Bin Laden Blames U.S. for Climate Change

The Associated Press via NBC News
Jan. 29, 2010

CAIRO – Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has called for the world to boycott American goods and the U.S. dollar, blaming the United States and other industrialized countries for global warming, according to a new audiotape released Friday.

In the tape, broadcast in part on Al-Jazeera television, bin Laden warned of the dangers of climate change and said that the way to stop it is to bring “the wheels of the American economy” to a halt.

He blamed Western industrialized nations for hunger, desertification and floods across the globe, and called for “drastic solutions” to global warming, and “not solutions that partially reduce the effect of climate change.”

Bin Laden has mentioned climate change and global warning in past messages, but the latest tape was his first dedicated to the topic.

Climate change an ‘actual fact’

The speech, which included almost no religious rhetoric, could be an attempt by the terror leader to give his message an appeal beyond Islamic militants. …

“Speaking about climate change is not an intellectual luxury, the phenomenon is actual fact.”

He pointed out that former President George W. Bush had not signed the Kyoto emissions agreement although most industrialized countries did.

Grave ramifications

Bin Laden targeted the U.S. economy in particular in the recording, calling for a boycott of American products and an end to the dollar’s domination as a world currency.

“We should stop dealings with the dollar and get rid of it as soon as possible,” he said.

“I know that this has great consequences and grave ramifications, but it is the only means to liberate humanity from slavery and dependence on America.” …

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Related reports on this site

Al-Qaida Aims to Hit U.S. with WMD (Jan. 26, 2010)

Al-Qaida’s Next High-Value Target (Jan. 18, 2010)

Where is Osama Bin Laden? (Dec. 10, 2009)

Osama bin Laden Personality Profile (Dec. 6, 2009)

Adapting to Climate Change (Dec. 3, 2009)

Bin Laden Attacks Obama (Sept. 14, 2009)

Bin Laden Rails Against Obama (June 4, 2009)

Al-Qaida Lashes Out At Obama (June 3, 2009)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — January 30, 2009

Blackwater contractors secure the site of a roadside bomb attack near the Iranian embassy in central Baghdad in 2005. (Photo credit: Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP – Getty Images)

Blackwater Booted from Iraq

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I reported that Iraq denied North Carolina-based Blackwater Worldwide (Xe), which guards American diplomats in Iraq, an operating license because of a deadly shooting spree in Baghdad. Iraqi officials said the lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead led to its decision. The shooting strained relations between Washington and Baghdad and fueled the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, where many Iraqis saw the bloodshed as a demonstration of American brutality and arrogance.

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Iranians Seize Iraqi Oil Well, Iraq Official Says

Baghdad in talks to decide next move with Tehran

Gas is vented from the al-Fakkah oil field near Amara, Iraq on Dec. 8. Iraq on Friday said that Iran had seized one oil well in the field. (Photo credit: Atef Hassan / Reuters)

Dec. 18, 2009

BAGHDAD – Iranian troops have crossed into Iraqi territory and seized an oil well that lies in a disputed area along the two countries’ southern border, Iraq’s deputy foreign minster said Friday.

The deputy minister, Mohammed Haj Mahmoud, said Iranian troops seized oil well No. 4 Thursday night in the al-Fakkah oil field, located about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq’s largest.

Oil prices rose slightly after news of the incident.

“We are coordinating with the Oil Ministry regarding this issue. This is not the first time that the Iranians have tried to prevent Iraqis from investing in oil fields in border areas. Tomorrow, we might summon the Iranian ambassador to discuss this issue,” Mahmoud told The Associated Press.

The al-Fakkah field is considered a shared field between Iran and Iraq, meaning both nations are able to pump oil from it, but the Iraqis consider oil well No. 4 theirs.

In Washington, a U.S. official said that although Iranians have crossed the border before, they had not previously ventured this far.

Iraqi security forces were in the area, but there are no reports of any fighting or that any shots were fired, he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

No U.S. troops were in the area. And the Iranians are believed to have left the area, he said.

Such incidents have happened before along the Iran-Iraq border, which was never clearly delineated after the brutal war between the two countries in the 1980s. …

The deputy foreign minister said he did not know whether the Iranians were still in control of the oil well. The U.S. military said it did not have any information on the incident. …

According to Iraq’s state-run Iraqiya television, the National Security Council, headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, was meeting Friday night to discuss the issue. …

Late update

Iranians Seize Iraqi Oil well on Border, Iraq Says

Dec. 18, 2009

BAGHDAD – Iranian forces crossed into Iraq and seized an oil well just over the two countries’ disputed border, Iraq’s government said Friday, prompting a protest from Baghdad and providing a dramatic display of the sometimes tenuous relations between the wary allies.

The incident could trouble Iraq’s drive to attract the international investment needed to develop its beleaguered oil sector, analysts said, and it raised questions about the two countries’ ties, which had improved greatly after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

According to Iraq’s deputy foreign minister, Mohammed Haj Mahmoud, Iranian troops crossed into Iraqi territory on Thursday and seized oil well No. 4 in the al-Fakkah oil field, located in Maysan province about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq’s largest. …

Relations between the two countries have improved dramatically since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam, who in the ’80s attacked Iran and started an almost decade-long war. Since Saddam’s ouster, however, both countries have had Shiite-led governments, a rarity in the mostly Sunni Middle East. …

Iranian soldiers carrying rifles seized the well Thursday night in a 25-car convoy and ordered the Iraqi workers to leave the area, according to a worker at the site who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution. The soldiers then mounted an Iranian flag inside the well, he said.

There were no reports of violence during the incident, and Iranian forces left the well on Friday, leaving the flag behind, the worker said. His account could not be immediately confirmed.

Analysts said it was too early to say whether the incident would mushroom into greater tension but said it could raise concerns with oil companies looking to invest in Iraq. Oil prices rose slightly after news of the incident. …

12/20/09 Update

Iraq says Iranian troops left disputed oil well (AP, Dec. 20, 2009) — A standoff between Iraq and Iran over a remote oil well ended peacefully Sunday as Iranian forces pulled back from the disputed site. … Full report

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MORE IRAQ NEWS

Car Bomb Near Central Baghdad Restaurant Kills 3

Suicide blast kills 3 in Baghdad (Dec. 18, 2009 – At least three people are dead after a suicide bomber exploded outside a popular restaurant in Baghdad. MSNBC.com’s Dara Brown reports. (00:29)

Dec. 17, 2009

BAGHDAD – A car bomb exploded outside a popular restaurant in central Baghdad on Thursday night, killing three people and wounding 16 as diners were out enjoying the start to their weekend, police and hospital officials said.

The explosion happened around 7:10 p.m. outside the City Chef restaurant in the Karradah neighborhood. Diners were among those injured, police said. …

The attack happened just days after three car bombs were detonated across the Tigris River, outside the Green Zone, and a week after suicide bombers killed 127 and wounded more than 500 in Baghdad. …

At an hourlong news conference Wednesday, al-Maliki cited the continuing investigation of the Dec. 8 attacks. He said several security forces were involved in the probe.

He also appeared to say that some of the alleged plotters were connected to security forces, telling a news conference: “The investigation is continuing and different security bodies have played a role in revealing the involved net, which is a big one — 24 from a security body, 13 from another body and eight or nine from another one.” …

The prime minister is running for re-election in March on a campaign of restoring security in Iraq, but has recently come under criticism after a series of blasts targeting government institutions in downtown Baghdad. The attacks have called into question the government’s ability to protect itself and its citizens.

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Pentagon: Insurgents Intercepted Spy Videos

By Pauline Jelinek

Dec. 17, 2009

WASHINGTON – Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from Predator drones, a key weapon in a Pentagon spy system that serves as the military’s eyes in the sky for surveillance and intelligence collection.

Though militants could see the video, there is no evidence they were able to jam the electronic signals from the unmanned aerial craft or take control of the vehicles, a senior defense official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence issues.

Obtaining the video feeds can provide insurgents with critical information about what the military may be targeting, including buildings, roads and other facilities. …

Full report

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — December 18, 2008

Iraq Coup d’État Foiled?

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I reported that at least 25 Iraqi interior ministry officials had been arrested, including several accused of planning a coup; that the Iraqi government accused U.S. forces of killing at least three Trade Ministry employees in a pre-dawn raid on ministry property in Baghdad; and that attackers shot and beheaded Nahla Hussein al-Shaly, 37, leader of the women’s league of the Kurdish Communist Party, reportedly because she promoted women’s rights in Iraq.

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Microsoft Network, promoting its new bing! search engine, recently featured a demo search of “angry Americans.”

It caught my attention, because history has shown that times of economic uncertainty — as we’re currently experiencing while bogged down in two wars in the aftermath of 9/11 — can be a fertile breeding ground for extremist ideologies, as we saw in Germany during the Great Depression followed a humiliating defeat in World War I.

Following are the search results.

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A journalist I hold in the highest esteem, Albert Eisele, editor-at-large of The Hill, was in the gallery at President Obama’s address on health care reform before a Joint Session of Congress Wednesday night, where he made astute first-hand observations of Rep. Michele Bachmann’s behavior with the trained eye of an accomplished journalist.

Eisele, who served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and pitched for the Cleveland Indians, was Washington correspondent for the St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press and Knight-Ridder before becoming press secretary to Vice President Walter Mondale.

He has been a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and is the author of a dual biography of former vice president Hubert Humphrey and former Sen. Eugene McCarthy.

Eisele is a Minnesota native and graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville.

Watching Bachmann During Obama’s Address

Bachmann Brooded, Cantor Thumbed PDA During Obama Address

Rep. Eric Cantor
(Photo credit: Politico)

By Chris Steller
The Minnesota Independent
Sept. 11, 2009

Excerpts

Besides U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson bellowing “You lie!” Wednesday, two leading House Republicans were paying President Obama no mind — or respect — during his Wednesday address to a joint session of Congress.

Minority Whip Eric Cantor, who had promised Republicans would be “very attentive,” instead was seen fingering his Blackberry. And a veteran journalist says Rep. Michele Bachmann displayed the most disdain toward a president he’s seen in more than 40 years of observing such events. …

Bachmann’s behavior caught the eye of Albert Eisele, who writes at MinnPost that he couldn’t see Obama from the press gallery but saw Bachmann “in a black dress that matched her mood … [s]itting directly in front of the president six rows back on the GOP side.”

Bachmann described Obama’s speech afterwards using words like “fabrications” and “falsehoods,” but her body language during the event was even more expressive, according to Eisele:

On a number of those times, when Obama received standing ovations even from Republicans, she was the only member who remained sitting. And on many occasions, when her colleagues applauded Obama, she feebly patty-caked the back of one hand with another instead of bringing her palms together. … I’ve watched every president from Lyndon Johnson to Obama address joint sessions of Congress, including every State of the Union speech since 1966, and I’ve never seen anyone display the disdainful attitude toward a president as Bachmann did.

Cantor and Bachmann may have been playing to the cameras and gallery observers with their bad behavior, hoping to reap rewards from the right. …

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — September 12, 2008

After the Primary Election: Day 3

One year ago today, on the third day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I reported that the the death of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan on September 11 brought the year’s death toll to 112, surpassing the 2007 record toll of 111 and making 2008 the deadliest for American forces in Afghanistan since the U.S. invaded the country in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (Ultimately, 151 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan in 2008 and in 2009 the 112 mark was surpassed in July.) 

I also reported that Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, “I’m not convinced we are winning in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can.” 

One year later, those reports have proven ominously prescient, as borne out by recent headlines from Afghanistan:

Obama War Strategy Setback (Aug. 29, 2009)

Afghan Bombing One of Largest (Aug. 26, 2009)

Afghan War: Obama’s Hard Choices (Aug. 23, 2009)

Afghan War ‘Not Worth Fighting’ (Aug. 20, 2009)

NATO HQ in Afghanistan Attacked (Aug. 15, 2009)

Taliban Counteroffensive (July 25, 2009)

Deadly Day for U.S. in Afghanistan (July 7, 2009)

Bagram Air Base Attacked (June 21, 2009)

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U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq 

As of  Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, at least 4,343 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. …

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 31,495 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department’s weekly tally. …

U.S. casualties in Iraq

Latest identifications:

• Army Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge, 25, Burnsville, Minn., died Sept. 3, 2009 in Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
• Army Staff Spc. Jordan M. Shay, 22, Salisbury, Mass., died Sept. 3, 2009 in Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash. 

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan 

As of Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, at least 742 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. …

Latest identifications:

• Army Sgt. Randy M. Haney, 27, Orlando, Fla., died Sept. 6, 2009 in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. He was assigned to the 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
• Army Staff Sgt. Michael C. Murphrey, 25, Snyder, Texas, died Sept. 6 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
• Army 2nd Lt. Darryn D. Andrews, 34, Dallas, Texas, died Sept. 4, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. 
• Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Baltazar Jr., 19, San Antonio, Texas, died Sept. 3, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
• Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin P. Castiglione, 21, Howell, Mich., died Sept. 3, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Battalion.

Remember Their Sacrifice

Related links

Iraq Casualties

Afghanistan Casualties

BREAKING NEWS

4 U.S. Troops Die as Bombers Strike Across Iraq

A soldier is treated at hospital in Kirkuk, Iraq, Sept. 8, 2009, after he was injured by a roadside bomb that killed the head of an anti-terrorism police unit and four of his bodyguards. (Photo credit: Marwan Ibrahim / AFP – Getty Images)

 
Sept. 8, 2009

BAGHDAD – Roadside bombs killed four U.S. soldiers in Iraq on Tuesday, the military said, in the deadliest day for American troops in the country in weeks, as a series of bomb attacks along roads claimed eight Iraqi lives.

The first roadside bomb struck a patrol in southern Baghdad, killing one American soldier, the military said. A short time later, another bomb targeting a patrol in northern Iraq killed three soldiers, the military said. …

Deadliest day

Tuesday marked the deadliest day for U.S. forces since June 29, when four soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

In all, at least 4,343 U.S. service members have died since the war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The attack on the troops was one of a series of roadside bombings around the country.

An explosion killed the head of an Iraqi anti-terrorism police unit and four of his bodyguards in a northern town that is home to large Shiite population, said Brig. Sarhat Qader of the police in Kirkuk, a city farther north.

The town, Armili, has about 26,000 residents — most of them Shiites from Iraq’s Turkomen ethnic minority — and has been attacked before. In 2007, a suicide truck bomber struck a market there, killing more than 100 people. …

Also Tuesday, a roadside bomb struck a police patrol near the town of Daqouq, killing two policemen and wounding three others, Kirkuk police said. …

Assassination attempt

Also in Baghdad, a Health Ministry official escaped an assassination attempt Tuesday when a roadside bomb hit his convoy in the eastern part of the capital, but one ministry employee died in the blast, Iraqi police and health officials said.

Eight bystanders and four people in the convoy were also wounded in the attack, which appeared directed at Dr. Ali Bustan al-Fartosi, who is in charge of eastern Baghdad’s medical facilities. The doctor escaped unharmed, the officials said.

North of the capital, in the city of Tikrit, a roadside bomb targeting the convoy of the deputy provincial governor injured one of his bodyguards. The deputy governor was unharmed, police said. …

4 U.S. Troops Killed in ‘Complex’ Afghan Attack

Video

The work of war (NBC Nightly News, Sept. 8, 2009) – A U.S. Army Stryker brigade has lost nine men in three weeks in the Arghendab Valley, a Taliban stronghold outside Kandahar — all to IEDs, which are killing Americans in record numbers. NBC’s Richard Engel reports from the front lines. (02:52)

Sept. 8, 2009

KABUL, Afghanistan – Four U.S. troops died Tuesday in a militant attack in eastern Afghanistan, and NATO forces acknowledged for the first time that civilians were among the dozens killed in an airstrike on two hijacked fuel trucks.

KABUL, Afghanistan – Four American service members were killed Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.

U.S. forces spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the troops were caught up in “a complex attack” Tuesday morning in Kunar province, which borders Pakistan. …

McClatchy Co. newspapers reported four U.S. Marines died in an ambush by insurgents. Seven Afghan troops and an interpreter also were killed in the attack and hours-long battle that followed, McClatchy’s Jonathan S. Landay reported. He said the fighting took place after U.S. and Afghan forces were asked to a meeting with local elders near the village of Gangigal some six miles from the Pakistani border.

The deaths bring to 11 the number of U.S. service members killed in September. Last month, when 51 troops died, was the deadliest for American forces in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001 to oust the Taliban regime. …

Also Tuesday, a car bomber attacked an international convoy near the entrance to the military airport in Kabul. The chief of Kabul’s criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said three Afghan civilians were killed and six wounded.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, the third major attack by insurgents in the capital in four weeks.

Afghanistan Analysis

IEDs take toll on Army Stryker brigade

NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel reports in theater on the harsh toll IEDs are taking on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

It’s crunch time in Afghanistan

London-based NBC News Correspondent Jim Maceda, who has reported from Afghanistan since 2001, examines  divergent views on the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. 

9/10/09 Iraq update

Truck Bomb Kills At Least 19 in Iraqi Kurd Village

Iraqis stand on the edge of a crater left by a deadly bomb attack in the village of Wardek on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009. (Photo credit: Mujahed Mohammed / AFP - Getty Images)

 
Sept. 10, 2009

BAGHDAD – A suicide truck bomber hit a residential area of a Kurdish village in northern Iraq before dawn Thursday, killing at least 19 people and injuring 30 others, officials said, in what appeared to be the latest in a string of ethnic attacks in the region. …

A police officer and health official in Mosul said the bomb went off around 12:30 a.m. in the village of Wardek, about 35 miles southeast of the city — a region where U.S. commanders have warned that insurgents appear to be trying to stoke an Arab-Kurdish conflict. …

Video Bomb rocks north (MSNBC, Sept. 10) – A suicide bomber hit a residential village in Iraq’s oil-rich Kurdish north. MSNBC.com’s Dara Brown reports. (00:54)

The blast took down a number of houses and the casualty toll was expected to rise because many people are still missing in the rubble, the officials said.

Local security forces intercepted a second suicide truck bomber, killing the driver and defusing the bomb before it could be detonated, they said. …

The violence that continues to plague Iraq’s north and the capital has forced the government in Baghdad to acknowledge gaps in security.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have identified the split between Iraq’s majority Arabs and the Kurdish minority as a greater long-term threat to Iraq’s stability than the Sunni-Shiite conflict. …

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago Today — September 8, 2008

On the Campaign Trail: Day 56

One year ago today, on the 56th day of my campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I featured reporting from Minnesota Public Radio on the primary election, candidate information from the North Metro TV Voter Guide, my campaign schedule for the final day of the campaign, and updates from the Iraq war.

————

Following is the North Metro TV Voter Guide information featured a year ago today:

Aubrey Immelman (R)

About Me: Aubrey Immelman is a psychology professor at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict, where he has taught since 1991. He was born in South Africa, the descendent of German settler farmers, and first came to the United States 40 years ago at the age of 12. He returned to South Africa to attend college and serve in the military during South Africa’s anti-communist Border War, as an infantry paratrooper and in military psychology. He also served the U.S. military as a consultant to neutralize a specific nuclear threat against the United States. Immelman is married, with four children aged 13, 11, 9, and 2. His service activities include coaching in the Sartell Community Education and Summer Recreation program and storm spotting for Stearns County Skywarn. He spends most of his free time at his children’s football, basketball, and baseball games and taking them fishing.

Important Issues: My signature issue is the unintended consequences of the Iraq war. The invasion of Iraq has exacted a huge cost in American blood, treasure, and loss of international stature. The Iraq war has created complex security challenges for the United States. I will draw on my military experience in counterinsurgency and anti-terrorist operations, nuclear counterproliferation, threat assessment, deterrence, and psychological operations to help mitigate new threats to our national security in the wake of the Iraq war. My other core issues are public safety, enforcing immigration law, border security, and being an effective, rational voice for Sixth District residents.

Political Philosophy: I’m part of a seemingly dying breed: the traditional conservative. Traditional conservatives believe in limited government; in contrast, neoconservatives have given us the most bloated government in the history of our nation. Traditional conservatives want a balanced budget; in contrast, neoconservatives have taken us from surpluses to record deficits. Traditional conservatives don’t mire us in unnecessary foreign entanglements. In short, traditional conservative values promote small government, fiscal restraint, and a strong military focused primarily on national defense, not nation-building or preemptive war.

Endorsements: None sought

————

The situation in Iraq a year ago today was not appreciably different than it is today:

Bombs Wound 14 in Baghdad

A wounded Iraqi policeman arrives at al-Kindi hospital after a roadside bomb attack on his patrol in east Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday. (Photo credit: Karim Kadim / AP)

Suicide Bomber Kills 6, Wounds 54 at Market in Iraq

Muntazer Ahmed, 4, was wounded in a suicide bomb attack on Saturday. (Photo credit: The Associated Press)

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The Change Agenda At a Crossroads

From health care to wars to public anxiety, Obama’s strength as a leader is tested

President Barack Obama walks down the Colonnade of the White House to deliver remarks on the preparation and response efforts surrounding the H1N1 flu virus on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009. (Photo credit: Michael Reynolds / EPA file)

By Scott Wilson

September 6, 2009 

Excerpts

As President Obama’s senior advisers gathered at Blair House at the end of July for a two-day review of their first six months in office, what was meant to be a breath-catching moment of reflection was colored by a sense of unease.

To a sleep-deprived White House staff, the achievements since taking office that chilly morning of Jan. 20 seemed self-evident. The agenda of necessity they had carried out to stabilize the economy was rapidly making room for Obama’s agenda of choice: changing the way Americans receive health care, generate and consume energy, and learn in public school classrooms.

But opinion polls showed support for the president and his policies dipping sharply, and the disheartening numbers had shaken the confidence of some of Obama’s staff. [...]

The slide has only quickened. Emerging from an angry August recess, Obama is weakened politically and faces growing concerns, particularly from within his own party, over his strength as a leader. [...]

Obama built his successful candidacy and presidency around a leadership style that seeks consensus. But he is entering a period when consensus may not be possible on the issues most important to his administration and party. Whatever approach he takes is likely to upset some of his most ardent supporters, many of whom are unwilling to compromise at a time when Democrats control the White House and Congress. [...]

Obama has brought change over his first seven months in office, often through direct government intervention, to areas as different as the conflict in Iraq and the American auto industry.

The economy is improving and bailed-out banks are paying back the money with interest. A smooth Supreme Court selection has brought the first Hispanic justice, Sonia Sotomayor, to the highest bench. America’s standing in the world is improving, according to many polls, after Obama’s widely broadcast address to the Muslim world, prohibition of torture in interrogation and decision to close the military brig at Guantanamo Bay.

But Obama’s spending plans that will require $9 trillion in new borrowing over the next decade have alarmed conservatives in his own party, and he could not head off an investigation by his own Justice Department into the Bush administration’s interrogation policies that he had made clear he did not want. Unemployment is still rising. His decision to expand the war in Afghanistan, deploying thousands of additional U.S. troops, has not come with a clear plan for how to leave.

Even though polls show fallen approval ratings, Obama remains more personally popular than his policies. His senior advisers say his leadership strength derives from the ability to remain calm in the maelstrom of 24-hour news cycles, a mark of his once-long-shot 2008 campaign. The anti-government anger that has risen from a thousand town hall meetings over the recess is now testing Obama’s celebrated communication skills and a political style one confidante described as “unsentimental.” [...]

Political Capital

Activist presidents always have spent political capital pursuing their goals, and Obama has proved the same. [...]

Before Obama’s inauguration, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, set out the administration’s goals for the year.

Major reform targets, particularly in the health care and energy sectors, would not be staged one after the other, as in past administrations, but pursued simultaneously at a time when the private sector had been battered by the financial crisis.

Emanuel’s logic was a warrior’s — that is, the side with the initiative succeeds. Since then, the administration has pushed through a dozen pieces of legislation with little obvious public resistance, including measures to expand health insurance for children, ensure pay equity, regulate tobacco and protect consumers from credit card companies. [...]

The breadth of Obama’s reform plans, coming after the expensive and interventionist economic rescue measures, is also riling conservatives [...] 

Smaller than it was a decade ago, the Republican Party has shed many moderates, leaving few who are willing to work even with a Democratic president who has promised less partisan governing.

“At the root of his difficulties is a misperception on his part of the root cause of the problem,” said Obama critic Sean Wilentz, a Princeton University professor and presidential scholar. “He sees the problem as Washington. Fine. But the basic cause is the evolution of the Republican Party.”

Like Lyndon B. Johnson, Obama is pursuing a broad reform agenda with large Democratic majorities in Congress.

But Wilentz said it is harder for Obama to work across party lines without the collection of moderate Republican senators present in Johnson’s time. [...]

“You can have an out-of-touch Republican Party, but in Washington that does great damage to reform efforts,” Wilentz said. “He has done what he can to put the country on a new track, and in doing so he can’t help but disappoint some of his supporters. But it’s not a fan club.”

Extreme Street Theater

At a late August town hall forum in Spring Valley, Calif., Robert Billburg, a 49-year-old Air Force veteran and Red Cross worker, watched a scene familiar to YouTube fans this summer.

Police conducted body searches at the gymnasium door. Signs depicted Obama as the Joker; others called him a Nazi. [...]

“I think the best description of him is a centrist technocrat,” Billburg said of Obama, whom he supported. “So those on the extremes are going to be very disappointed.”

Increasingly, they are.

During the campaign, Obama pledged to run an administration less concerned by partisanship than by ensuring effective government.

But from his first weeks in office, as his administration worked to secure a stimulus bill the president believed was essential to preventing a broader economic collapse, winning Republican support has been hard. Even the pursuit of it is now viewed by his Democratic base as a sign of weakness. [...]

Holding Onto ‘No Drama’

Governing requires the ability to appeal to Congress and the electorate simultaneously, and Obama is attempting to do that with the patience and unflappability that were the hallmarks of his “no drama” campaign. [...]

Rickey R. Hendon, a Democratic state senator in Illinois who served with Obama in the legislature there, said the president has always been “conciliatory, a consensus seeker” and that “hasn’t changed in Washington, much to his detriment, I believe.” [...]

Related reports

For Obama and Democrats, Colorado becomes less welcoming (Washington Post, Sept. 6, 2009) — Today, the energy that powered Obama to victory has begun to dissipate. Some of his supporters remain on the sidelines; others are, if not disillusioned, questioning what has happened to his presidency. As they look toward 2010, Democrats are nervous. …

Cook Political Report: ‘A dangerous slide’ for Democrats (Politico, Sept. 3, 2009) — “Even if Obama and Democrats are just as popular next November as they were last November, they might stand to lose five to ten seats in the House based on the altered composition of the midterm electorate alone. The latest public opinion diagnostics, however, point to a dangerous slide. As voters’ views of Obama and Democrats’ handling of health care has dimmed, their inclination to elect Democrats to Congress has waned.” … “Right now, we’re looking at a wave cycle, but the question is will it be a small wave or a major wave.” …

Charlie Cook: Dem situation has ‘slipped completely out of control’ (Politico, Aug. 9, 2009) – “Today, The Cook Political Report’s Congressional election model, based on individual races, is pointing toward a net Democratic loss of between six and 12 seats, but our sense, factoring in macro-political dynamics is that this is far too low.” …

Related reports on this site

Democratic Reality Check in 2010? (Aug. 22, 2009)

Barack Obama’s Leadership Style (Feb. 21, 2009)

Sarah Moore and Angela Rodgers in the Capitol rotunda.

Barack Obama: A Question of Toughness (Nov. 2, 2008)

“The Personality Profile of President Barack Obama: Leadership Implications.” Research poster presented by Sarah Moore, 44th annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, April 18, 2009, College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minn. (Supervisor: Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D.)

——

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago Today — September 6, 2008

On the Campaign Trail: Day 54

Old Creamery Arts & Crafts Show in Rice, Minn.

One year ago today, on the 54th day of my campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, volunteers handed out campaign literature in downtown Forest Lake (Washington County) and at the Old Creamery Arts & Crafts Show in Rice (Benton County), while I had a meet-and-greet at the Saint John’s University football season opener in Collegeville.

VOTER GUIDE

As noted before, media organizations have begun publishing their voter guides for the 2008 election. Today, I feature information from the WCCO-TV / WCCO-Radio Voters’ Guide.

Biographical Information

Address: 99 – 8th St. N.
City/Town: Sartell, MN 56377
Campaign Phone: (320) 240-6828
Web Site: www.immelman.us
Email: info@immelman.net
Age: 52
Marital Status: Married
Family: Four children (13, 11, 9, 2)
Religion: Catholic
Education/Degrees: Ph.D., Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (with coursework at the University of Wyoming and the University of Maine), 1991
Military Experience: Infantry paratrooper and military psychology officer, South African Defense Force (Cold War era counterinsurgency Border War); U.S. military consultant (nuclear counterproliferation, threat assessment, deterrence)
Experience: Volunteered in Patty Wetterling’s congressional campaign (motivated by a shared interest in public safety issues)
Community Involvement: Sartell Community Education and Summer Recreation program; Stearns County Skywarn
Endorsements: None sought
Your Platform: U.S. national security

Economy

I’m a traditional fiscal conservative who believes in low, equitable, and fair taxation to fund essential government functions; fiscal restraint; and a balanced budget. We have no business spending hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars toppling foreign dictators that pose no national security threat to the United States and then rebuilding their countries on the back of the U.S. taxpayer while our own vital needs remain unmet.

Iraq and the War on Terrorism

My signature issue is U.S. national security. My main concern (and chief reason for running) is the unintended consequences of the ill-conceived Iraq war. More than just exacting a huge cost in American blood, treasure, and loss of international stature, the invasion of Iraq has complicated the national security environment in the Middle East for the United States.

We should reduce our military footprint in Iraq in a manner that does not jeopardize recent security gains or enable Iran to exploit the disrupted balance of power created by the removal of its mortal enemy, Saddam Hussein. We need to shift more of our military assets and resources to counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and the Pakistani border region to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida. In addition, there needs to be greater recognition that terrorism cannot be defeated by military means alone. We must invest in force multipliers that enhance our prospects for victory in the war on terror.

How would you transform the US energy policy?

I do not believe a freshman member of Congress has the capacity to transform U.S. energy policy. However, within the parameters of the energy policy formulated by the next president, I will support all reasonable means to increase supply, reduce demand, and develop energy alternatives that reduce our reliance on Middle Eastern oil.

Also, we should be mindful of the fact that the cost of energy to the U.S. consumer is influenced by our foreign, monetary, and fiscal policies. We should not be printing and borrowing money to fund unnecessary wars. Monetary and fiscal policies that increase the money supply and rely on deficit spending to pay for Iraq contribute to inflation and drive down the value of the dollar, which adds to the high price at the pump and the grocery checkout counter.

RELATED STORY

Michele Bachmann Blows Off St. Cloud Times Questionnaire

Her primary opponent, Immelman, filled out and returned the questionaire. Larry Schumacher at the St. Cloud Times has the story. …

Comments:

Immelmann sounds like a true conservative…. his comments on fiscal policy make sense to me.
– Lady …

Oh, and I forgot the add, people in the northwest part of the district actually read the newspaper…. Bachmann’s campaign would have gotten some free press and a good compare/contrast layout if they had bothered to respond. The lack of response amazes me.
– Lady …

Expand domestic drilling and taking an aggressive approach to stop illegal immigration, I like that! Why won’t liberals take a common sense approach like this?
– dare2sayit.com …

He sounds like a more genuine small-government Republican than the incumbent. Congress, both under Republican and Democratic leadership, has never been honest about including the cost of the Iraq war in the budget. Hell, the last Republican led Congress under Dennis Hastert/Tom DeLay didn’t even do serious work on budget bills…. we ran on ‘continuing resolutions’. They were too busy with Terry Schiavo’s feeding tube and flag burning legislation.
– Anonymous …

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The Washington Post reports in its Sunday edition that a NATO fact-finding team estimates that about 125 people, many of them civilians, were killed in a U.S. airstrike called in by German forces in Afghanistan, guided by a lone informant. Excerpts from that report will be posted here when it becomes available.

Afghans bury some of the victims of an airstrike in a mass grave near Kunduz on Friday, Sept. 4, 2009. (Photo credit: Reuters)

Sole Informant Guided Decision on Afghan Strike

From left, Col. Georg Klein, left, commander of the German base in Kunduz, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, NATO’s chief of communications in Kabul, visit the site. (Photo credit: Anja Niedringhaus / AP – Washington Post)

By Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Sept. 6, 2009

Excerpts

HAJI SAKHI DEDBY, Afghanistan, Sept. 5 — To the German commander, it seemed to be a fortuitous target: More than 100 Taliban insurgents were gathering around two hijacked fuel tankers that had become stuck in the mud near this small farming village.

The grainy live video transmitted from an American F-15E fighter jet circling overhead, which was projected on a screen in a German tactical operations center four miles north of here, showed numerous black dots around the trucks — each of them a thermal image of a human but without enough detail to confirm whether they were carrying weapons.

An Afghan informant was on the phone with an intelligence officer at the center, however, insisting that everybody at the site was an insurgent, according to an account that German officers here provided to NATO officials.

Based largely on that informant’s assessment, the commander ordered a 500-pound, satellite-guided bomb to be dropped on each truck early Friday. The vehicles exploded in a fireball that lit up the night sky for miles, incinerating many of those standing nearby.

A NATO fact-finding team estimated Saturday that about 125 people were killed in the bombing, at least two dozen of whom — but perhaps many more — were not insurgents. To the team, which is trying to sort out this complicated incident, mindful that the fallout could further sap public support in Afghanistan for NATO’s security mission here, the target appeared to be far less clear-cut than it had to the Germans. [...]

In Kabul, the Afghan capital, relatives of two severely burned survivors being treated at an intensive-care unit said Taliban fighters forced dozens of villagers to assist in moving the bogged-down tankers.

“They came to everyone’s house asking for help,” said Mirajuddin, a shopkeeper who lost six of his cousins in the bombing — none of whom, he said, was an insurgent. “They started beating people and pointing guns. They said, ‘Bring your tractors and help us.’ What could we do?” [...]

The decision to bomb the tankers based largely on a single human intelligence source appears to violate the spirit of a tactical directive aimed at reducing civilian casualties that was recently issued by U.S. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the new commander of the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

The directive states that NATO forces cannot bomb residential buildings based on a sole source of information and that troops must establish a “pattern of life” to ensure that no civilians are in the target area. Although the directive does not apply to airstrikes in the open, NATO officials said it is McChrystal’s intent for those standards to apply to all uses of air power, except when troops are in imminent danger. [...]

The incident has generated intense disquiet among Afghans, many of whom say military operations since the fall of the Taliban government in late 2001 have resulted in an unacceptably high number of civilian casualties. Local media reports have been filled with people alleging — some with little proof — that scores of civilians were killed in the airstrike. [...]

Full story

9/6/09 Update

U.S.-German rift over Afghan deaths case (AP, Sept. 6, 2009) — An airstrike by U.S. fighter jets that appears to have killed Afghan civilians could turn into a major dispute between NATO allies Germany and the United States, as tensions began rising Sunday over Germany’s role in ordering the attack. … The German Defense Ministry, meanwhile, pushed back against a story published in the Washington Post that German officials said painted their commander in a poor light and played up the U.S. version of events. … More

11/26/09 Update

German military chief removed over airstrike (AP, Nov. 26, 2009) — The German military’s top official has been removed for failing to properly pass on information to political leaders about a September airstrike in Afghanistan that killed civilians. The new defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, told parliament that the military’s inspector general, Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan — the equivalent of chief of staff — had asked to be relieved of his duties. … More

——

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago Today — September 5, 2008

On the Campaign Trail: Day 53

With two young supporters, Michael (6) and Steven (10), at Lakeside Memorial Park, Forest Lake.

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 53rd day of my campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I reported on my campaign stops the previous day north of the St. Paul metro in the cities of Wyoming and Forest Lake in Washington County on my way to the final night of the Republican National Convention, where I observed the action outside the convention hall. I also featured information from the St. Paul Pioneer Press voter guide regarding my campaign platform and issue positions.

Campaign SUV — my 1989 Jeep Cherokee in Wyoming, Minn.

On the Sidelines of the Republican National Convention

John McCain and George W. Bush impersonators in Rice Park, St. Paul, outside the Xcel Energy Center, venue for the 2008 Republican National Convention, Sept. 4, 2008.

The MSNBC outdoor set in Rice Park outside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, venue for the 2008 Republican National Convention, Sept. 4, 2008. 

Pioneer Press Voter Guide

Party: Republican Age: 52 Incumbent: No Occupation: Psychology professor, military/security consultant Address: P.O. Box 117 Sartell, MN 56377

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I was startled today when web traffic to this site increased more than 500 percent, with visits from 41 states and 19 countries. It took no more than a cursory review of site statistics to establish that visitors were seeking information on U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, killed in action Aug. 14, 2009 in Helmand province, Afghanistan. 

What brought visitors to this site was a Department of Defense notification of the death of Lance Cpl. Bernard, which I posted on this site Aug. 18, 2009 — as I do to honor the sacrifice of every service member who makes the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq or Afghanistan.

What makes the death of Lance Cpl. Bernard different — and stimulated the extraordinary public interest in his fate – is that the attack that ended his young life was captured on film.

Here is his story.

Calm — Then Sudden Death in Afghan War

In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, patrols on point through the bazaar in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Less than an hour later, Bernard was hit with a rocket propelled grenade and later died of his wounds. (Photo credit: Julie Jacobson / AP)

By Alfred de Montesquiou and Julie Jacobson

Sept. 4, 2009

DAHANEH, Afghanistan – The pomegranate grove looked ominous.

The U.S. patrol had a tip that Taliban fighters were lying in ambush, and a Marine had his weapon trained on the trees 70 yards away. “If you see anything move from there, light it up,” Cpl. Braxton Russell told him.

Thirty seconds later, a salvo of gunfire and RPGs — rocket-propelled grenades — poured out of the grove. “Casualty! We’ve got a casualty!” someone shouted. A grenade had hit Lance Cpl. Joshua “Bernie” Bernard in the legs.

U.S. Marines and Afghan National Army soldiers take cover behind a mud wall during a firefight with Taliban insurgents who were firing from an orchard across an open field in the village of Dahaneh, Afghanistan,  Aug. 14. (Photo credit: Julie Jacobson / AP)

A Marine and son of a Marine, a devout Christian, Iraq war veteran and avid hiker, home-schooled in rural Maine, Bernard was about to become the next fatality in the deadliest month of the deadliest year since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The troops of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines had been fighting for three days to wrest this town in southern Afghanistan from the Taliban who had ruled it for four years. As dusk approached on Friday, Aug. 14, things had quieted down. The Taliban seemed to have gone. Another day had passed in the long, hard slog for U.S. troops serving on the parched plains and mountains of Afghanistan, in a war that has steadily intensified.

Then, as the Marines were enjoying some downtime, reports of mortar, machine-gun and sniper fire sent them scrambling again. The 11 Americans and 10 Afghan soldiers edged their way into the town’s abandoned bazaar. With them were Associated Press correspondent Alfred de Montesquiou, AP photographer Julie Jacobson and AP Television News cameraman Ken Teh.

 Eyes scanning rooftops for gunmen and the ground for buried bombs, the patrol pushed past shops still smoldering from U.S. mortar shells, past Taliban posters on the walls exhorting the populace to fight the Americans. Bernard, his face daubed in gray and brown camouflage paint, was the point man.

A young Afghan in front of the family store showed the patrol a patch of upturned earth in a ditch. It was here that insurgents had fired their mortars a few minutes earlier.

“But don’t say I told you, or they’ll kill me,” the man said.

As he spoke, the Marines got word of the ambush being readied nearby. Two Cobra helicopters circling overhead fired Hellfire missiles at a mortar position. The Marines weren’t sure this had settled the matter with the Taliban. They pushed on.

Then they reached the pomegranate grove.

‘I can’t breathe’

At first Jake Godby thought Bernard had stepped on an explosive device. Godby, a 24-year-old 2nd lieutenant from Fredericksburg, Va., quickly regrouped his men and directed the returning fire.

The squad found itself stuck under sustained and heavy fire with a wounded man on a narrow crossroad — buildings behind them, insurgents hidden in the orchard in front of them, and a large puddle from a broken water pump in the middle. Godby had the troops advance to the cover of a mud wall and an irrigation ditch. The orange streaks of bullets whizzing in every direction grew visible as the light faded.

Bernard lay on the ground, two Marines standing over him exposed, trying to help. A first tourniquet on Bernard’s leg broke. A medic applied another.

“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” Bernard said. Troops crawling under the bullets dragged him to the MRAP, the mine-resistant armored vehicle that accompanied the patrol.

“The other guys kept telling him ‘Bernard, you’re doing fine, you’re doing fine. You’re gonna make it. Stay with me Bernard!’ He (a Marine) held Bernard’s head in his hands when he seemed to go limp and tried to keep him awake. A couple more ran in with a stretcher,” Jacobson recalled in the journal.

“Another RPG hit the mud wall on the other side of the street from where we were, about 5 yards away. It was a big BOOM, and I just lay my face in the dirt and everything went quiet for about 10 seconds. It was just silence like I was wearing noise-canceling headphones or like world peace had finally descended upon the earth. The air was white with sand. Then I started feeling the rubble fall down around me. And I thought, ‘Is this what it’s like to be shell shocked? Am I all still here? I can’t believe I am.’

“I was fine and surprised at how calm I was and that I could actually still hear.”

Incoming grenades

The rocket-propelled grenade exploded in a powerful pinkish blast, lighting up the scene and briefly knocking out de Montesquiou and Staff Sgt. Alexander Ferguson. When Ferguson recovered, he helped haul Bernard inside the vehicle. Bernard was driven back to base some 500 yards from there, receiving first aid along the way. Minutes later, a helicopter evacuated him to Camp Leatherneck, the main Marine compound in southern Afghanistan. His vital signs were stable when he left.

At the ambush site, the fighting continued uninterrupted for 10 to 15 minutes. The men could see the grenades coming in at them, and even some of the machine gunners. They estimated they were facing six to eight fighters. …

The fighting ebbed with nightfall. Godby and some of the Marines equipped with night vision glasses pushed deeper into the orchard, but the insurgents were gone. Intelligence pointed to three enemy dead, several Marines said, but it could not be confirmed.

 That night, officers assembled the platoon in a darkened room of the run-down house where the Marines had camped after taking Dahaneh two days earlier. There the officers delivered the news: Bernard had died of a blood clot in his heart on the operating table. He was Golf Company’s third fatality since arriving in Afghanistan in May.

Bernard was the 19th American to die in Afghanistan in August. Fifty-one Marines, soldiers and seamen lost their lives that month. Of the 739 Americans killed in and around Afghanistan since 2001, 151 died last year and 180 so far this year.

Faith, honor

Down a rural dirt road in New Portland, western Maine, John and Sharon Bernard sat on their porch and talked about their son.

Joshua, they said, loved literature and showed early interest in the Bible and Christianity. “He had a very strong faith right from the beginning,” his mother said.

His father described him as “humble, shy, unassuming — the very first to offer help.” He didn’t smoke or drink, and always opened the door for others. His main friends were his church group, whom he would visit when on leave, and his sister Katy, 20.

U.S. Marines pay their respects to Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard during a memorial service at a forward operating base Aug. 27, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Bernard was mortally wounded duirng a Taliban ambush on Aug. 14. (Photo: Julie Jacobson / AP)

Bernard’s father is a retired Marine 1st sergeant. Three weeks before the Aug. 14 ambush that killed his son, he had written to his congressman, Rep. Michael Michaud, expressing frustration at what he described as a change in the Afghanistan rules of engagement to one of “spare the civilians at all cost.” He called this “disgraceful, immoral and fatal” to U.S. forces in combat.

Joshua loved videogames and snowboarding, and hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail with his father. He hoped to become a U.S. marshal.

“Service and personal honor,” is how his father summarized his son.

Dealing with regrets

Three days after Bernard’s death, as his belongings were being packed for shipment to his family, Cpl. Joshua Jackson, his squad leader, was still referring to him in the present tense.

“He definitely doesn’t hesitate,” said Jackson, 23, from Copley, Ohio. “He’s very good, he definitely has the nerves to do what he’s needed to do.”

He called Bernard “a true-heartedly very good guy … probably one of the best guys I’ve known in my entire life.”

The hardest part is “just wondering if there’s something that I could have done different, or maybe prevented him from dying,” Jackson said. “But that’s something we’ve all got to deal with.”

“I think it’s got to do with being a Marine; you just carry on,” said Godby. That night he got two hours of sleep. Before dawn, his platoon took part in a raid on a suspected Taliban stronghold.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard. (Photo: USMC via AP)

Bernard was determined, his comrades said. That’s why he was chosen as the squad’s point man and navigator, moving at the front of his unit.

Lance Cpl. Jason Pignon, 22, from Thayer, Ill., was his close friend. They had been in the same platoon since 2007 when they joined “the Fleet,” as Marines call the units preparing to deploy. They served together near Fallujah in Iraq in 2008, and again in Afghanistan.

Gone quickly

It had all gone very quickly. It was late afternoon when the Taliban fired their first RPGs. It was dusk when the Marine was driven away in the armored vehicle. And it was night when the patrol returning to base saw the dark silhouette of the helicopter that flew him away.

Lance Cpl. Joshua “Bernie” Bernard was 21 years old.

Related reports from MSNBC

10/13/09 Update

Fallen Marine’s Father Wants Change

Ret. Marine 1st Sgt. John Bernard, right, with his wife, Sharon and late son, Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, at Joshua’s graduation from Marine boot camp, on Parris Island, S.C., in March 2007. (Photo credit: John Bernard / AP)

Oct. 13, 2009

NEW PORTLAND, Maine – It was the last way John Bernard would have wanted his voice to gain prominence in the national debate over the war in Afghanistan.

The retired Marine had been writing to lawmakers for weeks complaining of the new rules of engagement he believed put U.S. troops at unacceptable risk in the insurgency-wracked country. He got little response.

Then Bernard’s only son, 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard — a Marine like his dad — was killed in an insurgent ambush in Afghanistan’s volatile Helmand province, the latest victim of a surge in U.S. combat deaths.

Three weeks later, Joshua became the face of that toll when The Associated Press published photos of the dying Marine against his father’s wishes and John Bernard was thrust into a national debate about the role of the press in wartime.

Suddenly, for all the worst reasons, John Bernard’s voice was being heard.

New resonance to his view

The loss of his son and the furor over the photo have given new resonance to his view that changes must be made in how the war is fought before President Barack Obama sends any more troops to battle the Taliban and al-Qaida.

“For better or for worse, I may be the face of this. That’s fine,” said Bernard, sitting on his porch as he drank coffee from a Marine Corps mug. “As soon as someone bigger can run with it, they can have the whole thing.”

Bernard’s criticism is aimed at new rules of engagement imposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the senior American commander in Afghanistan, five weeks before Joshua Bernard was killed. They limit the use of airstrikes and require troops to break off combat when civilians are present, even if it means letting the enemy escape. They also call for greater cooperation with the Afghan National Army.

Under those rules, John Bernard said, Marines and soldiers are being denied artillery and air support for fear of killing civilians, and the Taliban is using that to its tactical advantage. In a letter to his congressman and Maine’s U.S. senators, Bernard condemned “the insanity of the current situation and the suicidal position this administration has placed these warriors in.”

“We’ve abandoned them in this Catch-22 where we’re supposed to defend the population, but we can’t defend them because we can’t engage the enemy that is supposed to be the problem,” he said in an interview with the AP.

The military says the new rules, while riskier in the short run, will ultimately mean fewer casualties.

Before Joshua died, his father lived quietly as a professional carpenter and church volunteer.

Son hit by grenade

That changed on Aug. 14, when Joshua was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade while acting as point man for his squad in the town of Dahaneh. He died that night on the operating table.

On Sept. 4, the AP distributed a photo of the mortally wounded Marine being tended to by comrades. Many newspapers opted against using the photo, and the distribution launched a fierce public debate, especially after Defense Secretary Robert Gates publicly criticized the AP.

John Bernard still believes the AP’s decision to release the photo — to show the horror of war and the sacrifice of those fighting it — was inexcusable, but he says the bigger issue is how the war is being conducted.

As he sees it, the U.S. was right to go to war in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but eight years later the focus has shifted to counterinsurgency instead of hunting down the enemy. Marines are trained to “kill people and break things,” not to be police officers and nation-builders, he says.

The Taliban “are tenacious and you have to fight them with the same level of tenacity,” Bernard said. “If you’re going to try to go over there as a peacekeeper, you’re going to get your butt handed to you, and that’s what’s going on right now.”

Bernard also disagrees with U.S. troops working side by side with Afghan soldiers and police. The mission on which his son was killed was compromised by someone who tipped off the Taliban, he says, citing gunfire from all directions that targeted the Marines’ helicopter when it landed. Bernard believes the Marines were led into a trap.

Writes a blog to share views

Bernard writes a blog ["Let Them Fight or Bring Them Home" -- link added] sharing his views with others.

“I don’t think John changed because his son died,” his pastor, the Rev. Valmore Vigue, said. “He was committed to this cause because he believed it was right, and that’s why he’s doing it.”

It’s been a little more than a month since Joshua was buried in a small cemetery about five miles from their 1865 farmhouse in the rolling hills of western Maine, where the leaves of maples, oak, birch and poplars are turning fiery red, orange and yellow.

Bernard has accepted the loss, but his grief is obvious. He pauses from time to time to take deep breaths as he speaks of his son. Several times, he closes his eyes, as if remembering.

Bernard, 55, joined the Marines in 1972 and served 26 years on active and reserve duty, leading a platoon as a scout sniper in the first Gulf War in 1991. Physically fit, with closely cropped hair and a Marine Corps tattoo on his arm, the retired first sergeant remains a competitive shooter.

He and his wife, Sharon, raised Joshua and their daughter, Katie, 25, in New Portland, population 800. The family attended Crossroads Bible Church in nearby Madison.

Father and son shared the same philosophy: service to God, family, country and Marines — in that order, Bernard said.

Joshua was quiet, polite and determined. He led a Bible study in Afghanistan and earned the call sign “Holy Man.” He also was a crack shot — best in his company, his father said.

Request denied for artillery fire support

Bernard says the battle that claimed Joshua’s life was just one example of all that’s wrong in Afghanistan.

When four Marines were killed in another ambush, near the Pakistan border, a McClatchy Newspapers reporter embedded with the unit wrote that its request for artillery fire support was declined because of the rules of engagement. The reporter quoted Marines as saying women and children were replenishing the insurgents’ ammunition.

In another recent incident, an Afghan police officer on patrol with U.S. soldiers opened fire on the Americans, killing two of them. The assailant managed to escape.

The solution isn’t that complicated, Bernard said. He wants the U.S. military to return to its original mission of chasing and killing the Taliban and al-Qaida. Otherwise, he said, bring the troops home.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, raised Bernard’s concerns to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during an Armed Services Committee meeting last month.

“Getting this right in the long run will actually result in fewer casualties,” Mullen said, according to a transcript of the hearing. “That doesn’t mean risk isn’t up higher now, given the challenges we have and the direction that McChrystal has laid out.”

Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, also raised Bernard’s concerns in a letter to Gates, requesting that someone from the Pentagon chief’s office formally contact Bernard. So far, no one has.

As a retired Marine, Bernard said he’s obligated to speak up. His son is now gone, but he said others are still at risk.

“We’ve got guys in harm’s way getting shot at and getting killed,” he said. “To me, it’s immoral that anybody in this country wouldn’t have that first and last on their minds.”

——

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago Today — September 4, 2008

On the Campaign Trail: Day 52

One year ago today, on the 52nd day of my campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I featured information from the League of Women Voters of Minnesota Voter Guide regarding his campaign platform and issue positions. Following are some excerpts from the voters’ guide.

1.  Why are you seeking a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives?

4.  Do you believe healthcare is the responsibility of business, government and/or individuals? What is your vision for healthcare in the United States?

5.  What are your top three foreign policy priorities?

6.  What federal action to do you support to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which energy, environment, food, health and security impacts on the nation and the world?

7.  What steps should be taken to lower the United States’ deficit?

8.  Is there a role for the federal government in assisting to alleviate the mortgage loan crisis?

9.  What should the federal government do to address the state of the nation’s infrastructure?

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5 Coordinated Bombings Hit Baghdad Mosques, Killing at Least 29 

Karim Kadim / AP

July 31, 2009

BAGHDAD – Bombs exploded near five Shiite mosques in Baghdad, killing at least 29 people, in an apparent coordinated attack that targeted worshippers leaving Friday prayers, Iraqi police and hospital officials said.

The bombings shattered a period of relative calm in the Iraqi capital, raising to at least 306 the number of Iraqis killed in what has been one of the least deadly months for both Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops since the war began. Seven American troops have been killed — the lowest monthly total since the war started in March 2003, according to an AP tally. …

The deadliest attack Friday came when a car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab, killing at least 24 people and wounding 17 others, said two Iraqi police officials and a medical official.

At about the same time, almost simultaneous explosions struck near the al-Rasoul mosque near the Jisr Diyala bridge, in southern Baghdad, killing four worshippers and wounding 17 others, the two police officials said.

A roadside bomb exploded near al-Hakim mosque in Kamaliyah area in eastern Baghdad, wounding six worshippers. A bomb near Imam al-Sadiq mosque in the religiously mixed neighborhood of Ilam in southwestern Baghdad wounded 4, while a bomb near the al-Sadrain mosque in the Zafaraniyah area in southeastern Baghdad killed one and wounded seven worshippers. …

Only three other months this year saw fewer Iraqis killed since the AP began tracking war-related fatalities in May 2005. There were 242 deaths in January, 288 in February and 225 in May. …

American troops, though, continue to be targeted by insurgents. On Friday, rockets struck a U.S. base outside Iraq’s second largest city of Basra, but there were no reports of casualties. Three U.S. soldiers were killed earlier this month in a similar attack at the base. …

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Iraq: Key Figures Since the War Began 

Aug 1, 2009

U.S. troop levels

• October 2007: 170,000 at peak of troop buildup
• July 31, 2009: 131,000

Casualties

• Confirmed U.S. military deaths as of July 30, 2009: at least 4,329
• Confirmed U.S. military wounded (hostile) as of July 31, 2009: 31,454
• Confirmed U.S. military wounded (non-hostile, using medical air transport) as of July 4, 2009: 37,613
• U.S. military deaths for July 2009: 7 (lowest number since the war began in March 2003)
• Deaths of civilian employees of U.S. government contractors as of June 30, 2009: 1,395
• Iraqi deaths in July 2009 from war-related violence: at least 308 (down from 447 in June; only three months – all of them in 2009 – have seen fewer Iraqis killed since the AP began tracking war-related fatalities in May 2005)
• Assassinated Iraqi academics as of June 16, 2009: 423
• Journalists killed on assignment as of July 31, 2009: 139

Cost

• More than $669 billion, according to the National Priorities Project

Oil production

• Prewar: 2.58 million barrels per day
• July 9, 2009: 2.48 million barrels per day

Population displacement

• Prewar: 500,000 Iraqis living abroad
• June 5, 2009: more than 1.5 million Iraqis living abroad, mainly in Syria and Jordan
• June 5, 2009: more than 2.8 million currently displaced inside Iraq

Sources: The Associated Press, State Department, Defense Department, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, The Brookings Institution, International Organization for Migration, Committee to Protect Journalists, National Priorities Project, The Brussels Tribunal, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

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8/1/09 Update

U.S. Troops Now a ‘Coalition of One’ in Iraq

A U.S. soldier collects his gear as U.S. troops prepare to leave their base after handing it over to the Iraqi forces in Qurna, 90 kilometers north of Basra, Iraq, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. (Photo credit: Nabil al-Jurani / AP)

Aug. 1, 2009

BAGHDAD – The war in Iraq was truly an American-only effort Saturday after Britain and Australia, the last of its international partners, pulled out.

