Afghan roadside bombs hit record in 2008
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA TODAYPosted : Monday Jan 26, 2009 5:39:52 EST
WASHINGTON — Roadside bomb attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan hit an all-time high last year, killing more troops than ever and highlighting an “emboldened” insurgency there, according to figures released by the Pentagon.
Last year, 3,276 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) detonated or were detected before blowing up in Afghanistan, a 45 percent increase compared with 2007. The number of troops in the U.S.-led coalition killed by bombs more than doubled in 2008 from 75 to 161. The Pentagon data did not break down the casualties by nationality.
Roadside bombs in Afghanistan wounded an additional 722 coalition troops last year, setting another record.
In Afghanistan, “an emboldened, increasingly aggressive enemy has increased the use of IEDs,” Irene Smith, a spokeswoman for the Joint IED Defeat Organization, the Pentagon’s lead agency for combating roadside bombs, said in an e-mail.
“The trajectory of trends in 2008 has been in the wrong direction,” Michael O’Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution, said Sunday of the IED records. “We’re losing the war. This shows a greater capacity on the part of the Taliban and other insurgents to cause more death, destruction and challenges to the legitimacy of the Afghan government.”
Army Gen. David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, said in an interview last month that Taliban and other militants use roadside bombs to kill troops, terrorize civilians and sow disorder.
“It’s part of a change in tactics by the insurgency to go into more complex, smaller-scale, more asymmetric ambushes that attack softer targets,” McKiernan told USA TODAY. “IEDs don’t discriminate between civilian and military so it’s the single biggest killer in Afghanistan — civilian and security forces.”
President Obama has pledged to devote more resources to Afghanistan. McKiernan has asked to nearly double the size of the U.S. forces — the largest group in the international coalition — to 60,000 troops. Combat engineers who clear roads and defuse bombs are among the forces that U.S. and NATO commanders need, McKiernan says.
Vice President Biden warned Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation that fighting in Afghanistan will intensify and that “there will be an uptick” in casualties.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon plans to rush as many as 10,000 new armored vehicles to Afghanistan to counter roadside bombs. Commanders there have issued an urgent request for a lighter, more maneuverable version of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, known as MRAPs. Few paved roads and rugged mountain terrain prevent the use of MRAPs in parts of Afghanistan.
Devices useful in Iraq to counter roadside bombs may have to be “ruggedized” to work in parts of Afghanistan, Navy Capt. Vincent Martinez, deputy commander of Task Force Paladin, said in an interview at Bagram Air Base last month. The task force combats IEDs in Afghanistan.
“We’ve got a fight on our hands,” he said. “This is not just affecting the future of Afghanistan. It’s for the future of the entire region. We cannot allow terrorists to have safe havens.”
O’Hanlon, who says he supports McKiernan’s goal of providing better security for the Afghan people, said reversing the trend in roadside bomb attacks is critical to success there.
“People in Afghanistan need a reason to join the army and not the Taliban,” O’Hanlon said. “They need some sense of hope.”
In Iraq, where roadside bomb attacks are far more prevalent, the number of IED attacks continues to fall. There were 8,999 such attacks in 2008. The all-time high was 24,302 in 2006.
Better security in Iraq has prompted civilians there to provide coalition forces with more tips on where bombs are planted and who is making them, Smith said.
Since the two wars began, 570 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan and 4,220 in Iraq.
Friday, January 30, 2009
4 killed when helicopters crash in Iraq
By Kim Gamel - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 6:02:57 EST
BAGHDAD — Two U.S. helicopters crashed Monday in northern Iraq, killing four American troops, the U.S. military said, in the deadliest single loss of life for U.S. forces in more than four months.
The military said the crash “does not appear to be by enemy action.”
But the latest American deaths underscored the noncombat dangers that face the U.S. military along with continued attacks as the United States begins to draw down its forces.
Monday’s crash was the deadliest single incident for U.S. troops since Sept. 18, when seven American soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the southern desert west of Basra.
No precise location was given for the 2:15 a.m. crash, but a military spokesman said it occurred in Tamim province, which includes the oil-rich disputed city of Kirkuk.
Iraqi officials said the crash site was located about 20 miles west of Kirkuk, which is about 180 miles north of Baghdad. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information.
Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq, said all the dead were Americans. He declined to give more details.
The deaths raised to at least 4,236 the number of U.S. service members who have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Despite the latest crash, the number of Americans killed in Iraq has dropped significantly with an overall decline in violence.
The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters and other aircraft to ferry troops, dignitaries and supplies to avoid the threat of ambushes and roadside bombs in Iraq.
At least 70 U.S. helicopters have gone down since the war started in March 2003, according to military figures. Of those, 36 were confirmed to have been shot down.
Most recently, a helicopter made a hard landing Nov. 15 after hitting wires in the northern city of Mosul, killing two American soldiers.
A Soviet-made civilian cargo plane also crashed in November after reporting a malfunction west of Baghdad, leaving the seven crew members dead.
The January 2005 crash of a U.S. Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter in western Iraq claimed 31 lives — the biggest single U.S. loss of life in the Iraq war. Investigators determined the crash was not due to hostile fire.
By Kim Gamel - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 6:02:57 EST
BAGHDAD — Two U.S. helicopters crashed Monday in northern Iraq, killing four American troops, the U.S. military said, in the deadliest single loss of life for U.S. forces in more than four months.
The military said the crash “does not appear to be by enemy action.”
But the latest American deaths underscored the noncombat dangers that face the U.S. military along with continued attacks as the United States begins to draw down its forces.
Monday’s crash was the deadliest single incident for U.S. troops since Sept. 18, when seven American soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the southern desert west of Basra.
No precise location was given for the 2:15 a.m. crash, but a military spokesman said it occurred in Tamim province, which includes the oil-rich disputed city of Kirkuk.
Iraqi officials said the crash site was located about 20 miles west of Kirkuk, which is about 180 miles north of Baghdad. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information.
Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq, said all the dead were Americans. He declined to give more details.
The deaths raised to at least 4,236 the number of U.S. service members who have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Despite the latest crash, the number of Americans killed in Iraq has dropped significantly with an overall decline in violence.
The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters and other aircraft to ferry troops, dignitaries and supplies to avoid the threat of ambushes and roadside bombs in Iraq.
At least 70 U.S. helicopters have gone down since the war started in March 2003, according to military figures. Of those, 36 were confirmed to have been shot down.
Most recently, a helicopter made a hard landing Nov. 15 after hitting wires in the northern city of Mosul, killing two American soldiers.
A Soviet-made civilian cargo plane also crashed in November after reporting a malfunction west of Baghdad, leaving the seven crew members dead.
The January 2005 crash of a U.S. Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter in western Iraq claimed 31 lives — the biggest single U.S. loss of life in the Iraq war. Investigators determined the crash was not due to hostile fire.
Gates details plans for deployment, dwell time
By William H. McMichael - Staff writerPosted : Thursday Jan 29, 2009 5:26:11 EST
The Pentagon will be able to send two more brigade combat teams to Afghanistan by late spring, another by mid-summer and more troops once adequate infrastructure is in place, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
But Gates said he would be “deeply skeptical” of any proposals to increase troop strength in Afghanistan beyond 30,000 additional troops requested by Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander there, saying the Afghan security forces must take the lead in the nation’s security.
“There must be an Afghan face on this war,” Gates said.
Gates called Afghanistan, where 32,000 U.S. troops currently serve, America’s “greatest military challenge.” He also said that tough days could lie ahead for U.S. troops in Iraq, and that leaders will have to “have the courage to make hard choices” on major weapons systems spending, Gates said.
Gates also brought the committee good news for Army troops and families, providing for the first time a timeline for boosting rest and recuperation time back home. Soldiers now are deployed for 12 months and return home for 12 months; Gates said he expects to increase so-called “dwell time” at home for brigade combat teams to 15 months by October, to two years by October 2010 and 30 months by the end of fiscal 2011.
The changes continue a reversal of dwell time that began in 2007, when Gates increased Army Iraq deployment lengths to 15 months with 12 months back home — which often turned out to be less in reality. Last spring, the Bush administration, on the Pentagon’s recommendation, returned to a 1:1 ratio, shortening future deployments to 12 months with 12 months back home.
With his left arm wrapped following surgery for a torn ligament suffered in a holiday slip, Gates made his first appearance before Congress following his transition from serving under President Bush to the new administration of President Obama. Since he does not require Senate confirmation, Gates instead provided an overview of challenges the Pentagon faces and his priorities for the coming year.
He warned while that there is no purely military solution to the war in Afghanistan, there are still not enough U.S. and NATO troops to provide a “baseline level of security … a vacuum that has been increasingly filled by the Taliban.” America’s strategic objectives, he said, should be the removal of safe havens in Afghanistan for insurgent extremists, and an Afghan population that both rejects the Taliban and supports the elected government.
Americans also need to understand that there may not be a key turning point in Afghanistan, such as the 2006 decision of Sunni tribes in Iraq to join forces with the U.S. against the insurgency, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
“The American people must understand this is a long, hard slog we’re in in Afghanistan,” said McCain, the committee’s ranking member. “I don’t see, frankly, an Anbar awakening, a game-changing event in Afghanistan. I think the American people need to understand what’s at stake … that this is going to take a long time.”
Gates said the recent strategic agreement with Iraq and imminent provincial elections are signs of progress, but he added that while the U.S. involvement in Iraq is “winding down … there may be hard days ahead for our troops.”
Gates also warned of tough spending choices ahead.
He called for restoring what he called the Pentagon’s depleted acquisition staff, for tailored spending cuts that “avoid across the board adjustments” and the procurement of less-costly systems.
“We will pursue greater quantities of systems that represent the 75 percent solution instead of smaller quantities of 99 percent exquisite systems,” Gates said.
One senator said the widespread U.S. economic crisis calls for more spending, not less. “If we truly want to stimulate the economy, there’s no better way to do it,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
According to defense officials, the full 2010 defense budget request likely will be delayed, possibly until April, while the Obama administration fleshes out its proposal. The annual defense budget request usually goes to Congress in early February.
In addition to hearing from Gates, the committee also unanimously approved, by voice vote, the nominations of 654 military officers for promotion.
By William H. McMichael - Staff writerPosted : Thursday Jan 29, 2009 5:26:11 EST
The Pentagon will be able to send two more brigade combat teams to Afghanistan by late spring, another by mid-summer and more troops once adequate infrastructure is in place, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
But Gates said he would be “deeply skeptical” of any proposals to increase troop strength in Afghanistan beyond 30,000 additional troops requested by Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander there, saying the Afghan security forces must take the lead in the nation’s security.
“There must be an Afghan face on this war,” Gates said.
Gates called Afghanistan, where 32,000 U.S. troops currently serve, America’s “greatest military challenge.” He also said that tough days could lie ahead for U.S. troops in Iraq, and that leaders will have to “have the courage to make hard choices” on major weapons systems spending, Gates said.
Gates also brought the committee good news for Army troops and families, providing for the first time a timeline for boosting rest and recuperation time back home. Soldiers now are deployed for 12 months and return home for 12 months; Gates said he expects to increase so-called “dwell time” at home for brigade combat teams to 15 months by October, to two years by October 2010 and 30 months by the end of fiscal 2011.
The changes continue a reversal of dwell time that began in 2007, when Gates increased Army Iraq deployment lengths to 15 months with 12 months back home — which often turned out to be less in reality. Last spring, the Bush administration, on the Pentagon’s recommendation, returned to a 1:1 ratio, shortening future deployments to 12 months with 12 months back home.
With his left arm wrapped following surgery for a torn ligament suffered in a holiday slip, Gates made his first appearance before Congress following his transition from serving under President Bush to the new administration of President Obama. Since he does not require Senate confirmation, Gates instead provided an overview of challenges the Pentagon faces and his priorities for the coming year.
He warned while that there is no purely military solution to the war in Afghanistan, there are still not enough U.S. and NATO troops to provide a “baseline level of security … a vacuum that has been increasingly filled by the Taliban.” America’s strategic objectives, he said, should be the removal of safe havens in Afghanistan for insurgent extremists, and an Afghan population that both rejects the Taliban and supports the elected government.
