Military ethicist takes own life in Iraq

By Lindsay Beyerstein
Posted on December 8, 2005, Printed on December 9, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/lindsay/29232/

Aspazia and the The Goldbricker point to a very sad article from the LA Times.

Military ethicist Col. Ted Westhusing, 44, committed suicide in Iraq earlier this year. He was apparently distraught over allegations that American contractors under his supervision committed human rights abuses.

Westhusing held a doctorate in philosophy. He wrote his dissertation on military honor.


In the months before his death Westhusing had been locked in a bitter struggle between his superiors and military contractors. He suspected the contractors of gouging the government and abusing Iraqis, but his superiors were unwilling to take action.

In his suicide note, Westhusing concluded that there was no place for honor in a conflict like Iraq because profit had eclipsed duty.


"I cannot support a msn that leads to corruption, human rights abuse and liars. I am sullied," the note says. "I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored.
"Death before being dishonored any more."
~snip~
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© 2005 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/lindsay/29232/

what are we comming to?





Days like today i jsut dont want to get out of bed anymore...

To hide is to let them all win (the bad guys here and the bad guys there).

This story sickens me in the deepest part of my soul. A man of honor feeling that his only absolution lay in the taking of his own life? We need to find a way to stop the warmongers who have usurped OUR (the people's) power and emasculate the corporations that control them from the shadows. We need to bring our soldiers home and make take the steps necessary to facilitate as much peace as there can be in an area of the world that has been in conflict as long as men have lived there. If that means we don't leave Iraq a democracy, I don't think I care. If that means we HAVE to find a way to get around other than our cars, well my car is a busted up piece of sh*t anyways.

Maybe the middle east just needs to be none of our concern. Israel has the military power to defend itself, they don't need us, and if the rest of the region wants to kill each other over beliefs and religion, then let them. We are loosing too many good people to a bad war and it needs to be over NOW.

There will be plenty more veterans coming home from that damn war who are still struggling with what they did or saw over there, and more will commit suicide as a result.

So sorry he felt it had to come to this. He sounds like much more of a decent person than some of the people he had to work with.

:cry: