DO5 Puzzle

It's bugging me.

What does "DO5" stand for?

(U) JFIC's Asymmetric Threat Division (DO5)

(U) In 1999, the JFIC created the Asymmetric Threat Division (DO5) to take a non-traditional approach to analysis. The Director of Operations recruited JFIC personnel from the command based upon their counterintelligence and counterterrorism expertise. The DO5 provided current intelligence briefings and produced the Worldwide Terrorist Threat Summary in support of the USJFCOM Intelligence staff. The DO5 also provided support to the Joint Task Force-Civil Support (JTF-CS). The JTF-CS assisted civil authorities with disaster assistance. The DO5 supported the JTF-CS exercises by establishing fictional terrorist organizations that would mimic real world terrorist groups. In the summer of 2001, the DO5 was realigned under the Intelligence Watch Center.

JFIC [...] stated that DO5's emphasis was on force protection for the USJFCOM components.

Deep Operations, Division of Intelligence Operations, Directorate of Operations, Dude Overboard...

Excerpts above from:

Review of Joint Forces Intelligence Command Response to 9/11 Commission PDF
Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence
United States Department of Defense
September 23, 2008
Declassified March 5, 2010
From the Federation of American Scientists

Capt Stephen Santez USN

Captain Stephen F. Santez Jr., USN presenting Captain Kirk von Ackermann, USAF a Joint Service Commendation Medal from the JFIC on April 26, 2000

Within the last year, the name of a highly classified intelligence program of which Kirk von Ackermann was once a member was revealed with the release of documents under an FOIA request by a former intelligence officer known only as IRONMAN.

DO5 or the Asymmetric Threat Branch of the Joint Forces Intelligence Command (JFIC) was actively tracking Al Qaida until late 2000-early 2001 when it was inexplicably shut down by commanding officers. Kirk von Ackermann is said to have carried the weight of the prescience of his predictions - his hands tied by more senior officers - for the years to come.

That's not to say his work went unrecognized. As a result of his service with DO5, Kirk von Ackermann received at least one commendation, formally presented by Captain Stephen F. Santez Jr., USN. What event or service to the nation prompted the commendation is unknown. Kirk von Ackermann's wife Megan once wrote:

I heard things about 'briefings' and gradually recognized that the briefings were often to quite senior officers. I know there were commendations and awards, but details were obscured.

With the ever increasing role of social networking in and around our modern lives, it should come as no surprise that there is a LinkedIn page for Steve Santez, the same CAPT Santez pictured above. Included on Santez LinkedIn page is a short description of his work experience as the Director of Operations at the Joint Forces Intelligence Command from 1999-2002. It's worth noting that Director of Operations = J3.

Screen capture of LinkedIn page for Steve Santez

Steve Santez
Senior Intelligence Training Development Integrator at BAE Systems
Norfolk, Virginia Area
Defense and Space
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-santez/47/a25/6a9

"…Expert in all-source intelligence with specific emphasis on asymmetric threat analysis, human intelligence, intelligence training development and delivery, and concept development and experimentation leading to results…"

Director of Operations
Joint Forces Intelligence Center
August 1999 – February 2002 (2 years 7 months) Norfolk, Virginia

Drove all intelligence analysis, production and training for the US Joint Forces Command Joint Forces Intelligence Center. Led over 100 military and civilian personnel across all mission areas of analysis, targeting, collections, watch center fusion, and asymmetric threat analysis. Led initial analysis during the Russian submarine KURSK sinking. Director of Operations during disestablishment of the US Atlantic Command and establishment of the US Joint Forces Command. Created the first asymmetric threat division at JFIC in support of Joint Task Force Civil Support and led analysis of Al Qaeda pre 9/11. Agent for change; worked with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to migrate Joint Personnel Recovery Intelligence Production to the Joint Forces Intelligence Center.

The language in Steve Santez bio more or less mirrors the same language found in the IRONMAN FOIA, Formal Complaint to DoD Inspector General re: JFIC and Congressional Inquiry which accompanies an article at TruthOut by Jeffrey Kaye.

(U) Contrary to JFIC's formal report to the JCS staff, JFIC had a direct and assigned purview on international terrorism against the U.S., to include the operations of al-Qa'ida and the 9/11 attackers. JFIC was directly responsible to both Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and its subordinate, Joint Task Force-Civil Support (JTF-CS) for all-source intelligence anaiysis of international terrorism against the U.S. To ensure the quality of such analysis, JFlC's commanding officer [redacted] established the Asymmetric Threat Branch (DO5), charged with reporting on asymmetric threats, especially terrorism. [redacted] was subsequently promoted to JFCOM J2. As a RADM and PACOM J2, she established another Asymmetric Threat branch at PACOM.)

(U) The Asymmetric Threat Branch in JFIC was a forerunner of current all-source fusion centers. Unlike other analytical offices in the intelligence community, DO5 members had a wide mix of skilis in all six intelligence disciplines - HUMINT, OSINT, COMINT, ELINT, IMINT, and MASINT. Consequently, DO5 was abie to develop and use all-source, original analysis in a manner probably then unprecedented within the intelligence community. DO5 began preparing a wide range of original analysis on asymmetric warfare, especially terrorism, from mid-1998 until mid-2001.

For those unfamiliar with the significance of IRONMAN's Formal Complaint, this section should clarify matters:

(U) Reports on the most likely targets for domestic and international terrorists, both within the U.S. and abroad, as well as adjunct targets during a traditional war. The most sensitive of these reports were those identifying targets within the U.S., developing scenarios, analysis of commonalities for use in planning responses and recommendations for preventative action. This U.S. tasking was given by JTF-CS.

(S/NF) The reports were first prepared in the summer of 2000, in support of JTF-CS, and were briefed to the JFCOM J2, JTF-CS J2, and senior JFCOM staff, including the DCINC and J3. The JTF-CS Commander may have also attended the briefings. The first version of the briefing was entitled "The WMD Threat to the U.S.", (information cut off date 16 July 2000). The briefing slides emphasized that New York City was the most difficult consequence management problem, and recommended using NYC as the model for planning /exercises. The oral briefing itself was much more sensitive, indicating that the World Trade Centers # 1 and # 2 were the most likely buildings to be attacked in the U.S., followed closely by the Pentagon. The briefer indicated that the worst case scenario would be one tower collapsed onto the other. The possibility of striking the buildings with a plane may have been discussed then - it was certainly discussed in the red cell analysis leading up to the briefing. The acting Deputy of DO5, [redacted] proposed in the red cell analysis that the building could be struck by a jetliner. Discussion followed on contacting World Trade Center security and engineering/architectural staff, but the idea was not further explored because of a command climate discouraging contact with the civilian community. However, at the end of the briefing, the JFCOM J3 directed that the national military terrorism exercise for FY 02 be based on a New York worse-case scenario. He indicated he would've preferred to have done so in FY 01, but the military was already financially committed to another use (a cruise ship) in FY01.

Please keep in mind that all of this work was happening well before September 11, 2001.

The lives that could have and should have been protected...

(U) [...] In addition, I and the deputy of that team, [redacted] especially carried the burden of knowledge of how close DoD came to bin Ladin and perhaps being able to reduce the number of lives lost on 9/11. I do not want that burden any longer. [redacted] and I discussed this issue the last time we spoke. He remains the longest missing man in Iraq in this war, and I want, one day, to be able to explain to his children what their father foresaw.

The longest missing man in Iraq is Kirk von Ackermann.

Related Reading

DO5 in the News
September 9, 2011

Rear Admiral Rosanne LeVitre, USN
July 21, 2011

Counter Terrorism and JFIC
May 6, 2011

Counter Terrorism and Kirk von Ackermann
October 8, 2006

Joint Service Commendation Medal
January 23, 2006

References

Report: Intelligence Unit Told Before 9/11 to Stop Tracking Bin Laden

By Jeffrey Kaye, Truthout, May 23, 2011

Allegation of Misleading Congress PDF
To: Hon. Claude M. Kicklighter
DoD Inspector General
From: Edward Maguire
Director of National Intelligence
November 27, 2007

Attachment - Unclassified FOIA Response PDF
April 8, 2011
Formal Complaint to DoD Inspector General
re: JFIC and Congressional Inquiry
May 8, 2006

Review of Joint Forces Intelligence Command Response to 9/11 Commission PDF
Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence
United States Department of Defense
September 23, 2008
Declassified March 5, 2010
From the Federation of American Scientists

Abbreviations - used above

COMINT - Communications Intelligence
DO5 - Asymmetric Threat Division
DOD - Department of Defense
ELINT - Electronic Intelligence
FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation
HUMINT- Intelligence
IMINT- Imagery Intelligence
J2 - Director for Intelligence
J3 - Director of Operations
JCS - Joint Chiefs of Staff
JFCOM - Joint Forces Command
JFIC - Joint Forces Intelligence Command
JIC - Joint Intelligence Center
JTF-CS - Joint Task Force- Civil Support
MASINT- Measurement and Signature Intelligence
OSINT- Open Source Intelligence
PACOM - Pacific Command
RADM - Rear Admiral
US - United States of America
USAF - United States Air Force
USN - United States Navy

6 Degrees from Kabul

Shortly after President Barack Obama left Afghanistan earlier today, blasts were reported in and around Kabul. According to multiple breaking news stories, the 'Green Village' was one of the intended targets of the suicide bombers.

Car bomb shakes Kabul after Barack Obama visit to Afghanistan
May 1, 2012, Guardian

The Green Village is owned and operated by Stratex Freedom Services whose two Uzbeki principals were once former partners with John Dawkins, one of the original founders of Ultra Services of Istanbul, Turkey.

Ultra Services was the logistics firm which employed Kirk von Ackermann and Ryan Manelick in Iraq.

You can learn more about the history of John Dawkins, Ultra Services and Stratex Freedom Services in an article at ePluribus Media, just shy of 6 years to the day since it was first published.

One Missing, One Dead: an Iraq Contractor in the Fog of War
By Susie Dow, May 12, 2006, ePluribus Media

Reprint here at this blog:

One Missing One Dead: An Iraq Contractor in the Fog of War (full article reprint)
By Susie Dow, ePluribus Media, May 12, 2006

Pirate or Hostage Negotiator

I have mixed feelings about the news in this article and worry this verdict may have the unintended consequence of politicizing and squelching the role of hostage negotiation, increasing the likelihood a hostage will be tortured and/or executed.

Jury convicts Somali man of piracy in US yacht, German ship hijackings
Washington Post, April 27, 2012

A Somali man was convicted of piracy on Friday for his role as a hostage negotiator in the hijacking of a German merchant vessel and U.S. yacht. The four Americans aboard the yacht were shot to death by pirates, and the crew on the other vessel was tortured to get a higher ransom.

Mohammad Saaili Shibin was convicted of the 15 charges he faced, including kidnapping, hostage-taking and weapons charges. He faces a mandatory life sentence. [...]

At issue is whether piracy is defined solely as robbery at sea ... or whether it involves a broader more contemporary definition that includes facilitating a pirate attack as prosecutors believe.

U.S. law refers to piracy only “as defined by the law of nations.”

At first glance, the case seems black and white - the defendant is a pirate. But this particular pirate is a hostage negotiator acceptable to and employed by other pirates. Chicken or the egg - which came first - hostage negotiator or pirate?

If a kidnapper demands a certain negotiator (for whatever reasons) is that negotiator now subject to arrest and prosecution? Does this mean hostage negotiators may only represent the victim? How much time will be lost negotiating whether or not the negotiator is acceptable to both sides?

Does this precedence place hostage negotiators in a lose-lose position?

Kidnapping is an abhorrent practice. The reality is the act itself hurts the victim and the victim's family and friends. But taking it out on hostage negotiators, regardless of how loathsome their clients may be, seems like a slippery slope to hell.

US Army FOIA Reading Room

Poking around the the US Army FOIA Electronic Reading Room. Great resource for researchers provided information has been released by FOIA.

US Army FOIA Electronic Reading Room

Among available documents is the Army Regulation AR-15-6 Informal Investigation Report for the abduction of two troops in Iraq. An AR-15-6 is a fact-finding investigation first undertaken when someone is reported missing. At least, that's the way it is supposed to work.

Memorandum for Record pertaining to Army Regulation 15-6 Investigation regarding PFC Thomas L. Tucker and PFC Kristian Menchaca June 18, 2006

Investigation into the 16195JUN06 attach on B/1-502 IN/2-101 AA, resulting in the death of one Soldier and duty status whereabouts unknown (DUSTWUN) of PFC Thomas L. Tucker and PFC Kristian Menchaca

I wonder if it is possible to file an FOIA for the AR-15-6 for each and every American who has gone missing in Iraq.

Related Reading

Memorandum - Subject: Army Directive 2010-02
(Guidance for Reporting Requirements and Redacting Investigation Reports of Deaths and Fatalities)
John McHugh, Secretary of the Army, March 26, 2010

DD Form 2812
Commander's Preliminary Assessment and Recommendation Regarding Missing Person
November 1999

The Fate of Bob Hamza Part 2

Update:

Bob Hamza also known as Bob Hamzy went missing on November 6, 2004. His last known location was Tikrit just after leaving FOB Danger.

There was one ransom call from the 20th Revolutionary Brigade about 10 days after he went missing. Several years later, in 2008, someone claimed he knew where Bob Hamza was and that he had his watch. Unfortunately, that person never returned or responded when asked a proof of life question. There has been no further contact.

...

Since 2003, at minimum, 45 Americans went missing in Iraq. [1]

Of those 45, 19 are believed missing, and of those 19, the names of 8 are unknown, 2 names are known but dates of incident are not. Meanwhile, only 3 individuals are publicly listed at Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO).

One of those who went missing in Iraq is Bob Hamza.

List of Missing Americans that appeared
in Army Times in December  2011

In January 2011, a news article on the efforts of the Joint Personnel Recovery Division was accompanied by a photo of a missing person flyer for Iraq.

While the actual text was difficult to read and make out, Bob Hamza was identified as one of the three men shown on the flyer. The other two men were Iraqi Americans, Abbas Kareem Naama abducted on September 27, 2005 and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ahmed al-Taie abducted on October 23, 2006, his remains identified February 2012.

Several months later, with an alternative spelling, a New York Times article listed 'Bob Hamze' as a missing American. In December 2011, his name appeared again at Army Times on another list of missing Americans, one provided by Colonel Raymond Steeley who supervised Personnel Recovery Division.

Each time, no further information was provided beyond Hamza's name.

Abu Hamza

A former Iraq contractor recently learned of the mystery surrounding Bob Hamza. The contractor knew Hamza in passing, was quite surprised to learn he is listed as missing and was even more surprised to learn he was an American citizen.

Bob Hamza (or Bob Hamze) was more generally known as Abu Hamza. The honorific title of 'abu' implying he was a father and more than likely had a son. Hamza spoke English well, was friendly and intelligent.

In the fall of 2004, Hamza was working as a vendor for the souvenir market set up at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center (MWR) at FOB Danger in Tikrit [2]. FOB Danger was one of the former  Presidential Palaces of Saddam Hussein. The market or bazaar served US personnel stationed at the base, selling cds, dvds, clothes, local souvenirs, and other such items.

Aerial photo of FOB Danger from the Photo Gallery of the 7th Infantry Regiment Association

Incident

On or about November 19, 2004, Hamza left FOB Danger in a vehicle with a man who may have acted as his driver and a woman who worked at the MWR as a masseuse or massage therapist. The woman may have been related to Hamza, quite possibly his wife. There was an impression they may have had ties to the Iraqi Kurdish community.

Some time after leaving the base, the vehicle was stopped by unidentified assailants, they were abducted and killed. It was believed they were targeted by violent religious extremists - 'Jihadis' - because they worked on base.

After the incident, the word around the 'water cooler' was that they were tortured and executed, with evidence of specific mutilation done to their bodies. The mutilation was said to be horrific and clearly intended to convey a message.

The former Iraq contractor remembers the events as having taken place all within a very short period of time, and believes Hamza was murdered the very same day he was abducted. It was generally assumed that Hamza's body was among those recovered.

And yet, Personnel Recovery Division lists Bob Hamza as missing.

SIGACT

Searches of WikiLeaks SIGACT reports [3] do not yield any incident reports for the initial abduction, discovery or recovery of the bodies by US personnel in the appropriate time period. Checking the WITS database [4] and the State Department annual reports for Deaths of Citizens Abroad [5] also comes up empty. Unfortunately, statistical data from the annual reports of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) [6] begins with 2005, a year after Hamza's abduction. Casualties listed at Iraq Body Count returned no results from the appropriate time frame. [7]

It's worth noting that on November 22, 2004, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Tikrit received a graphic and threatening propaganda letter, quoted below in full. [8] Compelling evidence that the threat of violence from religious extremists in Tikrit for someone like Bob Hamza was very real.

Meanwhile, the name of Bob Hamza and the approximate incident date have been added to the table of Americans Missing in Iraq.

Questions

For those who knew him in Iraq, Bob Hamza is believed to be deceased and long buried. So why is Bob Hamza listed on a missing person flyer? News reports indicate he was a US citizen, and yet, for those who remembered him from Iraq, they did not recall Hamza advertising he was an American. Quite possibly he kept quiet for operations security (opsec) reasons. And yet, it's odd that as an American citizen no SIGACT report appears to have been filed on his behalf.

It's possible Bob Hamza shares a fate similar to that of Major Troy Gilbert - authorities know Gilbert is deceased from the partial remains that were found at the crash site where his jet went down. However, the majority of his actual body was taken by hostile parties before it could be recovered by US Personnel. Hence, his 'missing' status.

Was this too the fate of Bob Hamza?

USAF Major Jimmy Smith holds a flyer which includes missing American Bob Hamza, left.
While the caption is difficult to read, it appears to say:
Bob Hamza aka Babi Chadi Abu Hamza Disappeared 17 NOV 04
Source: msnbc.com

Additional Reading

Americans Missing in Iraq - chart with name, incident date, status

Bob Hamza - missing - Part 1
January 23, 2011

Missing Men
August 8, 2011

Search for Iraq-born soldier still ongoing - see side bar chart of missing Americans
By John Ryan, Army Times, December 27, 2011

SIGACT Report

Text of a report citing inflammatory propaganda distributed in the Tikrit area within the same time frame as the abduction and brutal murder of Bob Hamza and his two colleagues. Worth noting references to being a client, palaces, rape, blasphemy or disrespect of God, infidels, and the coming of wrath.

Coincidence or something more?

ACTS OF ___ IVO AD ___: NO INJ/DAMAGE SIGACT Report 2004-11-22 12:12 AT 1210C, THE AD [Air Defense] ___ JCC RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING ___: IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL, MOST GRACIOUS (AND THE VICTORY ___ GOD). TO THE PEOPLE OF ___, AFTER WE HAVE GOTTEN TIRED OF TRYING TO PREVENT YOU FROM COOPERATING WITH THE ___ OCCUPATION; WHICH HAS COME TO RAPE YOUR HONOR, TAKE YOUR WEALTH AND ENSLAVE YOU. THIS HAS HAPPEN BECAUSE OF YOUR YOUR IGNORANCE. YOU ___ HAS MADE YOU A CLIENT, YOU ARE SO GOOD AT IT NOW. YOU ARE ALMOST PROFESSIONALS AT WHAT YOU DO; JUST LIKE THE BIG AGENCIES AND TRAITORS ALL OVER THE WORLD. YOU SOLD YOUR LAND, HONOR, PRINCIPLES, AND RELIGION. WE HAVE WARNED YOU BEFORE, YOU DID NOT GIVE UP THE ___, BLASPHEMY, AND DISGRACE. THEREFORE, INSTEAD OF SETTING FIRE UNDERNEATH THE FEET OF THE ___, THE ___ AND INFIDELS...YOU STARTED TO BUILD PALACES, SO THAT THEY ___ DESTROYED BY OUR FIRE. WE ___ WHERE THEY ARE, EVEN IF THEY ARE PROTECTED VERY WELL. YOU TOO ARE THE TRAITORS AND SPIES, WHO SOLD YOU PRINCIPLES AND RELIGIONS FOR THE PLEASURE OF LIFE. WE ADVISED YOU TO NOT GET CLOSE TO THE ___, YOU DID NOT HEED OUR ADVISE. THEREFORE, OUR WRATH IS COMING TO YOU. WE ___ NO MERCY ON YOUR OLDEST OR YOUR YOUNGEST. WE ___ HEARTS IN YOUR CHESTS, AND MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF YOU. "AND WE ' ___ THEM, BUT THEY ___ THEMSELVES BY THEMSELVES" GOD HAS SPOKEN THE TRUTH

Oddly enough, the basis for blasphemy and its punishment (death by stoning) is from the Holiness Code of Leviticus 24:14-24:16 in the Torah or Old Testament. Blasphemy and its punishment are not found in the Qur'an. As a result, in Islam, blasphemy is a sin that has to be declared by a jurist or religious leader.

References

[1] See chart at Americans Missing in Iraq

[2] FOB Danger was handed over to the Iraqi Government in November 2005.

[3] Iraq War Logs - SIGACT reports from WikiLeaks

[4] Worldwide Incidents Tracking System - searchable database of the NCTC

[5] Death of US Citizens Abroad by Non-Natural Causes - sortable database of the US Department of State

[6] NCTC Reports on Terrorism - filed by year

[7] Iraq Body Count - deaths of Iraqi civilians page 245 for November 2004

[8] ACTS OF ___ IVO AD ___: NO INJ/DAMAGE, SIGACT Report, 2004-11-22 12:12

Haqi al-Shemary

Came across an Army Times article about Staff Sgt. Ahmed al Taie that was accompanied by a list of missing Americans. Surprised to learn yet another new name - Haqi al-Shemary. No details are known, including date of incident.

Search for Iraq-born soldier still ongoing
By John Ryan, Army Times, December 27, 2011

MISSING AMERICANS

Eleven Americans who went missing in Iraq have not been found, according to Col. Raymond Steeley, who supervised the Personnel Recovery Division there.

They are:

Staff Sgt. Ahmed Altaie
Jeffery Ake
Aban Elias
Abbas Kareem Naama
Neenus Khoshaba
Bob Hamze
Dean Sadek
Timothy Bell
Kirk Von Ackerman
Haqi al-Shemary
Hussain al-Zurufi

So, who is Haqi al-Shemary? Nothing comes up in search queries.

Also included in the article was a mention to those who went missing during the war - which I assume is prior to May 1, 2003 when President Bush announced a formal end to hostilities:

During the Iraq War, 58 Americans and foreign persons of interest were declared missing or captured in Iraq. Army officials did not say how many of them were recovered.

Current count - and still rising - is 45 on the chart of Americans Missing in Iraq. Of those 45, 19 are thought to be missing, 11 names are unknown, 3 names are known but dates of incident are not.

I guess I just don't understand why the United States government isn't more forthcoming about who exactly is missing. Why is that?

Defense Base Act

The Department of Labor Office of Workers' Compensation Programs now has sortable tables of their summaries of Defense Base Act claims, including one by Employer:

Defense Base Act Case Summary by Employer

The data below reflects the number of claims cases created under the DBA for the time period specified, sorted by Employer. [...] The columns show the different Case Types: NLT ( no lost time), LTO (lost time 3 days or less), LT4 (lost time 4 days or more), DEA (death), COP (salary continuation), OTH (other or unknown).

Employers with fewer than 7 claims are not listed. Therefor, Kirk von Ackermann and Ryan Manelick's employer, Ultra Services is not listed.

When I first started researching the Defense Base Act, there was a significant lack of information available - including basics like what the acronyms stood for. So it's nice to see the Department of Labor website is now much more easy to navigate and chock full of information.

One frustration - how many contractors and their families did not file timely Defense Base Act claims simply because they didn't know the law existed? Not just a hypothetical, it's definitely happened.

Defense Base Act Case Summary Reports
US Department of Labor
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)
Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation (DLHWC)

Rand Michael Hultz Released

Murky information so far but all the same great news about the release of a previously unknown American hostage.

Press reports identify him so far as Randy or Rand Michael Hultz, abducted in Iraq on June 18, 2011, released to the UN in Iraq and has arrived at the US Embassy in Iraq. Brief mention in the following article of possibly two more unknown American hostages.

U.S. man released to U.N. after being held in Iraq
Detroit Free Press, March 17, 2012

Sadrist officials said Hultz was taken into the Green Zone immediately after the press conference and turned over to the United Nations mission in Iraq. U.N. spokeswoman Radhia Achouri confirmed that the man was at the mission's compound Saturday night while the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad tried to verify his identity.

He was transferred to the U.S. Embassy late Saturday, spokesman Michael McClellan said.

Even Iraqi security forces were taken aback at the announcement. A senior Iraqi security official said intelligence indicated that the Promised Day Brigade had captured an American, but did not have enough reliable information to confirm it.

The official said two other Americans who worked as contractors for security firms still are being held by militants. He did not elaborate, and spoke only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

At one point, there was a vague reference in a news report of an abduction in the summer of 2008 but no further information was ever released. Perhaps this is related.

Also see:

Militants Free American No One Knew Was Missing
By Jack Healy, New York Times, March 17, 2012

Americans Missing in Iraq - chart is updated as new information becomes available

Television Review

Below is a link to a rather fascinating review of two new television shows that center around hostages. Fascinating because there are aspects of both stories that hit close to home.

In this case compelling stories make great television - but the fiction just scratches the surface of what in reality borders on mind blowing. Truth will always be stranger than fiction. There is so much more to the story than just the disappearance of Kirk von Ackermann and the murder of his colleague, Ryan Manelick. More than is ever likely to make it to print or screen.

Rewind TV: Homeland; Kidnap and Ransom; Melvyn Bragg on Class and Culture – review
By Andrew Anthony, The Observer, February 25, 2012

Scriptwriters the world over must have been shaking their heads with the defeated recognition of tinderbox makers who have just seen their first matchstick. It's one thing to place a character in the isolation of unique knowledge – that's an old Hitchcock trick, opening the way for all manner of paranoia-testing trials. But how much smarter to burden that character with psychotic tendencies, so that we can't be sure that what she thinks she's seeing is actually what's happening, and therefore we can't be sure of anything.

That's the intriguing predicament in which Claire Danes's Carrie Mathison places the viewer. She's a CIA agent who, as a colleague notes, "is a little intense" and, even by her own reckoning, has a problem with a "mood disorder", but who in fact is bipolar and may be in the grip of a manic episode.

If only they knew...

NCTC missing 2010 Kidnapping

One of my ongoing projects is trying to find as much information as possible for the status table of Americans Missing in Iraq.

Every so often, I have to check in with the annual Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism. The National Counterterrorism Center typically provides statistical data for the annual reports beginning more or less with 2005. The data for 2008 is (sort of) missing and the link for 2004 is bad. Still, it's a good starting place, for comparing reported kidnappings between the Country Reports and the leaked SIGACT reports.

U.S. Department of State

Country Reports on Terrorism

Index of Annual Reports - by year

The most recent Country Reports on Terrorism for 2010 from the Department of State were issued on August 18, 2011.

Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private U.S. Citizens, 2010
Country Reports on Terrorism 2010
US Department of State
August 18, 2011

The report shows no known kidnappings in 2010 - which is surprising because an Iraqi American contractor, Issa T. Salomi, of El Cajon, California was kidnapped by Asaib Ahl al-Haq, an Iranian backed insurgent group in Baghdad on January 23, 2010. Salomi was released in exchange for four militants in Iraqi detention on March 25, 2010.

Salomi was reported to be an 'Army civilian employee' by the Department of Defense. In theory, that should make him eligible for inclusion in the data, unless Asaib Ahl al-Haq is not classified as a Terrorist organization. Which I would have thought they were given that they kidnap people and then make political demands. I must be missing something here.

That's not the only oddity in all of this - in an article about Salomi's kidnapping, Officials confirm kidnapping of U.S. contractor in Iraq, authors Ernesto Londoño and Leila Fadel wrote:

The abduction of contractor Issa T. Salomi, 60, of El Cajon, Calif., marks the first reported kidnapping of an American in Iraq since the summer of 2008. [emphasis mine]

But as of yet, I have not found one single reported kidnapping of an American in Iraq in 2008, anywhere.


Country Reports on Terrorism for 2008 is missing the data page for Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private US Citizens. A pie chart in the 2008 Report on Terrorism at the National Counterterrorism Center shows only 4 kidnappings for that year - 3 in Afghanistan and 1 in Panama.

I like my data neat, clean, and tidy. And here I have 2 years of Kidnapping Reports from the National Counterterrorism Center that both fail and 1 more a little suspect.

It's little details like this that make me worry I've stumbled on some sort of Cuckoo's Egg. If you don't know the story, it's the discovery of a real life hacker who was selling nuclear secrets to the KGB. He was eventually caught, and all because of a 75 cent accounting error.

Tidy data does matter.

Related Reading

Militant Iraqi group releases American hostage

By Leila Fadel, Washington Post, March 28, 2010

Officials confirm kidnapping of U.S. contractor in Iraq
By Ernesto Londoño and Leila Fadel, Washington Post, February 6, 2010

Remains of Al Taie Recovered

From Marcie Hascall Clark of The Defense Base Act Compensation Blog comes two news stories about service members missing in Iraq - Staff Sgt. Ahmed al-Taie and Major Troy Gilbert.

Army IDs remains of last missing soldier in Iraq
By Lara Jakes, Associated Press, WRAL, February 26, 2012

The U.S military announced Sunday that it has recovered the remains of the last American service member who was unaccounted for in Iraq, an Army interpreter seized by gunmen after sneaking off base to visit his Iraqi wife in Baghdad during the height of the insurgency.

The remains of Staff Sgt. Ahmed al-Taie, who was 41 when militiamen seized him on Oct. 23, 2006, were positively identified at the military's mortuary in Dover, Del., the Army said in a statement released Sunday. Army officials said they had no further details about the circumstances surrounding his death or the discovery of his remains.

More details in the article including the information that the remains were received at Dover on February 22. My sincere condolences to al-Taie's family and friends.

In a television interview, family of Major Troy Gilbert reveal the Pentagon will resume searching for his remains. Gilbert was killed when his jet crashed in 2006. His body was taken by insurgents before it could be recovered by US personnel.

Pentagon will reopen search for missing airman in Iraq
By Jim Douglas, WFAA, February 24, 2012

The family of a Texas pilot killed in Iraq says their prayers have been answered Friday.

They've received formal assurance that the Pentagon has reconsidered the case of Major Troy Gilbert and will reopen the search for his remains.

Related

Americans Missing in Iraq as of February 26, 2012

Rescuing Hostages

An article on how rescue missions have been shaped by the last decade of experience in Iraq. Includes quotes from Roy Hallums who was held for almost a year before being rescued. From what I can tell, only a few publications seem to have picked up the article so far. I hope it gets more attention.

War experience aids missions to save hostages
By Jason Straziuso, Associated Press, February 7, 2012

Hills - aerial photo

Photo taken from a Black Hawk helicopter of the hills that form the ridge line between Tikrit and Kirkuk. Kirk von Ackermann's vehicle was found abandoned in this isolated area and once described as the most dangerous part of the journey from Tikrit to Kirkuk.

From the photo, it looks like the road is unpaved.

Photo credit Faysal Akbik
Description: This series of low hills or mountains stood out as a landmark in a Tikrit to Kirkuk Black Hawk flight.

Left Behind in Iraq

Article on missing military personnel that contains a brief mention of Kirk von Ackermann.

Missing in action: Service members left behind
By Austin Wright, Politico, February 8, 2012

With U.S. combat troops out of Iraq and a time frame for a pullout set in Afghanistan, an ominous question looms: Who will we have left behind?

In Iraq, at least one U.S. service member is currently listed as missing, along with three defense contractors. [...]

More than five years later, Altaie’s case remains unsolved and has been turned over to the missing personnel office, along with those of three missing defense contractors: Kirk Von Ackermann, lost since 2003; Timothy Bell, lost since 2004; and Adnan al-Hilawi, lost since 2007.

Investigators spent the past two months reviewing files and crafting plans for how to proceed on each case. “It’s a lot of reading through records of various things that have happened in the past and putting that all together,” said the official at the missing personnel office. “It’s like detective work.”

And of course, there's still others missing. There's a link to the list just up there under the header for this blog.