Americans also need to understand that there may not be a key turning point in Afghanistan, such as the 2006 decision of Sunni tribes in Iraq to join forces with the U.S. against the insurgency, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
“The American people must understand this is a long, hard slog we’re in in Afghanistan,” said McCain, the committee’s ranking member. “I don’t see, frankly, an Anbar awakening, a game-changing event in Afghanistan. I think the American people need to understand what’s at stake … that this is going to take a long time.”
Gates said the recent strategic agreement with Iraq and imminent provincial elections are signs of progress, but he added that while the U.S. involvement in Iraq is “winding down … there may be hard days ahead for our troops.”
Gates also warned of tough spending choices ahead.
He called for restoring what he called the Pentagon’s depleted acquisition staff, for tailored spending cuts that “avoid across the board adjustments” and the procurement of less-costly systems.
“We will pursue greater quantities of systems that represent the 75 percent solution instead of smaller quantities of 99 percent exquisite systems,” Gates said.
One senator said the widespread U.S. economic crisis calls for more spending, not less. “If we truly want to stimulate the economy, there’s no better way to do it,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
According to defense officials, the full 2010 defense budget request likely will be delayed, possibly until April, while the Obama administration fleshes out its proposal. The annual defense budget request usually goes to Congress in early February.
In addition to hearing from Gates, the committee also unanimously approved, by voice vote, the nominations of 654 military officers for promotion.
Gates: Missile strikes in Pakistan to continue
By Lara Jakes - The Associated PressPosted : Tuesday Jan 27, 2009 18:53:05 EST
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is retaining a powerful but controversial weapon left over from the Bush administration’s war on terror: Predator missile strikes on Pakistan.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled to senators Tuesday that missile strikes will continue. He did not directly refer to the Predator hunt-and-kill drone program but said the U.S. would continue to strike at al-Qaida inside Pakistan along its border with Afghanistan.
But senior Obama administration and Capitol Hill officials say the Predator strikes are effective, and there is no plan to discontinue the program.
The Predator attacks have strained U.S. relations with Pakistan, which has urged Obama to halt them.
Pakistan was struck last week by missiles that killed at least 22 people. The strike was part of a continuing wave of more than 30 missile attacks since August.
In testimony Tuesday to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates said Obama and former President George W. Bush were twinned in their efforts to pursue al-Qaida.
“Both President Bush and President Obama have made clear that we will go after al-Qaida wherever al-Qaida is, and we will continue to pursue them,” Gates said.
“Has that decision been transmitted to the Pakistan government?” the panel’s chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., asked.
“Yes, sir,” Gates responded.
The U.S. rarely acknowledges such missile strikes, at least some of which are carried out with Predator drones, used by the Pentagon and CIA to hunt down and kill terrorists.
A senior Obama administration official told The Associated Press that the Predator program would remain, saying simply: “It works.” The comments were made on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the program publicly.
On Capitol Hill, a senior official added: “The most accurate way of characterizing the policy is no operational policies have been changed at this point.” The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
At the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman earlier this week said there is no military plan to drop the Predator program, which he called “a premium platform” and in “high demand.”
Last week, Pakistan said civilians were killed along with eight suspected foreign militants, including an Egyptian al-Qaida operative, in twin strikes in the Waziristan region, long suspected as al-Qaida’s safe haven in Pakistan.
By Lara Jakes - The Associated PressPosted : Tuesday Jan 27, 2009 18:53:05 EST
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is retaining a powerful but controversial weapon left over from the Bush administration’s war on terror: Predator missile strikes on Pakistan.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled to senators Tuesday that missile strikes will continue. He did not directly refer to the Predator hunt-and-kill drone program but said the U.S. would continue to strike at al-Qaida inside Pakistan along its border with Afghanistan.
But senior Obama administration and Capitol Hill officials say the Predator strikes are effective, and there is no plan to discontinue the program.
The Predator attacks have strained U.S. relations with Pakistan, which has urged Obama to halt them.
Pakistan was struck last week by missiles that killed at least 22 people. The strike was part of a continuing wave of more than 30 missile attacks since August.
In testimony Tuesday to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates said Obama and former President George W. Bush were twinned in their efforts to pursue al-Qaida.
“Both President Bush and President Obama have made clear that we will go after al-Qaida wherever al-Qaida is, and we will continue to pursue them,” Gates said.
“Has that decision been transmitted to the Pakistan government?” the panel’s chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., asked.
“Yes, sir,” Gates responded.
The U.S. rarely acknowledges such missile strikes, at least some of which are carried out with Predator drones, used by the Pentagon and CIA to hunt down and kill terrorists.
A senior Obama administration official told The Associated Press that the Predator program would remain, saying simply: “It works.” The comments were made on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the program publicly.
On Capitol Hill, a senior official added: “The most accurate way of characterizing the policy is no operational policies have been changed at this point.” The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
At the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman earlier this week said there is no military plan to drop the Predator program, which he called “a premium platform” and in “high demand.”
Last week, Pakistan said civilians were killed along with eight suspected foreign militants, including an Egyptian al-Qaida operative, in twin strikes in the Waziristan region, long suspected as al-Qaida’s safe haven in Pakistan.
U.S. pays $40,000 after 15 Afghans die in raid
By Jason Straziuso - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 9:12:05 EST
TAGAB VALLEY, Afghanistan — U.S. commanders traveled to a poor Afghan village and distributed $40,000 to relatives of 15 people killed in a U.S. raid, including a known militant commander. The Americans also apologized for any civilians killed in the operation.
The issue of civilian deaths is increasingly sensitive in Afghanistan, with President Hamid Karzai accusing the U.S. of killing civilians in three separate cases over the last month. Karzai has repeatedly warned the U.S. and NATO, saying such deaths undermine his government and the international mission.
In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates echoed Karzai’s concerns, telling a Senate committee that “civilian casualties are doing us enormous harm in Afghanistan.”
