Afghan Civilian Deaths in War Hit Record High

An Afghan woman wearing a burqa waits for alms with her child during a snowstorm in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. (Photo credit: Ahmad Jamshid / AP)

By Kay Johnson

February 4, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan — Last year was the deadliest on record for Afghan civilians with 3,021 killed, a rise of 8 percent from the year before as insurgents ratchet up violence with roadside bombs and suicide attacks, the United Nations said Saturday.

Taliban-affiliated militants were responsible for more than three-quarters of the civilian deaths in 2011, the fifth year in a row in which the death toll went up, the U.N. said. …

The number of civilians killed in suicide attacks jumped dramatically to 450, an 80 percent increase over the previous year as militants set off increasingly powerful bombs in public places.

Insurgent-planted roadside bombs remained the single biggest killer of civilians last year.

The homemade explosives, which can be triggered by a footstep or a vehicle, killed 967 people — nearly a third of the total.

‘Highest price’

The United Nations decried the insurgents for using the indiscriminate weapons, which the report compared to laying anti-personnel land mines among the general population.

“Afghan children, women and men continue to be killed in this war in ever-increasing numbers,” said Jan Kubis, the U.N. Secretary-General’s special representative to Afghanistan. “For much too long, Afghan civilians have paid the highest price of war.” …

“As 2011 unfolded, ordinary Afghan people experienced growing intrusion into and disruption of their daily lives by the armed conflict in their country,” the report said.

Last year was the deadliest year for Afghan civilians recorded by the U.N. since it started keeping a detailed civilian casualties five years ago.

The number of deaths was 8 percent higher than the previous year and roughly double the number from 2007.

Overall, 3,021 civilians died in violence related to the war and 4,507 were wounded. Of the deaths, the UN attributed 77 percent to insurgent attacks and 14 percent to international and Afghan troops. Nine percent of cases were classified as unknown.

Second-deadliest year for coalition troops

The number of civilian deaths caused by insurgents was up 14 percent over 2010, the U.N. said.

“It is extremely worrying to see civilian casualties continuing to rise year after year,’ said Navi Pillay, the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Behind these numbers is real suffering and loss for families in Afghanistan.”

Last year was also the second-deadliest year of the decade-long war for international forces in Afghanistan, with at least 544 NATO troops killed. The coalition has been in Afghanistan since the aftermath of the 2001 American-backed intervention to topple the Taliban, which followed the hard-line Islamist regime’s refusal to hand over al-Qaida terrorist chief Osama bin Laden, who sponsored the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

While the total number of civilian deaths caused by international and Afghan forces backing President Hamid Karzai’s government dropped by 4 percent from the previous year, the number of civilians killed by air strikes targeting insurgents rose to 187 in 2011, accounting for nearly half the deaths attributed to coalition and Afghan troops.

Intensified assassination campaign

The number of civilians killed during controversial, coalition-led night raids on homes dropped to 63 in 2011, down 22 percent from the previous year, the U.N. said.

Night raids by U.S. and Afghan special operations teams are a source of resentment among many Afghans, though the NATO force says they have led to the death or capture of dozens of Taliban figures. Karzai has demanded an end to night raids. …

Insurgents also intensified an assassination campaign against people associated with the Afghan government. The U.N. report documented 495 targeted killings in 2011, including provincial and district government officials, peace council members and pro-government tribal elders. Assassinations were up 3 percent from the previous year and up 160 percent from 2009.

Among the highest profile assassination victims last year was former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the high peace council charged with seeking talks with the Taliban. He was killed by a suicide bomber claiming to carry a message from the insurgents.

Full story

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2/9/12 Update

Pentagon Investigates Colonel Over Critical Report on U.S. Progress in Afghanistan

By Jim Miklaszewski
Chief Pentagon correspondent


February 8, 2012

The Pentagon has launched an investigation into an independent report written by an Army lieutenant colonel for possible security violations, military officials said Wednesday.

In an article published Sunday by the Armed Forces Journal titled “Truth, Lies and Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down,” Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, who spent a year in Afghanistan delivering equipment to U.S. forces, strongly suggests that military leaders are lying about progress in the war in Afghanistan.

“What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by U.S. military leaders about conditions on the ground,” he wrote in the article.

Davis wrote an 86-page report with the same title that he released to members of Congress. Pentagon officials said Davis released the report without informing Army officials.

Davis based his claim on 250 interviews with U.S. troops, Afghan security officials, Afghan civilians and several village elders who painted a bleaker picture about the mission.

Although senior military officials acknowledged that ground combat forces would likely have a different view on progress, they strongly denied claims that the military leadership is misleading the American public.

For example, Davis disputes congressional testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and now CIA director, that progress in Afghanistan was “significant though fragile.”

Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparotti, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Afghanistan, conceded Wednesday that the war is far from over and there is a “tough fight ahead,” but he said there has been “significant” and “steady progress” over the past 18 months. …

Full story

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Related reports on this site

Afghan Civilians Casualties At Record High (July 17, 2011)

Bloodshed Persists in Afghanistan (July 2, 2011)

Civilian Carnage in Afghanistan (June 14, 2011)

Record Afghan War Dead (Sept. 6, 2010)

Afghan Civilian Deaths Up 31% (Aug. 13, 2010)

Deadliest Month in Afghanistan (July 5, 2010)

Escalating Afghanistan Violence (Nov. 20, 2009)

Deadliest Month of Afghan War (Aug. 1, 2009)

Afghan Deaths at All-Time High (Feb. 18, 2009)

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Sunday, February 5, 2012, at least 1,892 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to iCasualties.org.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 14,327 U.S. service members have been wounded as of Sept. 30, 2011, according to iCasualties.org.

Latest identifications:

Army Pfc. Dustin P. Napier, 20, London, Ky., died Jan. 8, 2012 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from enemy small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Army Reserve Pfc. Michael W. Pyron, 30, Hopewell, Va., died Jan. 10, 2012 in Parwan province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 25th Signal Battalion, 160th Signal Brigade, 335th Signal Command Theater, U.S. Army Reserve, East Point, Ga.

Army Pfc. Neil I. Turner, 21, Tacoma, Wash., died Jan. 11, 2012 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Marine Cpl. Jon-Luke Bateman, 22, Tulsa, Okla., died Jan. 15, 2012 conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was an infantryman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Marine Lance Cpl. Kenneth E. Cochran, 20, Wilder, Idaho., died Jan. 15, 2012 conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was a water support technician assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin B. Wise, 34, Little Rock, Ark., died Jan. 15, 2012 in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of injuries sustained on Jan. 9 in Balkh province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, cJoint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Army Spc. Keith D. Benson, 27, Brockton, Mass., died Jan. 18, 2012 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of unspecified causes. The circumstances surrounding his death are currently under investigation. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany.

Marine Cpl. Phillip D. McGeath, 25, Glendale, Ariz., died Jan. 18, 2012 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Marine Capt. Daniel B. Bartle, 27, Ferndale, Wash., died Jan. 19, 2012 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when the CH-53D helicopter he was riding in crashed. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Marine Cpl. Joseph D. Logan, 22, Willis, Texas, died Jan. 19, 2012 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when the CH-53D helicopter he was riding in crashed. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Marine Capt. Nathan R. McHone, 29, Crystal Lake, Ill., died Jan. 19, 2012 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Marine Cpl. Kevin J. Reinhard, 25, Colonia, N.J., died Jan. 19, 2012 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when the CH-53D helicopter he was riding in crashed. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Marine Master Sgt. Travis W. Riddick, 40, Centerville, Iowa, died Jan. 19, 2012 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when the CH-53D helicopter he was riding in crashed. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Marine Cpl. Jesse W. Stites, 23, North Beach, Md., died Jan. 19, 2012 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when the CH-53D helicopter he was riding in crashed. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Singer, 23, Temecula, Calif., died Jan. 21, 2012 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Marine Reserve Capt. Joshua C. Pairsh, 29, Equality, Ill., died Jan. 22, 2012 in the United States of a noncombat-related illness after returning Jan. 3 from Afghanistan. He was assigned to 4th Civil Affairs Group, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Washington, D.C.

Army 1st Lt. David A. Johnson, 24, Horicon, Wis., died Jan. 25, 2012 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered after encountering an improvised explosive device while conducting a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Marine Sgt. William C. Stacey, 23, Redding, Calif., died Jan. 31, 2012 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Marine Lance Cpl. Edward J. Dycus, 22, Greenville, Miss., died Feb. 1 , 2012 when he was shot by a member of the Afghan Security Forces in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Brig. Gen. Terence J. Hildner, 49, Fairfax, Va., died Feb. 3, 2012 of natural causes in Kabul province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Fort Hood, Texas.

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UPDATES

2/9/12 update: Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Billy A. Sutton, 42, Tupelo, Miss., died Feb. 7, 2012 in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 223rd Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi National Guard, West Point, Miss.

2/13/12 update: Marine Lance Cpl. Osbrany Montes De Oca, 20, North Arlington, N.J., died Feb. 10, 2012 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

2/13/12 update: Army Pfc. Cesar Cortez, 24, Oceanside, Calif., died Feb. 11, 2012 in a vehicle accident in Bahrain. He was assigned to 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Fort Bliss, Texas.

2/16/12 update: Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada, 21, Maricopa, Ariz., died Feb. 14, 2012 as a result of a non-combat  training incident in Djibouti. He was a Navy hospital corpsman assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

2/18/12 update: Army Sgt. Jerry D. Reed II, 30, Russellville, Ark., died Feb. 16, 2012 in Paktika province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany.

2/18/12 update: Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Paris S. Pough, 40, Columbus, Ga. died Feb. 17, 2012 during a port visit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He was a hull technician assigned to the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), home-ported in San Diego, Calif.

2/20/12 update: Air Force Capt. Ryan P. Hall, 30, Colorado Springs, Colo., died Feb. 18, 2012 when his U-28 aircraft was involved in an accident near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa. He was assigned to the 319th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

2/20/12 update: Air Force Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten, 26, Upper Marlboro, Md., died Feb. 18, 2012 when his U-28 aircraft was involved in an accident near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa. He was assigned to the 25th Intelligence Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

2/20/12 update: Air Force Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock, 29, Newnan, Ga., died Feb. 18, 2012 when his U-28 aircraft was involved in an accident near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa. He was assigned to the 34th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

2/20/12 update: Air Force 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens, 26, Bend, Ore., died Feb. 18, 2012 when his U-28 aircraft was involved in an accident near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa. He was assigned to the 34th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

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Related reports

Arkansas Family Loses Second Son in Afghanistan

Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Wise, 34, of Little Rock, Ark. (Photo credit: U.S. Army)

By Tim Talley

January 19, 2012

The war in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of two sons of an Arkansas couple who also have a third son in the military.

Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Wise, 34, of Little Rock, was on his fourth deployment overseas when he was injured during an insurgent attack on his unit last week. He died from his wounds Sunday at a hospital in Germany, the Department of Defense said in a statement Tuesday.

His brother, 35-year-old Jeremy Wise, was killed in a terrorist attack on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan in December 2009. He was a former Navy Seal working as a security contractor.

Their brother, Marine Corps Cpl. Matthew Wise, is based in Hawaii but was in Germany to be with his brother, his wife Amber said. She said she was at Benjamin’s home in Washington state watching his children, but she declined further comment.

The Army Special Forces soldier is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

The men’s parents, Dr. Jean and Mary Wise of Hope, Ark., and their sister did not return telephone messages seeking comment from The Associated Press. But the family released a statement thanking friends and Benjamin’s fellow soldiers “for their sincere expressions of sympathy during this very difficult time.”

His family described him as a loving husband, devoted father, caring son and selfless soldier. …

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

The Hope Star newspaper reports that Wise was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal.

Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said Wise served in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.

“While Arkansas has lost a great patriot, the Wise family has paid an extraordinary price in service to our country,” Pryor said.

Full story

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6 Marines Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash Were Hawaii-Based

Video

Chopper crash in Afghanistan kills 6 Marines (NBC Today, Jan. 20, 2012) – Six United States Marines were killed when their helicopter went down in Southern Afghanistan. An investigation is under way, but U.S. military officials say there was no evidence of enemy activity in the area. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports. (01:29)

The Associated Press and MSNBC.com
January 20, 2012

HONOLULU — All six Marines killed in the crash of a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan were based in Hawaii, a Hawaii congresswoman [U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa] said Friday.

The CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter crashed Thursday in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand.

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said Friday she’s saddened to hear of the deaths. Her spokeswoman, Ashley Nagaoka Boylan, said the congresswoman was notified Thursday evening that all six Marines were Hawaii-based. …

The commander of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Lt. Col. Mark Revor, said on the unit’s Facebook page that all six killed were from the Kaneohe-based unit, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Family members identified one of those killed as Marine Cpl. Kevin Reinhard, 25, of the Colonia section of Woodbridge, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. Reinhard was a 2005 graduate of St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. …

Reinhard joined the Marine Corps in 2008 and was with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, the Lucky Red Lions.

The unit deployed in late August to southern Afghanistan and is scheduled to return home in March, Hawaii News Now reportedThe unit’s mission is to provide assault support, transport Marines and critical supplies, as well as equipment during expeditionary operations. …

The defense official said there is no indication that the helicopter in Afghanistan was hit by enemy fire. …

CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters were first used in the 1960s, and the Marine Corps used them in the Vietnam War.

All Sea Stallions still used operationally are stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay. The military plans to replace them with the MV-22 Osprey. …

In 2005, the same base lost 27 Marines when a CH-53E Super Stallion deployed to Iraq crashed during a desert sandstorm. Altogether, 30 Marines and a Navy medic were killed in that crash. …

Thursday’s crash was the deadliest in Afghanistan since August, when 30 American troops died after a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down in Wardak province in the center of the country. …

Full story

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General is Highest-Ranking American to Die in Afghanistan

Brig. Gen. Terence J. Hildner (Photo credit: U.S. Army)

February 3, 2012

FORT HOOD, Texas — A 49-year-old brigadier general died of apparently natural causes in Afghanistan, the Army said Friday, the highest-ranking soldier to die during the war.

Brig. Gen. Terence J. Hildner was identified as the first of that rank to die in Afghanistan since the war began there in 2001, NBC News reported.

The New Haven, Conn.-born Hildner, who listed Fairfax, Va., as his home, took command of 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) on Aug. 19, 2010, the Army said. He deployed to Afghanistan in December from Fort Hood.

The circumstances surrounding Hildner’s death are still under investigation, NBC News said.

When Hildner did not show up for a meeting Friday morning, a member of his staff went to his room and found him there, NBC News said. He was unresponsive and efforts to resuscitate him were not successful. …

A 1984 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Hildner began his career as an armor officer with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Army said he later served in Germany in the last U.S. patrols of the East-West German border before reunification, and in Kuwait and Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. He was also in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also led troops in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

From July 2007 to July 2009, Hildner commanded the 23rd Quartermaster Brigade at Fort Lee, Va., training more than 20,000 soldiers annually for deployment in support of contingency operations across the globe.

In 2009, he was the Combined Arms Support Command’s director of training and doctrine.

The Army listed Hildner’s awards: the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, U.S. Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Valorous Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star, Southwest Asia Medal with 2 bronze stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War of Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, the Combat Action Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

Full story

Photo composite: The Moderate Voice

Mitt Romney’s Al Gore Problem

By Dana Milbank
Opinion Writer

January 13, 2012

Following Mitt Romney on the campaign trail is a painful yet familiar experience.

Painful, because of the wince-inducing moments when you realize that, for all of Romney’s success in imitating human attributes, there remain glitches in the matrix that reveal him to be different from the rest of us.

In the past few days alone, he claimed to take pleasure in firing people, expressed his phony fears about getting a “pink slip” from the job that swelled his wealth to nearly a quarter-billion dollars and asserted misleadingly that he worked an “entry-level” job after Harvard Business School.

Romney further alleged that “I never thought I’d get involved in politics” — though he has been in politics for two decades. And he claimed that he didn’t seek reelection as Massachusetts governor because “that would be about me” — as if running for president, which he did instead, was a gesture of sacrifice and altruism.

Romney, the conservative writer Jonah Goldberg argued this week, has an “authentic inauthenticity problem.” And that is precisely why his struggle is so familiar. He is the political reincarnation of Al Gore, whose campaign I covered with an equal amount of cringing a dozen years ago.

To see Romney, in his Gap jeans, laughing awkwardly at his own jokes and making patently disingenuous claims, brings back all those bad memories of 2000: “Love Story.” Inventing the Internet. Earth tones. Three-button suits. The alpha male in cowboy boots. The iced-tea defense. The Buddhist temple. The sighing during the debate.

It’s familiar, as well, to Michael Feldman, a longtime Gore aide who watched his boss get undone by the inauthentic label. “When an impression like that hardens, you’re communicating into a stiff wind,” he told me. “These caricatures can form impressions that are really hard to turn around.”

If anything, Romney’s problem is greater than Gore’s because it is rooted in his frequent repositioning on issues such as abortion, gay marriage and health care. In substance, Romney’s troubles may turn out to be closer to John Kerry’s: As my colleague Greg Sargent has written, the undermining of Romney’s business acumen by the attacks on his work at Bain Capital is similar to the undoing of Kerry’s record as a Vietnam War hero by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. …

But in temperament and style, Romney is closest to Gore, another politician’s son from Harvard with pedantic tendencies who, in public, never quite seems comfortable.

The media tend to assign each candidate a character flaw as a form of shorthand (John McCain was volatile, George W. Bush was dopey, Obama is all talk). Ominously, Romney’s descriptions are the same applied to Gore 12 years ago: assuming “personas,” going through “makeovers,” attempting “regular-guy” traits, exhibiting “robotic” behavior and issuing new versions, such as “Romney 3.0.”

For Romney, the problem now becomes that reporters, and opponents, are perpetually on the lookout for new examples to add to his dossier of awkwardness. “It’s a self-perpetuating cycle,” explained Chris Lehane, who sought, with limited success, to help Gore defy his “wooden” image. “You’re trying so hard to think through what you’re going to say that you get mental handcuffs every time you speak. You’re so nervous about the archetype that you fall into the archetype.”

In Romney’s case, there is already abundant support for the archetype: his belief that “corporations are people,” his talk about hunting “small varmints,” the story about driving with the family dog in a kennel strapped atop the Romneys’ car, his attempted $10,000 bet with Rick Perry, his singing “Who let the dogs out?,” his pretending to be pinched on the behind by a waitress, his bizarre jokes about Hooters and hollandaise sauce, and his tendency to ask debate moderators for protection from his opponents.

None of those is, by itself, disqualifying — and, as in Gore’s case, not all the examples are fair. But, combined with Romney’s frequent fluctuations on the issues, his awkwardness has left an impression that he is a phony and not to be trusted. Romney isn’t necessarily doomed — Gore, after all, received more votes than the other guy — but this much seems clear: Over the next 10 months, Romney will be getting the Gore treatment.

Full story and reader comments at the Washington Post

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Commentary

Dana Milbank’s opinion of Mitt Romney’s personological shortcomings as a presidential candidate is the most insightful I’ve seen in the mainstream media. As I wrote elsewhere in this blog on Aug. 9, 2011, Mitt Romney — despite being the early front-runner in public opinion polls – is unlikely to be the Republican presidential nominee but, if he is, will not emerge as a viable challenger to Barack Obama.

As I noted last summer, Romney’s score of 6 on the Personal Electability Index (which has accurately predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1996), ranks near the bottom among presidential candidates I’ve studied in the past four presidential election cycles. Compared with the two recent presidential candidates that in Milbank’s opinion most closely resemble Romney, Romney’s PEI score is marginally worse than John Kerry’s lackluster score of 9, though considerably better than Al Gore’s record-low score of -17.

Following are the PEI scores of some of the presidential candidates referenced by Milbank.

Mitt Romney: PEI = 6

Scale:   1A  1B   2   3   4   5A  5B   6   7   8   9   0
Score:    7    4    5   2   4    0     3   12   1   0  4    4

Romney: [Extraversion (scale 3) = 2] + [Narcissism (scale 2) = 5] + [Dominance (scale 1) = 7] – [Introversion (scale 8) = 0] – [Conscientiousness (scale 6) = (12 - 4)] = 6

Al Gore: PEI = –17

Scale:   1A  1B   2   3   4   5A  5B   6   7   8   9   0
Score:    8   2    3    1   4     1    3   22  5   11  12  0

Gore: [Extraversion (scale 3) = 1] + [Narcissism (scale 2) = 3] + [Dominance (scale 1) = 8] – [Introversion (scale 8) = 11] – [Conscientiousness (scale 6) = (22 - 4)] = –17

John Kerry: PEI = 9

Scale:   1A  1B   2   3   4   5A  5B   6   7   8   9   0
Score:    6    6    7   0   3    0    3     5   2   3   0   0

Kerry: [Extraversion (scale 3) = 0] + [Narcissism (scale 2) = 7] + [Dominance (scale 1) = 6] – [Introversion (scale 8) = 3] – [Conscientiousness (scale 6) = (5 - 4)] = 9

George W. Bush: PEI = 31

Scale:   1A  1B   2   3   4   5A  5B   6   7   8   9   0
Score:   11   5    4  16   4    0    0    2   0   0   0   4

Bush: [Extraversion (scale 3) = (16 - 1)] + [Narcissism (scale 2) = 5] + [Dominance (scale 1) = 11] – [Introversion (scale 8) = 0] – [Conscientiousness (scale 6) = (2 - 2)] = 30

Barack Obama: PEI = 28

Scale:   1A  1B   2   3   4   5A  5B   6   7   8   9   0
Score:   10   6   11  9    7     1    2    5   4    1   0   4

Obama: [Extraversion (scale 3) = 9] + [Narcissism (scale 2) = 11] + [Dominance (scale 1) = 10] – [Introversion (scale 8) = 1] – [Conscientiousness (scale 6) = (5 - 4)] = 28

Personality patterns: dimensional continuum of personality types
1A    Dominant: Asserting–Controlling–Aggressive (Sadistic)
1B    Dauntless: Adventurous–Dissenting–Aggrandizing (Antisocial)
2      Ambitious: Confident–Self-serving–Exploitative (Narcissistic)
3      Outgoing: Congenial–Gregarious–Impulsive (Histrionic)
4      Accommodating: Cooperative–Agreeable–Submissive (Dependent)
5A   Aggrieved: Unpresuming–Self-denying–Self-defeating (Masochistic)
5B   Contentious: Resolute–Oppositional–Negativistic (Passive aggressive)
6      Conscientious: Respectful–Dutiful–Compulsive (Obsessive compulsive)
7      Reticent: Circumspect–Inhibited–Withdrawn (Avoidant)
8      Retiring: Reserved–Aloof–Solitary (Schizoid)

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Analysis of Al Gore’s personal deficits as a presidential candidate

Why Gore won’t win
(Aubrey Immelman, St. Cloud Times, July 9, 2000, p. 9B)

Summary: Time and again in recent electoral history the presidential candidate with the most charisma routinely has emerged the winner. Al Gore’s storied stiffness, wooden demeanor, and lack of charisma eclipse his positive attributes as a candidate. A study of his political personality reveals a dutiful, conscientiousness character infused with the distinctly aloof demeanor of an introvert. The characteristically solemn mood of conscientious personalities is conveyed in an unrelaxed, tense demeanor associated with tight emotional control. Not surprisingly, Gore is publicly perceived as stiff and formal. His stiffness reflects his conscientiousness, while his wooden demeanor reveals his introversion. For Gore to become a viable contender, he should lose the self-effacing jokes and concentrate instead on conveying a clear, unadulterated message about who he is and what he stands for. Instead of trying to overcome his stiffness with a counterfeit, “connect with people” leadership style, he should capitalize on his stiffness as concrete evidence, so to speak, of his fundamental integrity. He should play up his introversion as an asset that will serve him well, enabling him to focus on the business of leadership unencumbered by the burdens of bonding with constituents and falling prey to polls.

Personality may overpower pundits, polls in this election
(Aubrey Immelman, St. Cloud Times, Oct. 1, 2000, p. 9B)

Summary: Time and again since the first televised presidential debates in 1960, with the exception of Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972, the presidential candidate with the greatest personal charisma and publicly perceived warmth or likability has won the race. The personal dimension in politics is an emerging, pivotal predictor of presidential election outcomes at the turn of the century. A critical determinant of whether people form positive or negative personal impressions hinges on their perception of others as warm and outgoing vs. cold and retiring. Al Gore is the prototype of the presidential candidate who fails to ignite the public’s passion in an era of “made-for-television” elections: the conscientious introvert — a character type that has not occupied the Oval Office since Jimmy Carter, and before him Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, and Woodrow Wilson.

Will Gore’s little lies be big turnoff for voters?
(Aubrey Immelman, St. Cloud Times, October 22, 2000, p. 9B)

Summary: Careful scrutiny of Al Gore’s penchant for hyperbole and his tendency to garnish the truth with self-serving affectations permits a more nuanced perspective: Gore’s embellishments are driven by a confluence of conscientious and introverted personality patterns that constitutes a recipe for haplessness in retail presidential politics. Conscientious personalities dread disapproval, with a corresponding tendency to overvalue aspects of themselves that signify perfectionism, moral rectitude, and diligence. Few things give them greater satisfaction than showcasing their virtues and convincing others that they are right. Perhaps unfairly, but not surprisingly, others regard such conduct as self-righteous, moralistic, overbearing, and condescending. But Gore’s overconscientiousness fails to fully account for his political ineptitude and lack of social graces. Enter the strong introversive streak that permeates and colors Gore’s conscientiousness. Deeply introverted personalities frequently fail to respond appropriately to social cues, which gives rise to interpersonal awkwardness and difficulty in social communication. They are restricted in the ability to perceive emotional meaning or express feelings in social settings, and their social communications sometimes are convoluted, obscure, and abstruse.

Theories on candidate personality pan out
(Aubrey Immelman, St. Cloud Times, Dec. 10, 2000, p. 11B)

Summary: Al Gore, though diligent and dutiful, is inclined to be stubborn and moralistic — a classic conscientious type. When combined with considerable aloofness, the less endearing aspects of the conscientious character can compound the candidate’s public relations problems. Introverts like Gore are not particularly warm or engaging, and their lack of social graces may be perceived as social indifference and a lack of empathy, which tends to elicit a reciprocal reaction in voters.

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Election 2008: Psychological analysis of Mitt Romney

Dutiful Romney Continues Struggle for Votes

By Mick Lundstrum and Aubrey Immelman
Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics
January 11, 2008

Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate better known for his Mormon faith than for his policy positions, has been dogged by obstacles and setbacks on the campaign trail. In Iowa, where he had dumped nearly three-fifths of his campaign expenditure, he was blindsided by the come-from-nowhere Huckabee juggernaut. In New Hampshire, he was bested by a resuscitated back-from-the-dead McCain campaign.

By all appearances, Gov. Romney is an attractive candidate. He looks “presidential,” is well financed, and has a strong track record in business and government. Yet, despite an MBA and law degree from Harvard, a successful business career as management consultant and venture capitalist, president and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, governor of Massachusetts, and chair of the Republican Governors’ Association, Romney has found little traction with Republican voters.

So, how do we account for Romney’s floundering campaign for Republican support?

Some have pointed to Romney’s Mormon beliefs, viewed with suspicion by elements of the Christian Evangelical Republican base. Others have pointed to his “flip-flop” on abortion. Another consideration, which has not received much air time in the media or in print, is Romney’s personality — those aspects of his typical modes of thinking, acting, and relating to others that remain relatively consistent over time and across situations.

For insight into this aspect Romney’s character, we generated a personality profile using a standard assessment procedure developed at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University in Minnesota. This is what we found.

Conscientious

Perhaps not surprising for someone with Romney’s academic and professional credentials, he emerged from the assessment as a highly conscientiousness personality. What is remarkable, however, is that few candidates for president can claim conscientiousness as a prominent trait — in the past several elections cycles, an exclusive club of losing candidates consisting of Michael Dukakis, Bob Dole, Steve Forbes, Bill Bradley, and Al Gore.

People with Romney’s levels of conscientiousness are best described as “dutiful.” They are characteristically proper and dignified, dependable, and principled (though the latter trait is somewhat at variance with perceptions of Romney as a flip-flopper).

Above all, they are highly organized, which accounts for Romney’s roaring success in organizational and corporate management and financial restructuring. Dutiful and diligent, and adept at getting the job done without letting work accumulate, conscientious leaders are movers and shakers who are at the top of their game when making and implementing policy.

On the downside, conscientious persons can be rigid thinkers with a closed-minded tendency; as leaders, they are technocratic rather than visionary. For that reason, in high political office they may be better suited to the role of assistant to the chief executive — perhaps as vice president, cabinet secretary, or chief of staff.

With their attention to detail, their work ethic, and their prudence, conscientious persons are potentially good leaders; however, in the United States they usually have trouble attaining high-level political office, because of the difficulty they have connecting with voters and the media.

Dominant

Like many politicians who strive for higher political office, Romney also has a pronounced dominant tendency — though not nearly as pervasive as the aggressive dominance of a Rudy Giuliani or the self-assertive boldness of a John McCain. Instead, it would be more accurate to describe Romney as merely assertive, strong-willed, and goal-directed.

Some aspects of Romney’s dominance reinforce his fundamental conscientious tendency — most notably his strong work ethic, proneness to cognitive inflexibility, and obstinacy, which suggests he may stay in the race longer than he remains a viable candidate. That said, leaders like Romney, with moderate levels of conscientiousness and dominance, generally are effective, deliberative leaders who make informed decisions and get things done.

In terms of his experience and psychological profile, Romney may be one of the better candidates for president, but as recent presidential election history has shown, he does not fit the profile of a successful presidential candidate.

Next Tuesday’s Republican primary in Michigan — where native son Mitt Romney has the rare advantage of contesting an early-primary state where his father once served as governor — will be the acid test for whether that particular chapter in U.S. election history repeats itself.

Note: A slightly revised version of this article was published as the “Your Turn” column Romney is conscientious and assertive in the St. Cloud Times (p. 5B), Jan. 15, 2008.

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Election 2012: Psychological analysis of Mitt Romney

Newsweek cover story: Mitt Romney is too ‘conscientious,’ quality may cost him election

Mitt Romney (Photo credit: Scott G. Winterton / Deseret News archives)

By Hal Boyd
Deseret News
September 26, 2011

Newsweek’s cover story on former Massachusetts’s Gov. Mitt Romney says the GOP presidential hopeful has one problem: he’s too “conscientious.”

“In fact,” the article’s author, Andrew Romano, writes, “it is the only trait of (Romney’s) that qualifies as clinically ‘prominent.’”

Romano’s assessment is based on research performed by Aubrey Immelman of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., an expert on the electoral effects of candidates’ personalities.

Immelman performs studies … “[yielding] the Personal Electability Index (PEI) … candidates with low PEI scores almost never get elected. Romney’s score is a six, which is abysmal. Barack Obama, by comparison, earned a 28, and even failed candidates such as Hillary Clinton and John McCain have cleared 20 (23 and 26, respectively).”

The reason for Romney’s low score, according to Immelman: today’s electorate rejects candidates who are considered “conscientious” or in other words “proper, diligent, detail-oriented and super-rational.”

According to the piece this wasn’t always the case — “Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Woodrow Wilson, and even James Madison won the White House because (not in spite) of their most Romneyesque qualities: politeness, caution, restraint, systematic thinking, a sense of duty and so on,” writes Romano. “But while earlier eras rewarded calculation — until the mid–20th century, public persuasion mattered less than methodical behind-the-scenes maneuvering — the 24/7 news cycle forces candidates to connect.”

Romney’s campaign has been striving hard to make Romney more palatable to modern-day voters. Stuart Stevens, “the man in charge of reshaping Mitt Romney’s image,” according to a NY Times profile of Stevens, he has by most accounts been doing a decent job.

“Mr. Stevens has brought to the Romney team a laid-back, hang-loose, though intense, vibe,” writes Ashley Parker in her profile of Stevens in the Times. “… Whereas Mr. Romney is a linear thinker who tends to home in on the details, Mr. Stevens is a creative, big-picture person who tries to focus on winning the election rather than simply winning the day.” …

Though “In a small group setting, particularly among similarly educated, successful individuals, he can charm and impress with (his) intellectual rigor,” Romney’s fellow colleague at Bain, Marc Wolpow, told Newsweek. “His challenge is that there are 300 million people in America. He seems to connect naturally with only a small handful of them.” Only time will tell if he can win over the others.

Full story

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Related reports on this site

Why Mitt Romney Won’t Win (May 12, 2011)

Excerpt: Research conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics under the direction of Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D., suggests that Massachusetts’ health law, enacted during Romney’s tenure as governor, may be the least of his problems as he vies for the Republican nomination in a crowded GOP field. Romney lacks the personal charisma to sway non-base voters, as measured by the Personal Electability Index for presidential contenders, developed at the Minnesota-based political psychology research unit.

Mitt Romney Personality Profile (June 2, 2011)

Excerpt: A psychological analysis of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, conducted in fall 2007 by Julie Seifert, Mick Lundstrum, and Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D., at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics revealed that Romney’s primary personality pattern is Conscientious/dutiful, with secondary features of the Dominant/asserting and Ambitious/confident patterns.

Obama Campaign Tilting at Romney Windmill (Aug. 9, 2011)

Excerpt: The Obama campaign would be misguided if it diverted inordinate resources to fending off Mitt Romney as Barack Obama’s likely opponent. Despite being the early front-runner in public opinion polls, Romney is unlikely to be the Republican presidential nominee — or, if he is, to be a viable challenger to Barack Obama. … Specifically, Romney’s score of 6 on the Personal Electability Index (PEI), which has accurately predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1996, ranks near the bottom among presidential candidates I’ve studied in the past four presidential election cycles — slightly lower than John Kerry’s PEI score of 9 (though considerably better than Al Gore’s -17).

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Related report

Mitt Romney: The GOP’s own John Kerry, or is he more an Al Gore?
(By Michelle Cottle, The Daily Beast, Jan. 14, 2012)

Photo credit: John Kerry windsurfing — AP; Mitt Romney — Getty Images; Composite — The Daily Beast.

Excerpt: Even within Kerry’s and Romney’s core similarities lie key differences. While both men are famously awkward and terrible at glad-handing, Romney is far more reminiscent of Al Gore than of Kerry. Kerry, like so many of his Senate brethren, is your garden-variety bore. … Watching Romney, by contrast, prompts flashbacks to Al the Cyborg Gore. It’s not that the governor is dull. Rather, it’s that he somehow manages to come across as simultaneously stiff and slick, and jarringly ill at ease with any attempt at casual banter. The timing of his jokes is off, his smiles lack warmth, and his laughter doesn’t convey mirth so much as careful programming by a consultant. … Full story

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2/9/12 Update

Mitt Romney and the Enthusiasm Gap

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Junction, Colo., Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 — one day before the Colorado caucuses. (Photo credit: Gerald Herbert / AP via Washington Post photo gallery Mitt Romney’s Second Run)

By Dan Balz
The Take

February 8, 2012

Excerpts

In the aftermath of Rick Santorum’s clean sweep of Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, Mitt Romney is still, in fact, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. But the lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy among conservatives foreshadows a potentially ugly road ahead to the party’s convention in Tampa and general-election problems if he becomes the nominee. …

The issue is not whether Romney has been significantly derailed from his path to the nomination, but rather what kind of nominee he might be and what kind of party would be behind him. …

On Tuesday, turnout was below the levels in 2008. Republicans are fervent in their desire to defeat the president in November but can’t work up much enthusiasm for their candidates. …

Can he [Romney] find a positive vision that will energize his base and strike a chord in a general election? …

Full story

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2/18/12 Update

Can Romney Find a Way to Connect with GOP Voters?

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Mesa, Ariz., Feb. 13, 2012. (Photo credit: Gerald Herbert / AP via The Washington Post – View photo gallery)

By Karen Tumulty and Philip Rucker

February 18, 2012

Excerpts

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — To listen to Mitt Romney these days is to wish at times that someone would give him back his PowerPoint.

Romney, after all, made a fortune on his ability to make a crisp presentation and close a deal. As a governor pushing for a landmark approach to health-care coverage in Massachusetts, the former management consultant won over doubters by putting together a slide presentation and taking it all over the state.

So why is he having so much trouble making the sale with the Republican electorate?

Many of his allies and supporters are increasingly worried that the problem is Romney himself.

Until now, Romney and his well-financed allies have been able to dispatch any opponent who presents a threat by drowning the potential usurper with negative advertising.

But the fact that a new one emerges each time he vanquishes another betrays the existence of a deeper discontent with Romney himself. …

As Romney has adjusted tactically to a primary battle that is turning out to be tougher than he bargained for, some of his backers now say they fear that Romney is reinforcing the doubts that voters already have about him. …

One fundraiser, who did not want to be identified publicly criticizing a candidate in whom he invested, said Romney’s difficulty is connecting with people. …

An adviser, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he wished Romney would become more inspirational and less technocratic. …

Before business-oriented audiences, Romney seems at ease, focused and assured, a man who knows he is talking a language his listeners understand. …

But when he takes the stage at large rallies without a teleprompter, Romney veers from bromides about America’s greatness (“I love America. I love its beauty. This is a beautiful state, too. I love this state.”) to odd facts about his upbringing (“My dad was a lathe and plaster carpenter, like a drywall carpenter. He could take a handful of nails, stick them in his mouth and spit the nails out pointy end forward.”) to broad indictments of Obama (“The president is slowly but surely turning us into a European-style welfare state. This is not the America we’ve known.”).

Romney’s word choices — such as his recent declaration that he had been a “severely conservative” governor — can grate on the very people he is trying to win over. …

Full story

A video clip posted on the web appears to show U.S. Marines in Afghanistan apparently urinating on the corpses of dead Afghan men. According to a note included with the uploaded video file, the servicemen were members of Marine Scout Sniper Team 4, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

U.S. Defense Chief Condemns Urinating Marines Video

Reuters, NBC News’ Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube via MSNBC.com
January 12, 2012

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has condemned a video that apparently shows U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghan men, promising to punish those involved.

“I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable,” Panetta says in a statement, adding that he had ordered the Marine Corps and the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan to investigate the incident.

“Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent,” he says.

The video that surfaced a day earlier appeared to show American forces urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters could aggravate anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan as the Obama administration hopes to end a decade-long war. …

Full story

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1/21/12 Update

Afghanistan’s Soldiers Step Up Killings of Allied Forces

American soldiers training Afghan police officers in 2010. A report cites growing friction between the ostensible allies. (Photo credit: Damon Winter / The New York Times)

By Matthew Rosenberg

January 20, 2012

Excerpts

KABUL, Afghanistan — American and other coalition forces here are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train, in attacks motivated by deep-seated animosity between the supposedly allied forces, according to American and Afghan officers and a classified coalition report.

A decade into the war in Afghanistan, the report makes clear that these killings have become the most visible symptom of a far deeper ailment plaguing the war effort: the contempt each side holds for the other, never mind the Taliban. The ill will and mistrust run deep among civilians and militaries on both sides, raising questions about what future role the United States and its allies can expect to play in Afghanistan.

Underscoring the danger, a gunman in an Afghan Army uniform killed four French service members and wounded several others on Friday, according to an Afghan police official in Kapisa Province in eastern Afghanistan, prompting the French president to suspend his country’s operations here [link added]. …

One instance of the general level of antipathy in the war exploded into uncomfortable view last week when video emerged of American Marines urinating on dead Taliban fighters. Although American commanders quickly took action and condemned the act, chat-room and Facebook posts by Marines and their supporters were full of praise for the desecration.

But the most troubling fallout has been the mounting number of Westerners killed by their Afghan allies, events that have been routinely dismissed by American and NATO officials as isolated episodes that are the work of disturbed individual soldiers or Taliban infiltrators, and not indicative of a larger pattern. …

The Wall Street Journal [June 17, 2011] reported on details of the investigation last year. A copy was obtained by The New York Times.

