wave the flags of democracy and freedom. We must live up to their lofty standards.






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Mark two years of war with prayers and action


Saturday, March 19, will mark two years since the beginning of the costly U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. As people of faith, we are called to raise prophetic voices for peace and to remember the deadly consequences of war. We are called to hold in prayer all those affected, from Iraqi civilians to our own soldiers, along with the decision-makers in Washington and Baghdad as they attempt to advance a peaceful solution.


Sojourners is sending out an urgent call to action to honor the lives lost and advance the imperative for peace. We ask that you consider organizing an anniversary vigil that weekend in your hometown. We are putting together a downloadable tool kit with everything you need to host a vigil in your church or community center. We will provide worship resources, publicity for your event, and resources to help you get people involved in further action for peace. Vigils can take place anytime over the weekend of March 18-20.