As U.S. commanders paid villagers near 15 newly dug graves on Tuesday, Karzai met in the capital with relatives of some of those killed. He told the villagers he has given the U.S. and NATO one month to respond to a draft agreement calling for increased Afghan participation in military operations.
Karzai said if he does not receive a response within that time, he would ask Afghans what he should do about international military operations. The statement from the presidential palace describing the meeting did not elaborate.
The U.S. is doubling its troop presence in Afghanistan this year to take on the Taliban militia; the Taliban and other militants now control wide swaths of territory. Last year, 151 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan, the most in any year since the U.S. invaded the Taliban-ruled country in late 2001 for sheltering Osama bin Laden.
Col. Greg Julian, the top U.S. spokesman in Afghanistan, led Tuesday’s delegation into the village of Inzeri, a small collection of stone and mud homes set high in a steep, rocky valley. Insurgents have a strong presence in the region just 30 miles north of Kabul.
A raid the night of Jan. 19 killed 15 people in Inzeri, including a targeted militant commander named Mullah Patang.
Afghan officials admit that Patang was killed, but villagers say civilians also died and have pressed their complaints with U.S. officials and Karzai.
The U.S. regularly makes payments to Afghan relatives of those killed in operations, but the payments are rarely publicized.
The villagers met the U.S. delegation about 100 yards from 15 newly dug graves. American officials asked for a list of the dead, but villagers said no one there was literate.
Julian told villagers that U.S. forces did not come Jan. 19 intending to fight, but opened fire after villagers fired on them. Many Afghan families are armed.
“Perhaps there may have been some people accidentally killed,” Julian said as he looked at a mud-brick home where villagers said some Afghans died. “If there was collateral damage, I’m very sorry about that.”
The village elder, a man named Asadullah who goes by one name, showed Julian a picture of men in Afghan army uniforms. Asadullah said they were the sons of the militant Patang.
On the back of an Afghan army truck, U.S. officials paid $40,000 in Afghan currency to representatives of the 15 people killed — $2,500 for each death plus $500 for two wounded men and $1,500 for village repairs.
Lt. Col. Steven Weir, a military lawyer who helped oversee the payments, said the payments were not an admission by the U.S. that innocents were killed.
“It’s a condolence payment,” he said. “The villagers said none of them were in the Taliban, just peaceful individuals from the village. So by this payment they will understand it’s not our goal to kill innocent people. This may help them understand we’re here to build a safer and more secure Afghanistan.”
When asked if the U.S. was paying money to relatives of people that the U.S. had wanted to kill or capture, Weir said: “If we did accidentally shoot someone, we want to make that right, and if we have to pay money to someone who didn’t deserve it ... it’s kind of like it’s better to let nine guilty people go free than to jail one innocent person.”
Villagers seemed appreciative. Gul Akbar, 24, who said his father died in the raid, told Julian he respected and appreciated his visit.
“I’m just very sad someone gave the other soldiers the wrong information,” he said.
Abdul Hadi Wairi, a counterterrorism official in Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, said he believes there were militants in the village but that some noncombatants also died.
“There were some civilians killed as collateral damage, and there were some old people killed, too,” he said. “There were militants among them. But it was a village, it was dark. The insurgents are trying to stay in populated areas and use the villagers as a human shield.”
Ghulam Qawis Abubaker, the governor of Kapisa province who was part of the delegation that met with Karzai, said Patang, the targeted militant, was among the dead. Abubaker said Patang and other villagers had weapons.
The issue of civilian casualties appears to be putting a severe strain on the U.S.-Afghan relationship.
But Weir said the U.S. couldn’t just stop targeted raids on leaders of militant cells.
“When you stop these operations, the bad guys get more IEDs (bombs) in place, they bring in more foreign fighters, they destroy the bridges we build,” he said. “It just goes on and on.”
Julian on Wednesday planned to meet with elders from neighboring Laghman province.
Karzai said 17 civilians were killed in a Laghman raid on Jan. 7; the U.S. has said it killed 32 militants in that operation. The Afghan president also says U.S. forces killed 16 civilians during a raid in Laghman on Saturday.
Gates said that despite the obstacles, U.S. forces must strive to avoid civilian deaths.
“I believe that the civilian casualties are doing us enormous harm in Afghanistan, and we have got to do better in terms of avoiding casualties, and I say that knowing full well that the Taliban mingle among the people, use them as barriers,” the U.S. defense secretary told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“My worry is that the Afghans come to see us as part of their problem rather than part of their solution, and then we are lost.”
By Jason Straziuso - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 9:12:05 EST
TAGAB VALLEY, Afghanistan — U.S. commanders traveled to a poor Afghan village and distributed $40,000 to relatives of 15 people killed in a U.S. raid, including a known militant commander. The Americans also apologized for any civilians killed in the operation.
The issue of civilian deaths is increasingly sensitive in Afghanistan, with President Hamid Karzai accusing the U.S. of killing civilians in three separate cases over the last month. Karzai has repeatedly warned the U.S. and NATO, saying such deaths undermine his government and the international mission.
In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates echoed Karzai’s concerns, telling a Senate committee that “civilian casualties are doing us enormous harm in Afghanistan.”
As U.S. commanders paid villagers near 15 newly dug graves on Tuesday, Karzai met in the capital with relatives of some of those killed. He told the villagers he has given the U.S. and NATO one month to respond to a draft agreement calling for increased Afghan participation in military operations.
Karzai said if he does not receive a response within that time, he would ask Afghans what he should do about international military operations. The statement from the presidential palace describing the meeting did not elaborate.
The U.S. is doubling its troop presence in Afghanistan this year to take on the Taliban militia; the Taliban and other militants now control wide swaths of territory. Last year, 151 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan, the most in any year since the U.S. invaded the Taliban-ruled country in late 2001 for sheltering Osama bin Laden.
Col. Greg Julian, the top U.S. spokesman in Afghanistan, led Tuesday’s delegation into the village of Inzeri, a small collection of stone and mud homes set high in a steep, rocky valley. Insurgents have a strong presence in the region just 30 miles north of Kabul.
A raid the night of Jan. 19 killed 15 people in Inzeri, including a targeted militant commander named Mullah Patang.
Afghan officials admit that Patang was killed, but villagers say civilians also died and have pressed their complaints with U.S. officials and Karzai.
The U.S. regularly makes payments to Afghan relatives of those killed in operations, but the payments are rarely publicized.
The villagers met the U.S. delegation about 100 yards from 15 newly dug graves. American officials asked for a list of the dead, but villagers said no one there was literate.
Julian told villagers that U.S. forces did not come Jan. 19 intending to fight, but opened fire after villagers fired on them. Many Afghan families are armed.
“Perhaps there may have been some people accidentally killed,” Julian said as he looked at a mud-brick home where villagers said some Afghans died. “If there was collateral damage, I’m very sorry about that.”
The village elder, a man named Asadullah who goes by one name, showed Julian a picture of men in Afghan army uniforms. Asadullah said they were the sons of the militant Patang.
On the back of an Afghan army truck, U.S. officials paid $40,000 in Afghan currency to representatives of the 15 people killed — $2,500 for each death plus $500 for two wounded men and $1,500 for village repairs.
Lt. Col. Steven Weir, a military lawyer who helped oversee the payments, said the payments were not an admission by the U.S. that innocents were killed.
“It’s a condolence payment,” he said. “The villagers said none of them were in the Taliban, just peaceful individuals from the village. So by this payment they will understand it’s not our goal to kill innocent people. This may help them understand we’re here to build a safer and more secure Afghanistan.”
When asked if the U.S. was paying money to relatives of people that the U.S. had wanted to kill or capture, Weir said: “If we did accidentally shoot someone, we want to make that right, and if we have to pay money to someone who didn’t deserve it ... it’s kind of like it’s better to let nine guilty people go free than to jail one innocent person.”
Villagers seemed appreciative. Gul Akbar, 24, who said his father died in the raid, told Julian he respected and appreciated his visit.
“I’m just very sad someone gave the other soldiers the wrong information,” he said.
Abdul Hadi Wairi, a counterterrorism official in Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, said he believes there were militants in the village but that some noncombatants also died.
“There were some civilians killed as collateral damage, and there were some old people killed, too,” he said. “There were militants among them. But it was a village, it was dark. The insurgents are trying to stay in populated areas and use the villagers as a human shield.”
Ghulam Qawis Abubaker, the governor of Kapisa province who was part of the delegation that met with Karzai, said Patang, the targeted militant, was among the dead. Abubaker said Patang and other villagers had weapons.
The issue of civilian casualties appears to be putting a severe strain on the U.S.-Afghan relationship.
But Weir said the U.S. couldn’t just stop targeted raids on leaders of militant cells.
“When you stop these operations, the bad guys get more IEDs (bombs) in place, they bring in more foreign fighters, they destroy the bridges we build,” he said. “It just goes on and on.”
Julian on Wednesday planned to meet with elders from neighboring Laghman province.
Karzai said 17 civilians were killed in a Laghman raid on Jan. 7; the U.S. has said it killed 32 militants in that operation. The Afghan president also says U.S. forces killed 16 civilians during a raid in Laghman on Saturday.
Gates said that despite the obstacles, U.S. forces must strive to avoid civilian deaths.
“I believe that the civilian casualties are doing us enormous harm in Afghanistan, and we have got to do better in terms of avoiding casualties, and I say that knowing full well that the Taliban mingle among the people, use them as barriers,” the U.S. defense secretary told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“My worry is that the Afghans come to see us as part of their problem rather than part of their solution, and then we are lost.”
Obama to seek more Europe help for Afghanistan
By Desmond Butler - The Associated PressPosted : Thursday Jan 29, 2009 6:18:17 EST
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama already is testing whether Europe will match its enthusiastic words about his administration with concrete actions. After seeking help shutting the Guantanamo Bay prison, Obama now has a potentially more contentious request: He wants more European troops fighting in Afghanistan.
Obama has promised to escalate the fight against the Taliban and bolster U.S. forces. European leaders, who face greater public skepticism about the war, will have a harder time matching Obama even if they should want to.
NATO is preparing for its 60th anniversary summit at the beginning of April, and U.S. officials are making clear that Obama wants new European commitments there.
“Europeans are still hoping they won’t be asked” about Afghanistan, said Julianne Smith, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But Obama ran on the message ‘the urgency of now’ and he seems to consider Afghanistan urgent.”
The new president’s requests on Guantanamo and Afghanistan match those of former President George W. Bush but come from a leader who, unlike Bush, enjoys popular appeal among Europeans. While many are hoping Obama will heal the rifts of the Bush years, Obama seems to be testing the utility of their enthusiasm by asking for deeper cooperation.
The administration has had a mixed response to requests that European countries take in some prisoners from the detention center at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. European leaders have said they are willing, but only after detailed screening to make sure the detainees they take in are not security risks.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have made clear that Afghanistan will be the administration’s top overseas military priority and that it expects more from Europe. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to raise the issue at a security conference Feb. 6-8 in Munich, Germany.
Gates said in a Senate hearing Tuesday that the U.S. also wants Europeans to contribute more money to finance the Afghan army. He said the April summit and earlier meetings of NATO defense and foreign ministers would force alliance members to make decisions.
“There’s some indications that a few of our allies have been sitting on a capability so that they could give the new president something when he asks,” Gates said.
Obama is pressuring Europe as he prepares to put a large number of new U.S. troops — up to 30,000 more — on the line. He plans to shift forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, where militants linked to the former ruling Taliban and Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida have made a comeback in recent years.
The new U.S. troops will be joining some 32,000 others who serve alongside 32,000 NATO-led and coalition troops — the highest number since the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.
But thousands of the European soldiers, including German, Italian and Spanish troops, serve in the less restive north and west of Afghanistan as part of its international force. The U.S. has pressed those countries to allow their troops also to be used in the more embattled south, along with other European contingents such as those of the Netherlands, France and Denmark.
“It’ll be a hard sell to get Europeans to ante up more resources for Afghanistan when we don’t know what we’re trying to achieve or how we plan to achieve it,” said Nick Whitney, former head of the European Defense Agency and a senior policy fellow at the Paris-based European Council on Foreign Relations. “There are big political incentives to respond positively to whatever Obama asks, but equally obviously there is pretty deep-rooted skepticism among the European public.”
Leaders in some European countries, including Germany, believe they are better equipped for primarily noncombat missions in an impoverished country whose problems cannot be solved on the battlefield alone.
Europeans who widely admire the new U.S. president may expect Obama to fulfill campaign promises to heal trans-Atlantic relations and expand cooperation. But on this issue, at least, Obama is signaling that trans-Atlantic cooperation means greater demands.
“The expectations in Europe are huge for the incoming president,” says Laurie Dundon, Washington-based director of trans-Atlantic relations at Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation. “But Obama also has big expectations for Europe.”
By Desmond Butler - The Associated PressPosted : Thursday Jan 29, 2009 6:18:17 EST
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama already is testing whether Europe will match its enthusiastic words about his administration with concrete actions. After seeking help shutting the Guantanamo Bay prison, Obama now has a potentially more contentious request: He wants more European troops fighting in Afghanistan.
Obama has promised to escalate the fight against the Taliban and bolster U.S. forces. European leaders, who face greater public skepticism about the war, will have a harder time matching Obama even if they should want to.
NATO is preparing for its 60th anniversary summit at the beginning of April, and U.S. officials are making clear that Obama wants new European commitments there.
“Europeans are still hoping they won’t be asked” about Afghanistan, said Julianne Smith, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But Obama ran on the message ‘the urgency of now’ and he seems to consider Afghanistan urgent.”
The new president’s requests on Guantanamo and Afghanistan match those of former President George W. Bush but come from a leader who, unlike Bush, enjoys popular appeal among Europeans. While many are hoping Obama will heal the rifts of the Bush years, Obama seems to be testing the utility of their enthusiasm by asking for deeper cooperation.
The administration has had a mixed response to requests that European countries take in some prisoners from the detention center at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. European leaders have said they are willing, but only after detailed screening to make sure the detainees they take in are not security risks.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have made clear that Afghanistan will be the administration’s top overseas military priority and that it expects more from Europe. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to raise the issue at a security conference Feb. 6-8 in Munich, Germany.
Gates said in a Senate hearing Tuesday that the U.S. also wants Europeans to contribute more money to finance the Afghan army. He said the April summit and earlier meetings of NATO defense and foreign ministers would force alliance members to make decisions.
“There’s some indications that a few of our allies have been sitting on a capability so that they could give the new president something when he asks,” Gates said.
Obama is pressuring Europe as he prepares to put a large number of new U.S. troops — up to 30,000 more — on the line. He plans to shift forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, where militants linked to the former ruling Taliban and Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida have made a comeback in recent years.
The new U.S. troops will be joining some 32,000 others who serve alongside 32,000 NATO-led and coalition troops — the highest number since the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.
But thousands of the European soldiers, including German, Italian and Spanish troops, serve in the less restive north and west of Afghanistan as part of its international force. The U.S. has pressed those countries to allow their troops also to be used in the more embattled south, along with other European contingents such as those of the Netherlands, France and Denmark.
“It’ll be a hard sell to get Europeans to ante up more resources for Afghanistan when we don’t know what we’re trying to achieve or how we plan to achieve it,” said Nick Whitney, former head of the European Defense Agency and a senior policy fellow at the Paris-based European Council on Foreign Relations. “There are big political incentives to respond positively to whatever Obama asks, but equally obviously there is pretty deep-rooted skepticism among the European public.”
Leaders in some European countries, including Germany, believe they are better equipped for primarily noncombat missions in an impoverished country whose problems cannot be solved on the battlefield alone.
Europeans who widely admire the new U.S. president may expect Obama to fulfill campaign promises to heal trans-Atlantic relations and expand cooperation. But on this issue, at least, Obama is signaling that trans-Atlantic cooperation means greater demands.
“The expectations in Europe are huge for the incoming president,” says Laurie Dundon, Washington-based director of trans-Atlantic relations at Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation. “But Obama also has big expectations for Europe.”
Bills would let more troops get mail for free
By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 12:34:25 EST
Just as talk gets serious about cutting U.S. troop levels in Iraq, Congress also appears to be getting serious about providing limited free mailing privileges so that letters and small packages can be sent by friends and family to deployed service members.
Two free military mail bills were introduced in the House on Tuesday. One, HR 704, is the reintroduction of a bill sponsored by Reps. Peter King of New York and Gus Bilirakis of Florida, both Republicans, that previously won support in the House as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill but was rejected in negotiations with the Senate.
That bill likely will be pushed aside in favor of a second, broader bill, HR 707, introduced by Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., a member of the House Armed Services Committee who has a collection of 103 bipartisan co-sponsors — including Bilirakis — for her legislation.
Castor is calling her bill the Home Front to Heroes Postal Benefits Act.
In a letter to other members of the House seeking co-sponsors, Castor said the government already provides free mail from combat zones, so service members don’t need postage to write home, but there is no corresponding benefit for mail sent from the home front to the troops.
“Military families, many of them in financial distress, are forced to bear the expense of shipping packages and letters on their own,” she said.
Castor’s bill would provide one voucher each month good for mailing a package of up to 15 pounds from the U.S. to a deployed service member. A voucher would be issued each month to the member, who could give it to anyone they choose.
Vouchers would not have to be used in the same month or even the same year as they are issued, and they would not even have to be used to send mail to the same service member who received them. Troops could donate their vouchers to charities that could use them to send packages to someone else, Castor said.
Vouchers would be issued to members deployed overseas or to those hospitalized as a result of injuries or disease incurred in an overseas operation. Castor’s bill also applies to any overseas operation, while the King-Bilirakis bill would be limited to troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Both HR 704 and HR 707 were referred to the House Armed Services Committee, which traditionally does not pass many separate bills, but rather prefers to combine such proposals into the larger annual defense authorization bill, which sets policy for military programs.
The 2010 version of that defense bill will be approved by the committee later this year.
By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 12:34:25 EST
Just as talk gets serious about cutting U.S. troop levels in Iraq, Congress also appears to be getting serious about providing limited free mailing privileges so that letters and small packages can be sent by friends and family to deployed service members.
Two free military mail bills were introduced in the House on Tuesday. One, HR 704, is the reintroduction of a bill sponsored by Reps. Peter King of New York and Gus Bilirakis of Florida, both Republicans, that previously won support in the House as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill but was rejected in negotiations with the Senate.
That bill likely will be pushed aside in favor of a second, broader bill, HR 707, introduced by Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., a member of the House Armed Services Committee who has a collection of 103 bipartisan co-sponsors — including Bilirakis — for her legislation.
Castor is calling her bill the Home Front to Heroes Postal Benefits Act.
In a letter to other members of the House seeking co-sponsors, Castor said the government already provides free mail from combat zones, so service members don’t need postage to write home, but there is no corresponding benefit for mail sent from the home front to the troops.
“Military families, many of them in financial distress, are forced to bear the expense of shipping packages and letters on their own,” she said.
Castor’s bill would provide one voucher each month good for mailing a package of up to 15 pounds from the U.S. to a deployed service member. A voucher would be issued each month to the member, who could give it to anyone they choose.
Vouchers would not have to be used in the same month or even the same year as they are issued, and they would not even have to be used to send mail to the same service member who received them. Troops could donate their vouchers to charities that could use them to send packages to someone else, Castor said.
Vouchers would be issued to members deployed overseas or to those hospitalized as a result of injuries or disease incurred in an overseas operation. Castor’s bill also applies to any overseas operation, while the King-Bilirakis bill would be limited to troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Both HR 704 and HR 707 were referred to the House Armed Services Committee, which traditionally does not pass many separate bills, but rather prefers to combine such proposals into the larger annual defense authorization bill, which sets policy for military programs.
The 2010 version of that defense bill will be approved by the committee later this year.
Marines honored for humanitarian mission
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writerPosted : Thursday Jan 29, 2009 22:02:17 EST
The Corps has authorized a variety of awards for service, including the Humanitarian Service Medal for Marines who served in the nation of Georgia during its brief, bloody war last year with Russia.
The HSM was approved for service members who participated in Operation Assured Delivery, Marine officials said in Marine administrative message 046/09. Launched Aug. 14, 2008, the mission delivered medical supplies, shelter, food and personal hygiene items to civilians in Georgia.
Officials did not say which units Marines eligible for the award were assigned to, but not every Marine who played a role in the operation will receive the medal.
“Only those Marines who directly participated in the immediate humanitarian relief operation in the republic of Georgia for the period of [Aug. 14, 2008] to [Sept. 10, 2008] may be eligible,” the message said. “Deployment to the area of humanitarian assistance in and of itself does not constitute HSM entitlement.”
The Corps also authorized a Joint Meritorious Unit Award to the following:
• Headquarters, Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component, Balad Air Base, Iraq, for service from July 1, 2006 to May 31, 2008
• Headquarters, Iraq Assistance Group, Baghdad, Iraq, for service from May 16, 2007 to May 15, 2008
• Headquarters, Special Operations Command Korea, Camp Kim, Korea, for service from May 1, 2004, to March 31, 2008
• Headquarters, Special Operation Command South, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., for service from Sept. 1, 2006 to July 2, 2008
• Joint Area Support Group-Central, U.S. Embassy Annex, International Zone, Baghdad, for service from Feb 29, 2008 to Oct. 1, 2008
• Headquarters, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk Va., for service from Jan 1, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2006
• NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany (no dates of service were released).
The following have received the Meritorious Unit Commendation:
• I Marine Expeditionary Force, Mojave Viper Support Detachment, for service from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006
• Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., for service from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007
Additionally, the following elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been approved for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal for service from June 13 to Sept. 23, 2008:
• 15th MEU Command Element to include detachments from 9th Communication Battalion, 1st Intelligence Battalion and 1st Radio Battalion.
• Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, to include 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion; 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion; 3rd Platoon, Echo Company, 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion; 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion; 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Tank Battalion; India Company, 3/12.
• Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165, to include detachments from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465, Marine Attack Squadron 311, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13, MALS-16, MALS-39 and Marine Air Control Group 38.
• Combat Logistics Battalion 15.
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writerPosted : Thursday Jan 29, 2009 22:02:17 EST
The Corps has authorized a variety of awards for service, including the Humanitarian Service Medal for Marines who served in the nation of Georgia during its brief, bloody war last year with Russia.
The HSM was approved for service members who participated in Operation Assured Delivery, Marine officials said in Marine administrative message 046/09. Launched Aug. 14, 2008, the mission delivered medical supplies, shelter, food and personal hygiene items to civilians in Georgia.
Officials did not say which units Marines eligible for the award were assigned to, but not every Marine who played a role in the operation will receive the medal.
“Only those Marines who directly participated in the immediate humanitarian relief operation in the republic of Georgia for the period of [Aug. 14, 2008] to [Sept. 10, 2008] may be eligible,” the message said. “Deployment to the area of humanitarian assistance in and of itself does not constitute HSM entitlement.”
The Corps also authorized a Joint Meritorious Unit Award to the following:
• Headquarters, Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component, Balad Air Base, Iraq, for service from July 1, 2006 to May 31, 2008
• Headquarters, Iraq Assistance Group, Baghdad, Iraq, for service from May 16, 2007 to May 15, 2008
• Headquarters, Special Operations Command Korea, Camp Kim, Korea, for service from May 1, 2004, to March 31, 2008
• Headquarters, Special Operation Command South, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., for service from Sept. 1, 2006 to July 2, 2008
• Joint Area Support Group-Central, U.S. Embassy Annex, International Zone, Baghdad, for service from Feb 29, 2008 to Oct. 1, 2008
• Headquarters, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk Va., for service from Jan 1, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2006
• NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany (no dates of service were released).
The following have received the Meritorious Unit Commendation:
• I Marine Expeditionary Force, Mojave Viper Support Detachment, for service from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006
• Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., for service from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007
Additionally, the following elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been approved for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal for service from June 13 to Sept. 23, 2008:
• 15th MEU Command Element to include detachments from 9th Communication Battalion, 1st Intelligence Battalion and 1st Radio Battalion.
• Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, to include 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion; 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion; 3rd Platoon, Echo Company, 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion; 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion; 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Tank Battalion; India Company, 3/12.
• Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165, to include detachments from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465, Marine Attack Squadron 311, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13, MALS-16, MALS-39 and Marine Air Control Group 38.
• Combat Logistics Battalion 15.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Death penalty sought against 4 Marines
The Associated PressPosted : Thursday Jan 22, 2009 11:17:58 EST
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Prosecutors said Wednesday they are seeking the death penalty for four Camp Pendleton-based Marines, including one from North Carolina, charged in the execution-style killings of a fellow serviceman and his wife.
Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, 24, and his wife, Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26, were found gagged, tied and shot in the head Oct. 15 in the living room of their Winchester home. Investigators said the house had been ransacked and a fire had been set, an apparent effort to destroy evidence.
The four defendants are eligible for the death penalty because of the multiple murder and other special circumstance charges they face on top of their first-degree murder charges, Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco said.
“The absolute innocence of a beautiful, loving couple compared to the savagery of the actions of these four equally responsible defendants leads to one conclusion — that this is a death penalty case,” Pacheco said in a statement.
The defendants’ attorneys did not immediately return messages Wednesday night.
Pietrzak, who was born in Poland and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., joined the Marines in 2003 and served in Iraq from July 2005 to February 2006.
He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, where he worked as a helicopter airframe mechanic and supervised two of the defendants.
Quiana worked for the Riverside County Department of Public Health.
The defendants include Lance Cpl. Emrys John, 19, of Maryland; Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 21, of North Carolina; Pvt. Kevin Cox, 21, of Tennessee, and Lance Cpl. Kesaun Sykes, 21, of California.
Miller, Cox and Sykes told police they went to the home to rob Pietrzak. All four said his wife was sexually assaulted, according to an investigator’s affidavit.
The Marines’ special-circumstance allegations also include murder for financial gain, robbery, burglary and rape by foreign object
John, whom prosecutors believe shot the couple, is also charged with a special-circumstance allegation of using a firearm to inflict great bodily injury or death.
The Associated PressPosted : Thursday Jan 22, 2009 11:17:58 EST
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Prosecutors said Wednesday they are seeking the death penalty for four Camp Pendleton-based Marines, including one from North Carolina, charged in the execution-style killings of a fellow serviceman and his wife.
Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, 24, and his wife, Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26, were found gagged, tied and shot in the head Oct. 15 in the living room of their Winchester home. Investigators said the house had been ransacked and a fire had been set, an apparent effort to destroy evidence.
The four defendants are eligible for the death penalty because of the multiple murder and other special circumstance charges they face on top of their first-degree murder charges, Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco said.
“The absolute innocence of a beautiful, loving couple compared to the savagery of the actions of these four equally responsible defendants leads to one conclusion — that this is a death penalty case,” Pacheco said in a statement.
The defendants’ attorneys did not immediately return messages Wednesday night.
Pietrzak, who was born in Poland and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., joined the Marines in 2003 and served in Iraq from July 2005 to February 2006.
He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, where he worked as a helicopter airframe mechanic and supervised two of the defendants.
Quiana worked for the Riverside County Department of Public Health.
The defendants include Lance Cpl. Emrys John, 19, of Maryland; Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 21, of North Carolina; Pvt. Kevin Cox, 21, of Tennessee, and Lance Cpl. Kesaun Sykes, 21, of California.
Miller, Cox and Sykes told police they went to the home to rob Pietrzak. All four said his wife was sexually assaulted, according to an investigator’s affidavit.
The Marines’ special-circumstance allegations also include murder for financial gain, robbery, burglary and rape by foreign object
John, whom prosecutors believe shot the couple, is also charged with a special-circumstance allegation of using a firearm to inflict great bodily injury or death.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Service members rehearse 56th Presidential Inauguration
From providing musical performances to acting as key personnel during the swearing-in process, hundreds of service members were on hand on Jan. 11 around the nation's Capitol to support the 56th Presidential Inaugural rehearsal. Each branch of service played a key role in working out potential issues before the inauguration, said Howard Gantman, staff director of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The rehearsal started promptly at 5:30 a.m., with a rough walk-through, followed by the placement of military bands and joint-service cordon personnel. Army Staff Sgt. Derrick Brooks, who serves with 741st Military Intelligence at Fort George G. Meade, Md., took a position of honor as he stood in for President-elect Barrack Obama. Brooks' speech consisted of nothing more than, "My fellow Americans. God bless America," but event coordinators said his role was critical. Other service members stood in for Vice President-elect Joe Biden and the Obama and Biden families. Navy Seaman LaSean McCray played the role of Michelle Obama. Army Spc. Nicholas Rupple stood in for Biden and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Karen Lowden acted as Jill Biden. Two military children stood in as the Obama girls. Dominique Sewell, the 14-year-old daughter of Army Sgt. 1st Class Natalie Sewell-Johnson, stood in as Malia. Ten-year-old Gianna Justice Samora-Nixon, daughter of Navy Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Nixon, was Sasha. All were selected based on height, weight, gender and ethnicity similarities, explained Air Force Maj. Andra Higgs, an action officer with the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee. The military's involvement in the presidential inauguration is a centuries-old tradition, which honors the commander in chief, recognizes civilian control of the military and celebrates democracy, Higgs said. More than 5,000 servicemembers will participate in the Jan. 20 event and provide ceremonial assistance. "It's an honor for them to be center stage," Higgs said. "We're very glad to have been provided with such world-class support." Today's rehearsal gave members of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee a sense of what they can expect next week, when 240,000 ticketed guests and potentially millions of spectators gather in Washington to see Obama becomes the 44th U.S. president. "It's an honor and a privilege to take part in this [rehearsal]," said Navy Lt. Marcus Jones, who stood in as an Obama family member. "Beside the birth of my children and my marriage, this will be one of the most memorable days of my life."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