“Lethal altercations are clearly not rare or isolated; they reflect a rapidly growing systemic homicide threat (a magnitude of which may be unprecedented between ‘allies’ in modern military history),” it said. Official NATO pronouncements to the contrary “seem disingenuous, if not profoundly intellectually dishonest,” said the report, and it played down the role of Taliban infiltrators in the killings. …

Although NATO does not release a complete tally of its forces’ deaths at the hands of Afghan soldiers and the police, the classified report and coalition news releases indicate that Afghan forces have attacked American and allied service members nearly three dozen times since 2007. …

The classified report found that between May 2007 and May 2011, when it was completed, at least 58 Western service members were killed in 26 separate attacks by Afghan soldiers and the police nationwide. Most of those attacks have occurred since October 2009. This toll represented 6 percent of all hostile coalition deaths during that period, the report said.

“The sense of hatred is growing rapidly,” said an Afghan Army colonel. He described his troops as “thieves, liars and drug addicts,” but also said that the Americans were “rude, arrogant bullies who use foul language.” …

The United States soldier was killed this month when an Afghan soldier opened fire on Americans playing volleyball at a base in the southern province of Zabul. The assailant was quickly gunned down. The deadliest single incident came last April when an Afghan Air Force colonel, Ahmed Gul, killed eight unsuspecting American officers and a contractor [link added] with shots to the head inside their headquarters. …

In a 436-page report, the Air Force investigators said the initial coalition explanation for the attack — stress brought on by financial problems — was only a small part of Colonel Gul’s motivation. His primary motive was hatred of the United States, and he planned the attack to kill as many Americans as possible, the investigators said.

There have been no reported instances of Americans’ killing Afghan soldiers, although a rogue group of United States soldiers killed three Afghan civilians for sport in 2010 [link added]. Yet there is ample evidence of American disregard for Afghans. After the urination video circulated, a number of those who had served in Afghanistan took to Facebook and other Web sites to cheer on their compatriots, describing Afghans of all stripes in harsh terms. …

The 70-page coalition report, titled “A Crisis of Trust and Cultural Incompatibility,” — which was originally distributed as an unclassified document [in early May 2011 ] and later changed to classified — goes far beyond anecdotes. It was conducted by a behavioral scientist who surveyed 613 Afghan soldiers and police officers, 215 American soldiers and 30 Afghan interpreters who worked for the Americans. …

The list of Afghan complaints against the Americans ran the gamut from the killing of civilians to urinating in public and cursing. …

The Americans were equally as scathing. “U.S. soldiers’ perceptions of A.N.A. members were extremely negative across categories,” the report found, using the initials for the Afghan National Army. Those categories included “trustworthiness on patrol,” “honesty and integrity,” and “drug abuse.” The Americans also voiced suspicions about the Afghans being in league with the Taliban, a problem well documented among the Afghan police. …

Read the full report at the New York Times

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1/22/12 Update

‘Our missions have become easier because of incidents like the video [of Marines urinating on corpses],’ regional Taliban commander says

Afghan Taliban: We Recruited Soldier Who Killed French Troops

January 21, 2012

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Afghan Taliban said on Saturday they had recruited an Afghan soldier who shot dead four French soldiers in the country’s east a day earlier, prompting France to threaten an early pullout from the NATO-led war. …

Using another name the Islamist group call themselves, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has recruited people in important positions. Some of them have already accomplished their missions,” he said adding that the four died on the spot.

The killings in Kapisa province were the latest in a string of such attacks in which Afghan troops turn on their Western allies and mentors. …

After the shooting — which took the French death toll to 82 since the war began in 2001 — President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered all French military operations on the ground to be suspended and Defense Minister Gerard Longuet jetted into Kabul on Saturday.

A regional Taliban commander added that incidents such as a video showing U.S. Marines urinating on corpses were boosting support for the group among Afghans and threatened more attacks.

“Our missions have become easier because of incidents like the video,” he said.

Full story

———

Topical reports on this site

Der Spiegel

American Killed by Rogue Afghan Worker Inside Kabul CIA Office
(Sept. 26, 2011)

Afghan Guard Turns Gun on Americans (July 9, 2011)

Rogue Afghan Shoots U.S. Trainers (April 27, 2011)

Soldiers Pose with Afghan Corpse (March 21, 2011)

Afghan Policeman Kills U.S. Troops (Dec. 1, 2010)

Afghan Killings, Body Parts at Center of War Crimes Inquiry
(Sept. 25, 2010)

Angry Protest After U.S. Raid (April 29, 2010)

‘Making Enemies’ in Afghanistan (April 12, 2010)

Afghan Soldier Kills U.S. Troop (Dec. 29, 2009)

Afghan Support for U.S. Plummets (Feb. 10, 2009)

Afghan Policeman Kills U.S. Soldier (Sept. 30, 2008)

Bachmann Had Cause, But Not Money, to Carry On

Michele Bachmann  suspended her campaign for president in West Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday January 4, 2012. (Photo credit: Glen Stubbe / Star Tribune)

By Kevin Diaz

January 8, 2012

Excerpts

Michele Bachmann could have soldiered on.

She may not have had the money or the organization, but she had a plausible case for staying in the race, at least until the Jan. 21 South Carolina primary.

That was the view of some of her advisers Tuesday night, when they knew she had only 5 percent of the Iowa caucus vote. …

After Bachmann’s disappointment in Iowa — she won 6,073 votes of 122,000 cast — she spent the night thinking and praying, holding out hope for a rebirth in the Palmetto State, where, like Iowa, religious conservatives and Tea Partiers are a significant presence.

It would give her another shot on favorable turf. She might not have the money for ads there, but she had built up a credible ground operation.

There also was Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire. True, she was only polling at 2 percent in the Granite State, but the competition would provide two weekend debates affording a free national platform for her small-government, “repeal Obamacare” message.

After all, wasn’t that why she got in the race to begin with?

For Bachmann, winning the straw poll in Ames was gravy — far exceeding any reasonable expectation she had when she first hinted at a White House bid a year ago. But most of her forward progress ended last summer. The 4,823 votes she garnered then were only 1,250 fewer than she got Tuesday night. …

In the end, she knew she did not have the resources to keep up with the leaders. And the possibility of another drubbing would do little for the national Bachmann brand.

So her campaign ended where it began, in Iowa.

Amid misty eyes and tears, she called it quits Wednesday morning, calling together her family, the press, supporters and volunteers. It was a courtesy that had not been extended by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Similarly dejected after a fourth-place finish in the straw poll, he took his leave in the relative safety of a television studio.

Bachmann’s exit was more honest and raw. She faced the cameras and thanked her supporters, in person, in a public space. Then she walked the gantlet of microphones and questions about her future. …

Full story

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New Bachmann Video Rampages Through GOP Field

“With Michele Bachmann, there are no policy flip-flops. There’s no need to compromise on one of the issues that matters to you. She means what she says, and she says what she means.” (Uploaded to YouTube by teambachmann on Nov. 12, 2011)

By Kevin Diaz
Hot Dish blog

November 15, 2011

Michele Bachmann took her campaign motto, “Don’t settle,” to new levels Tuesday in a video highlighting her GOP rivals’ departures from conservative orthodoxy.

How many political ads manage to attack five different politicians in less than a minute?

There’s a younger Mitt Romney saying abortion should be “safe and legal,” segueing to Herman Cain calling it a “choice that a mother has to make.” Then there’s Ron Paul asking “what’s so terribly bad” about a nuclear-armed Iran, and Rick Perry vouching for the importance of educating the children of illegal aliens. There’s also Newt Gingrich appearing with Nancy Pelosi on a global warming ad campaign, and later agreeing that, yes, he was for the individual mandate in health care before he was against it.

Finally, the video returns to Perry’s famous “oops” moment in the Michigan debate, the first time any of the GOP contenders has so explicitly made hay of his mortification. …

Full story

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Chronicle of Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign on this site

Rick Perry Hurts Michele Bachmann in GOP Primary (Aug. 24, 2011)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)

Michele Bachmann Hot on Obama’s Heels (Aug. 23, 2011)

Bachmann, Pawlenty ‘Slugfest’ At Iowa GOP Debate (Aug. 11, 2011)

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Michele Bachmann, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty during the Iowa GOP/Fox News Debate on August 11, 2011 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo credit: Pool / Getty Images)

Newsweek Cover Photo: Michele Bachmann Looking Good (Aug. 10, 2011)

Cover of Newsweek featuring Michele Bachmann, August 15, 2011.
(Photo credit: Newsweek via The Washington Post)

Predicting the Winner of the 2012 Presidential Election (Aug. 2, 2011)

Huntsman	Romney	Cain	Perry	Bachmann

Bachmann, Pawlenty Pour It On in War of Words (July 28, 2011)

Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann (Photo credit: Star Tribune)

Bachmann Migraine Hit Piece (July 23, 2011)

Republican presidential  candidate U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann speaks during the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference on June 17, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Michele Bachmann Surges in Presidential Polling (July 21, 2011)

Michele Bachmann Leaves ‘Antichrist’ Church (July 16, 2011)

Getty Images via CNN

Bachmann ‘Pray Away the Gay’ (July 12, 2011)

Bill O’Reilly Opines on Clinton, Bachmann, and Palin (July 10, 2011)

Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann (Photo credit: Robyn Beck / AFP — Getty Images)

Husband Marcus Bachmann Emerges from the Shadows (July 7, 2011)

Michele and Marcus Bachmann wave as they march in a 2011 Fourth of July parade in Clear Lake, Iowa. (Photo credit: Steve Pope / Getty Images Washington Post photo gallery)

Michele Bachmann Flying High in Iowa (June 26, 2011)

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is statistically tied with Mitt Romney at the top of the first Iowa poll of the 2012 Republican presidential primary campaign season. (Photo credit: Sean Gardner / Reuters)

Michele Bachmann Set to Make Presidential Run Official (June 21, 2011)

Michele Bachmann (Photo credit: The Associated Press via Huffington Post)

Michele Bachmann ‘In’ for President, ‘Out’ for Congress (June 13, 2011)

Take Michele Bachmann Seriously (June 11, 2011)

Dueling Divas: Michele Bachmann vs. Sarah Palin (June 9, 2011)

Bachmann-Pawlenty ‘Minnesota Twins’ Grudge Match (June 7, 2011)

Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty claim there’s room for two Minnesota Republicans. (Photo composite: AP via Politico)

Michele Bachmann Says She’ll ‘Stand Up to Obamacare’ (June 1, 2011)

Rep. Michele Bachmann speaks at the Tea Party Patriots “Continuing Revolution” rally on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 31, 2011.
(Photo credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Iowans Are ‘Chomping At the Bit’ for Bachmann (May 28, 2011)

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., greets Irene Blom (right) before speaking at a Presidential Lecture Series sponsored by The Family Leader, Monday, April 11, 2011, in Pella, Iowa. (Photo credit: The Associated Press)

Michele Bachmann Raises the Roof in Ohio (May 23, 2011)

Rep. Michele Bachmann speaks at a Republican fundraiser in Archbold, Ohio, May 20, 2011. (Photo credit: JD Pooley / AP via USA Today)

Michele Bachmann: Eyes on the Prez (May 16, 2011)

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., speaks during the Conservative Principles Conference, in Des Moines, Iowa on March 26, 2011. (Photo credit: Charlie Neibergall / AP)

Time Magazine Rates Bachmann ‘Influential’ (April 23, 2011)

Forbes magazine has named Michele Bachmann the 22nd most powerful woman in the world on its list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women,” ahead of Sarah Palin, who ranked 34th.

Native Bachmann Running Hard in Iowa (April 12, 2011)

Michele Bachmann dances on stage with her husband, Marcus, after speaking at a Tea Party Rally on July 2, 2011 outside the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. (Photo credit: Justin Hayworth / AP via Washington Post photo gallery)

Michele Bachmann Running for President (March 24, 2011)

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is likely to form an exploratory committee to run for president in 2012. (Photo credit: Melina Mara / Washington Post)

Michele Bachmann Makes News in New Hampshire (March 13, 2011)

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., arrives with husband, Marcus, at a state GOP fundraiser in Nashua, N.H., Saturday, March 12, 2011 (Photo credit: The Associated Press)

Michele Bachmann Eyes ‘Madam President’ (Sept. 9, 2009)

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Related compilations

Michele Bachmann’s Political Résumé

Michele Bachmann’s March of Folly (2009-2010)

Michele Bachmann Up-Close (2010-2011)

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Sunday, January 8, 2012, at least 1,872 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to iCasualties.org.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 14,327 U.S. service members have been wounded as of Sept. 30, 2011, according to iCasualties.org.

Latest identifications:

Navy Master-at-Arms 1st Class (AW) Stacy O. Johnson, 35, Rolling Fork, Miss., died July 18, 2011 while supporting operations in Bahrain. He was assigned to Naval Security Force Bahrain. The Navy reclassified his death in a motorcycle crash more than five months after he died to reflect that he played a direct role supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Clark A. Corley Jr., 35, Oxnard, Calif., died Dec. 3, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Army Spc. Ryan M. Lumley, 21, Lakeland, Fla., died Dec. 3, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Army Spc. Thomas J. Mayberry, 21, Springville, Calif., died Dec. 3, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Army Sgt. Ryan D. Sharp, 28, Idaho Falls, Idaho, died Dec. 3, 2011 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered Nov. 21 at Kandahar province, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher P. J. Levy, 21, Ramseur, N.C., died Dec. 10, 2011 of wounds sustained Dec. 7 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Sgt. Christopher L. Muniz, 24, New Cuyama, Calif., died Dec. 11, 2011 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Army Spc. Ronald H. Wildrick Jr., 30, Blairstown, N.J., died Dec. 11, 2011 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Army Pvt. Jalfred D. Vaquerano, 20, Apopka, Fla., died Dec. 13, 2011 in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered from enemy small-arms fire while deployed in Logar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Marine Maj. Samuel M. Griffith, 36, Virginia Beach, Va., died Dec. 14, 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 4th Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Marine Forces Reserve, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Army Spc. Mikayla A. Bragg, 21, Longview, Wash., died Dec. 21, 2011 in Khowst province, Afghanistan, of a gunshot wound. She was assigned to the 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.

Army Staff Sgt. Joseph J. “Doc” Altmann, 27, Marshfield, Wis., died Dec. 25, 2011 in Kunar province Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Army Spc. Kurt W. Kern, 24, McAllen, Texas, died Dec. 27, 2011 in Paktia, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Sgt. Noah M. Korte, 29, Lake Elsinore, Calif., died Dec. 27, 2011 in Paktia, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Pfc. Justin M. Whitmire, 20, Easley, S.C., died Dec. 27, 2011 in Paktia, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. Pfc. Whitmire had been in Afghanistan for about 19 days and in the military for a little over a year.

Army National Guard Spc. Pernell J. Herrera, 33, Espanola, N.M., died Dec. 31, 2011 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, of a suspected heart attack while performing physical fitness training. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment, New Mexico Army National Guard, Santa Fe, N.M.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad R. Regelin, 24, Cottonwood, Calif., died Jan. 2, 2012 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned as an explosive ordnance disposal technician to Marine Special Operations Company Bravo and stationed at Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3, San Diego, Calif.

