Does anyone remember back in late 2003 when Dale Stoffel, a U.S. Contractor in Iraq, tried to warn an Army Task Force that a Lebanese middleman was involved in the deal might be routing kickbacks to Iraqi Defense Ministry officials?
Army Ignored Broker on Arms Deal
By Ken Silverstein and T. Christian Miller
March 15, 2005
Soon after interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi took office last summer, he announced plans to create a tank division for the new Iraqi army. The $283-million project was supposed to display the power of Iraq's new government. But under the guidance of a task force overseen by one of America's top generals, it has become another chapter in a rebuilding process marked by accusations of corruption.
The U.S. contractor working on the project repeatedly warned the task force headed by Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus that a Lebanese middleman involved in the deal might be routing kickbacks to Iraqi Defense Ministry officials...
more after jump
But senior U.S. military officials did not act on the contractor's pleas for tighter financial controls, according to documents and interviews. "If we proceed down the road we are currently on, there will be serious legal issues that will land us all in jail," the contractor, Dale Stoffel, wrote in a Nov. 30 e-mail to a senior assistant to Petraeus.
Eight days later, Stoffel was shot dead in an ambush near Baghdad. The killing is being investigated by the FBI, according to people who have been interviewed by the bureau. Since then, senior U.S. military officials have continued to work with the middleman, Raymond Zayna, who has taken over part of Stoffel's contract, documents and interviews show. Although the U.S. military initially insisted that the Iraqi government was in control of the project, e-mails obtained by The Times show that Petraeus' task force supervised it.
Through a spokesman, Petraeus declined to be interviewed, referring inquiries to the Iraqi Defense Ministry. Ministry officials did not respond to requests for comment. In January, Capt. Steve Alvarez, a spokesman for Petraeus' task force, said the arms contract was an "MOD [Ministry of Defense] matter."
"There really isn't much more to our involvement," he said. Later, after being told about the e-mails indicating that task force officers were directing work on the contract, Alvarez said that "performance under this contract was of interest" to U.S. officials. "Quite naturally, there were contacts and communications between [the task force] and the parties to the contract in order to coordinate," Alvarez said. He added that Petraeus "was never told of any improprieties."
December 5, 2003:
"News of it will be on the front page under the photos of President Bush, [Defense Secretary Donald H.] Rumsfeld, me" and Petraeus' task force, Stoffel wrote to another military officer in early December. "Jobs will be lost and congressional hearings will be held." U.S. military officials informed Zayna about the allegations of corruption, according to several people familiar with the matter. British Brig. Gen. David Clements summoned the parties to a Dec. 5 meeting in Iraq. Afterward, Clements ordered Zayna to release the money to Stoffel, sources said.
December 8, 2003:
As of Dec. 8, Stoffel still had not received the money. That day, after he left the Taji military base outside Baghdad, his SUV was rammed by another vehicle. Stoffel and a business associate, Joseph Wemple, were cut down in a hail of bullets. Another occupant of the vehicle apparently escaped unharmed, leading to suspicions among the victims' friends that he may have been involved in the attack. About a week later, a previously unknown insurgent group, Brigades of the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility.
The reason I ask is because there is a former public affairs officer recently back from Iraq named Capt. Steve Alvarez posting over on The Conservative Voice.
Opinion : Support for the Troops Never Stronger
By Capt. Steve Alvarez
When I came home from Iraq a couple of months ago, I kept the promise I made while I was still there: I wouldn't watch the news, and I'd step away from the war, ignoring the events that had consumed my life 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It was time to catch up with my family and make them the focus of my life 24/7.
For about a month I was able to successfully ignore the constant horrid imagery and sensational reports filed from Iraq. But as a public affairs officer and self-proclaimed news junkie, I soon found myself scanning headlines on the Web and tuning into radio news programs, instead of my favorite jazz station.[...]
After a few cross-posts I start wondering if Alvarez is for real... SO, I google: "Capt. Steve Alvarez" and the corruption, threat, murder story was the 8th link down.
I do not know if the Capt. Alveraz at TCV is the same Capt. Alveraz but if he is I'd sure like to hear more about "the Stoffel Affair"