Little attention was paid in Iraq to what effectively ended the so-called coalition of the willing, with the U.S. — as the leader of Multi-National Force, Iraq — letting the withdrawals pass without any public demonstration. …

At its height, the coalition numbered about 300,000 soldiers from 38 countries — 250,000 from the United States, about 40,000 from Britain, and the rest ranging from 2,000 Australians to 70 Albanians. But most of the United States’ traditional European allies, those who supported actions in Afghanistan and the previous Iraq war, sat it out.

It effectively ended this week with Friday’s departure of Australian troops and the expiration of the mandate for the tiny remaining British contingent after Iraq’s parliament adjourned without agreeing to allow the troops to stay to protect southern oil ports and train Iraqi troops. …

The coalition had a troubled history and began to crumble within months of the U.S.-led invasion as many countries faced political and social unrest over an unpopular war.

Critics said the tiny contingents that partnered with the coalition, such as Estonia, Albania and Romania, gave the U.S. token international support for the invasion.

Mass protests were held in many countries, including Spain, which was one of the most notable withdrawals from the coalition. In 2004, a bombing attack in Madrid linked to Islamic extremists helped overturn the political establishment in Spain and the new leadership pulled out the Spanish troops.

By January 2007, the combined non-U.S. contingent had dwindled to just over 14,000. By October 2007, it stood at 20 nations and roughly 11,400 soldiers. …

American combat forces withdrew from Iraq’s urban areas at the end of June and all troops are to withdraw by the end of 2011, according to the agreement. President Barack Obama has ordered the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by Aug. 31, 2010, leaving roughly 50,000 troops to train and advise Iraqi security forces. …

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago Today — July 31, 2008 

On the Campaign Trail: Day 17

One year ago today, on the 17th day of my campaign campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I criticized Rep. Bachmann for talking almost exclusively about energy issues such as the price of gasoline in her reelection campaign, while ignoring important national security concerns.

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U.S. Confirms Identity of Captured Soldier

Video

Captured soldier ID’d as 23-year-old (MSNBC, July 19, 2009) — A U.S. soldier who is apparently being held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan has been identified as 23-year-old Bowe Bergdahl of Ketchum, Idaho. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports. (02:43)

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon on Sunday confirmed that an American soldier who went missing from his base in Afghanistan has been captured and identified him as a private from Idaho serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment.

The Defense Department released the name of Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, one day after he was seen in a video posted online as saying he was “scared I won’t be able to go home.” …

The Pentagon statement said Bergdahl’s status was listed as whereabouts unknown on July 1 and was changed to missing-captured on July 3. He is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

The soldier in the video had his head shaved and was seen with the start of a beard. He was sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Early in the video one captor held the soldier’s dog tag up to the camera. His name and ID number were clearly visible. He was shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged.

The soldier gave his name, age and hometown on the video, which was released on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban. He said the date was July 14 and that he was captured when he lagged behind on a patrol.

He was interviewed in English by his captors. He was asked his views on the war, which he called extremely hard; his desire to learn more about Islam; and the morale of American soldiers, which he said was low.

Asked how he was doing, the soldier said: “Well I’m scared, scared I won’t be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner.”

He later choked up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.

“I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day when I’m gone,” he said.

He was prompted by his interrogators to give a message to the American people.

“To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it’s like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home,” he said. “Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country. Please bring us home. It is America and American people who have that power.”

A U.S. military spokeswoman in Afghanistan, Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, said the Taliban was using their captive for propaganda.

“I’m glad to see he appears unharmed, but again, this is a Taliban propaganda video,” she said. “They are exploiting the soldier in violation of international law.” …

On July 2, the U.S. military said an American soldier had disappeared after walking off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghan counterparts and was believed to have been taken prisoner. …

Afghans in contact with the Taliban told the AP that the soldier was held by a Taliban group led by a commander called Maulvi Sangin, who operates in the area [Paktika province] where the American went missing. They said the fighters initially planned to smuggle the soldier across the border into Pakistan but ruled that out because of U.S. missile strikes and Pakistani bombing attacks against militant targets in the area. Instead, they decided to move him north into Taliban-controlled areas of Ghazni province. …

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the militants holding the soldier haven’t yet set any conditions for his release. 

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Earlier report: Taliban threatens to kill captured U.S. soldier (scroll down)

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9/30/09 Update

Search for Captured U.S. Soldier Yields Few Clues

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, in an undated photo provided by the Bergdahl family and released by the Idaho National Guard. Bergdahl disappeared June 30, 2009 in Afghanistan (Photo credit: Bergdahl family / AP)

By Jason Straziuso

Sept. 30, 2009

KABUL – The troops hunting for the young private have little to go on: He disappeared near the border with Pakistan, his Taliban captors released a propaganda video of him two weeks later, downcast and frightened. Then, at least publicly, nothing about the only U.S. soldier missing in the Afghan war.

U.S. military officials in Afghanistan say they are still searching for 23-year-old Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, who disappeared June 30 — three months ago on Wednesday — but they reveal little else for fear of jeopardizing the search or his safety. Advanced intelligence gathering aircraft are being used for the hunt, but it’s not even clear if Bergdahl is being held in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

There has been no public update on the Hailey, Idaho, native since his captors posted the video of him in mid-July.

At home in Idaho, the streets are lined with yellow ribbons, and the local TV station displays one in the corner of the screen throughout the day. …

The U.S. military classifies Bergdahl as “missing-captured.” Officials will not comment on most questions surrounding his case, including the circumstances of his disappearance, which Marsano said “are not fully established.” …

One possibility is that Bergdahl’s captors are holding him in Pakistan, which is off-limits to the thousands of U.S. forces based in Afghanistan. When militants captured a reporter for The New York Times in a dangerous region of Afghanistan last year, he was transported to Pakistan and held for months there. The reporter, David Rohde, eventually escaped. …

Taliban spokesmen in Afghanistan said they had no information. In August a Taliban commander, Maulvi Sangin, told The Associated Press that he had Bergdahl and that Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s council was waiting for a response to its demands before deciding the American’s fate. …

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12/16/09 Update

Taliban to Release Tape of Captured U.S. Soldier

Dec. 16, 2009

KABUL – The Taliban have announced they will release a new video of a U.S. soldier captured in Afghanistan, a U.S.-based terrorism monitoring group said Wednesday.

SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based terrorist tracking organization, said the media arm of the Afghan Taliban made the announcement Wednesday on their Web site.

The video is said to be titled, “One of Their People Testified.” The Taliban did not name the American.

The only U.S. soldier known to be in captivity is Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl of Hailey, Idaho, who disappeared more than five months ago in Afghanistan. …

U.S. military officials have searched for Bergdahl, but it is not publicly known whether he is even being held in Afghanistan or neighboring Pakistan. …

Pakistan is off-limits to the thousands of U.S. forces based in Afghanistan. When militants captured a reporter for The New York Times in a dangerous region of Afghanistan last year, he was transported to Pakistan and held for months there. The reporter, David Rohde, eventually escaped.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago Today — July 19, 2008

On the Campaign Trail: Day Five

On the campaign trail a year ago today I highlighted the growing mortgage crisis, noting that from a small-government, fiscally conservative perspective it is difficult to support the Bush administration’s plan to bail out mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

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