The DPMO website cites 4 men as missing - see below. And yet, other contractors are known to still be missing. My only guess as to why others were omitted from the DPMO list is they weren't working under contract for the Department of Defense.

Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003-2010

• Staff Sgt. Ahmed K. Altaie, U.S. Army, was lost on Oct. 23, 2006 while serving in Iraq as a translator for the U.S. military
• Mr. Kirk Von Ackermann, DoD contractor, was lost on Oct. 9, 2003, while working in Forward Operating Base Pacesetter, Iraq
• Mr. Timothy E. Bell, DoD contractor, was lost on April 9, 2004, while working in Baghdad, Iraq
• Mr. Adnan al-Hilawi, DoD contractor, was lost on March 3, 2007, while working in Baghdad, Iraq

Body of Alan McMenemy delivered to embassy

Body of Iraq hostage Alan McMenemy handed over to Baghdad embassy
By Conal Urquhart, Guardian, January 20, 2012

The body of a Briton, who was taken hostage in Iraq and later killed, has been handed over to the British embassy in Baghdad, it was announced on Friday.

Alan McMenemy, a security guard from Glasgow, was abducted in 2007 as he and three colleagues were guarding a computer consultant working in the Iraqi ministry of finance. Scores of militia men disguised as police officers took over the ministry and abducted the five Britons.

Why did it take so long to return his body?

Related

Hostage Remains to be Returned
January 5, 2012

Iraq militants refuse to hand over Briton
By Ahmad al-Rubaye, AFP, July 9, 2011

Alan McMenemy of Scotland
March 21, 2010

Hostage Remains to be Returned

Breaking news this morning from the BBC in London regarding Alan McMenemy, the last of the security guards seized as hostages in 2007.

Iraqi militia offer to return Briton Alan McMenemy's body
BBC, January 5, 2012

The Iraqi militia that kidnapped five Britons in 2007 has said it will hand over the body of the last missing man, who it said was "killed in a clash".

UK authorities had suspected Alan McMenemy, 34, from Glasgow, was dead.

My sincere condolences to his friends and family.

Related

Iraq militants refuse to hand over Briton
By Ahmad al-Rubaye, AFP, July 9, 2011

Alan McMenemy of Scotland
March 21, 2010

Missing iPad Article

An iPad article includes an interview with members of the von Ackermann family.

Agony Over Missing
By Kase Wickham, The Daily, December 25, 2011

Also a short summary at The Daily blog:Americans won’t be home for Christmas because they’re still missing in Iraq
The Daily blog, December 25, 2011

Although Operation Iraqi Freedom ended last week, the families of 4 Americans still officially categorized as missing in Iraq haven’t stopped searching yet.

Unfortunately, I don't have an iPad so I don't have access to the article. I guess this means I am officially entering into the knowledge divide of the haves and the have nots.

The Unknown

Now that the War in Iraq is winding down, there's some renewed interest in those Americans still missing in Iraq.

By my own primitive accounting standards, there are 18 missing Americans - a number that includes those presumed deceased. A name - a person - remains on the list until their remains are found and identified.

The List includes 9 unknown names. That unknowingess is uncomfortable. There's something lonely about a missing person who is also unidentified. Somewhere out there, someone knows them.

An eccentric elderly man who lived in my neighborhood passed away a few months back. I just recently found out his body is still lying in a refrigerator at the morgue, waiting for family to come and claim him. Problem is, he was mentally ill. He was quiet, polite, orderly, well-spoken and totally out of touch with reality. He saw coded messages in donut displays about clandestine deliveries of Chinese missile.

It's a bit of a guess if he really has any family. Some bits and pieces of his life were true - he really was a lawyer who graduated from an Ivy League school - but a great cloud of mystery hangs over much of what he shared during a cup of coffee. But here's the thing - he knew people and he had friends. He still has friends and we're trying to figure out what to do about his body at the morgue so he doesn't end up in an unmarked grave.

It's in that same spirit, that I'd really like to find the names that belong to the Unknown missing, fitting together a broken world.

Americans Missing in Iraq - table of names last updated on August 13, 2011

Eight Years of Godot

Strange how time passes so quickly.

The first blog post I ever wrote about the strange disappearance of Kirk von Ackermann was eight years ago today. At the time, the post quoted a short blurb from a San Diego, California television station. A longer story appeared in the UK Telegraph followed by the San Francisco Chronicle - both written by Colin Freeman. Von Ackermann is still missing and is, in fact, the longest missing American in Iraq.

A little over two months after von Ackermann disappeared, his colleague, Ryan Manelick, was killed in a drive by shooting, on his birthday no less. Colin Freeman again wrote an article about Manelick's death but it took over a year before it was published.

Well, still here. Still waiting for something. Call it, Godot.