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The Unquiet American
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jun 06, 2005 12:35pm |
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| Category | Commentary |
| News Date | Monday, June 6, 2005 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | U.S.-Iraq policy and the murder of a whistle-blowing contractor
By Aram Roston
The sun sets early in Iraq in December. So, it would have been approaching dusk—calm and eerie—when Dale Stoffel climbed into the passenger seat of his black BMW station wagon at Taji military base outside of Baghdad. He would have held his dull, black Heckler & Koch MP-5 submachine gun tight to his body, the way he always did. The trip back to Baghdad was just 15 miles, but it led through what had become, by December 2004, some of the most dangerous terrain in the world—the Sunni suburbs of Baghdad.
At 43 years old, Stoffel, an American businessman and arms dealer, sported a goatee that gave his grin a mischievous appearance. He probably would have been grinning that day. After all, he believed he had just rescued the biggest business deal of his tumultuous career, one that he thought would not only make him millions but would also help to arm the Iraqi military against the insurgents. It was a deal he believed in with all his heart.
Everyone has heard stories of selfless idealists killed in Iraq. Stoffel was not one of those and probably would not have wanted to be seen that way. He was a self-professed man of action, one who was proudly and openly in Iraq to make a fortune.
[snip]
Two days later, Stoffel's car was discovered in a grim neighborhood along the Tigris. The hood was crumpled like a paper bag, the windshield a haze of cracks. The dashboard was covered with blood. Stoffel had been shot repeatedly in the head and upper back. His friend and employee, Joe Wemple, had been shot once through the head. |
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