Air Force Senior Airman Bryan R. Bell, 23, Erie, Pa., died Jan. 5, 2012 in Shir ghazi, Helmand province, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew S. Schwartz, 34, Traverse City, Mich., died Jan. 5, 2012 in Shir ghazi, Helmand province, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was an explosive ordnance disposal specialist assigned to the 90th Civil Engineer Squadron, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Matthew R. Seidler, 24, Westminster, Md., died Jan. 5, 2012 in Shir ghazi, Helmand province, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

Army National Guard Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt, 21, Merrillville, Ind., died Jan. 6, 2012 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, 32, Indianapolis, Ind., died Jan. 6, 2012 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

Army National Guard Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, 20, Aurora, Ill., died Jan. 6, 2012 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

Army National Guard Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., 44, Hamlet, Ind., died Jan. 6, 2012 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

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Remember Their Sacrifice

Related links

Iraq Casualties

Afghanistan Casualties

Honor the Fallen

Click to visit the Military Times Hall of Valor

Visit Military Times — The top source for military news

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Related reports

Afghan Blasts Kill 9 NATO Troops in 1st Week of 2012

By Slobodan Lekic

January 6, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan — Explosives hidden in a trash heap killed six children in southern Afghanistan Friday, police said, and five NATO troops were killed in roadside bombings in the volatile region. …

Elsewhere in the south, four NATO troops died in one of Friday’s bombings, and one was killed in a separate blast. The alliance said both incidents occurred in southern Afghanistan but provided no further details. …

The deaths bring to nine the number of international troops killed in the first week of the year. At least 544 NATO troops died in Afghanistan in 2011, the second-deadliest year for the coalition in the decade-old war. …

U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan have been significantly increased since 2009 and the government’s army and police have rapidly expanded, resulting in the capture and killing of thousands of Taliban insurgents. Nonetheless, the guerrillas have retained their capability to inflict losses on coalition forces.

Faced with overwhelming allied superiority in numbers and firepower, the Taliban largely avoid direct combat, relying instead on roadside bombs, small ambushes and hit-and-run tactics to harass NATO and government forces. …

The steady flow of casualties and the high costs of the operation have undermined support for the war, particularly among European allies who make up about a third of the approximately 130,000-member NATO-led force. They come at a time when defense budgets are being slashed as part of public spending cuts and other austerity measures designed to deal with the worsening economic crisis. …

Full story

Iraq Blasts Kill At Least 72, Raise Specter of Civil War

Video

Wave of explosions kills dozens in Iraq (NBC News, Jan. 5, 2012) – Explosions rocked two Shiite neighborhoods in Iraq, killing dozens of people. (00:28)

The Associated Press and Reuters via MSNBC.com
January 5, 2012

BAGHDAD — A wave of bombings targeting Shiites in Iraq killed 72 people on Thursday, deepening sectarian tensions that exploded just after the last American troops left the country in mid-December. …

The bombings began early in the morning when explosions struck two Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 27 people.

A few hours later, a suicide attack hit Shiite pilgrims heading to the holy Shiite city of Karbala, killing 45, said provincial official Quosay al-Abadi. The explosions took place near Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. …

The new violence will only exacerbate the country’s political crisis pitting politicians from the Shiite majority who dominate the government against the Sunni minority, which reigned supreme under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government last month issued an arrest warrant for the Sunni vice-president, the country’s top Sunni politician.

The Sunni official, Tariq al-Hashemi, is holed up in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region in the north — effectively out of reach of state security forces.

The latest attack have only deepened the fears of a return to sectarian strife in Iraq, which teetered on the brink of civil war in 2006-7. …

Full story

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1/10/12 Update

3 Car Bombs Kill 17 in Iraqi Capital

Iraq’s Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi speaks during a Dec. 23, 2011, interview with the Associated Press near Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo credit: Karim Kadim / AP)

By Adam Schreck and Yahya Barzanji

January 9, 2012

BAGHDAD — Three car bombs exploded Monday evening in the Iraqi capital and killed at least 17 people, authorities said. At least one appeared to target Shiite pilgrims, sinking the country deeper into a new wave of sectarian violence.

A second car bomb struck near a police vehicle in the Shiite neighborhood of al-Shaab, killing three policemen and four other people, police and hospital officials said. Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb killed two Shiite pilgrims in a Baghdad suburb.

The attacks were the latest in a wave of violence primarily targeting Shiites that has killed more than 90 people in less than a week.

Security forces discovered a third car bomb in a predominantly Sunni area in western Baghdad later in the evening. It exploded while sappers were trying to defuse it, killing a soldier, officials said.

The leaders of Iraq’s rival sects have been locked in a standoff since last month, when authorities in the Shiite-dominated government called for Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi’s arrest on terrorism charges just as the last American troops were withdrawing from the country. Al-Hashemi is Iraq’s highest ranking Sunni politician. …

Also Monday, an al-Qaida front group in Iraq [the Islamic State of Iraq] claimed responsibility for a November bombing inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, a heavily protected area in the center of the Iraqi capital. Al-Maliki has described the Green Zone bombing near parliament as an assassination attempt against him.

The claim of responsibility by the Sunni militants said the suicide attack was targeting “the head of the Iranian project in Iraq,” an apparent reference to al-Maliki and the ties of Iraqi Shiites to Shiite-majority Iran. The statement said the attack failed because the car exploded prematurely. …

Full story

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1/14/12 Update

Bomb kills at least 53 pilgrims in south Iraq (AP, Jan. 14, 2012) – A bomb killed at least 53 Shiite pilgrims near the southern port city of Basra on Saturday, an Iraqi official said. (00:50)

Bomb kills 50 Shiite pilgrims, wounds 100 in Iraq (AP and Reuters, Jan. 14, 2012) — The death toll from a suicide bomb attack on Shiite pilgrims in the southern Iraqi city of Basra rose to 50 people with another 100 wounded in the blast. It was the latest in a series of attacks during Shiite religious commemorations that threaten to further increase sectarian tensions just weeks after the U.S. withdrawal. … Full story

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1/15/12 Update

Ten dead in militant attack in Iraq’s Ramadi (Reuters, Jan. 15, 2012) — Ten people were killed when gunmen wearing explosive belts stormed a police building in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday, police and provincial officials said. The attack in mainly Sunni Anbar province followed several weeks of bombings targeting Shi’ites after the eruption of a political crisis that has threatened to break up the coalition government and raised fears of renewed sectarian violence. … Full story

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1/29/12 Update

Blast Outside Hospital Kills Dozens in Baghdad

People gather at the scene of a car bomb attack in Zafaraniyah, Baghdad, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (Photo credit: Khalid Mohammed / AP)

The Associated Press and MSNBC.com
January 27, 2012

BAGHDAD — At least 32 people — including at least six policemen — are dead from a car-bomb attack near a funeral procession, The Associated Press reports.

Police said the blast struck in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Zafaraniyah, where mourners had gathered for the funeral of Mohammed al-Maliki, a real estate agent who was killed with his wife and son on Thursday. They said 65 people were wounded in the attack. …

Insurgents have stepped up violence in Iraq since the U.S. military withdrawal last month. More than 200 people have been killed since the beginning of the year.

Full story

Video (00:47)

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2/22/12 Update

15 Killed in Suicide Blast Targeting Baghdad Police Academy

Iraqi policemen stand guard outside a Baghdad police academy that was the target of a suicide car bombing on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012. (Photo credit: AFP / Getty Images via CNN)

By Mohammed Tawfeeq

February 20, 2012

Baghdad (CNN) — Violent overnight attacks in Iraq killed nearly two dozen people Sunday.

A suicide bomber detonated a car rigged with explosives at the main entrance of the police academy in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 15 people as recruits were leaving, Iraqi police officials said.

The attack, which occurred on the traditional start of the work week in the Arab world, wounded at least 21 others, police officials said. …

North of Baghdad, in Diyala province, seven others were killed in two attacks. In the first incident, four people were gunned down at a house late Saturday night. Three others were shot dead by gunmen who opened fire at a checkpoint just south of Baquba, the provincial capital.

Among the victims were members of awakening councils — groups mainly made up of Sunni Arab fighters who turned against al Qaeda. …

The latest attacks come as Iraq remains mired in a political crisis split along sectarian lines, which has raised fears about a return to the levels of violence that nearly tore the country apart in 2005 and 2006. …

Full story

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Related: Quick Overview of America’s March of Folly in Iraq

Video

The War in Iraq (MSNBC “Up with Chris Hays,” Dec. 31, 2011) – A look back at the war in Iraq as the Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and Iraq ends today. (06:05)

Unintended But Foreseeable Consequences of the Iraq War (Aug. 30, 2008)

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Related reports on this site

A man kisses the body of a government-backed Sunni militia member laid on the ground of a hospital yard in the town of Mahmoudiyah, south of Baghdad, on Sunday, July 18, 2010 after a deadly blast. (Photo credit: Reuters)

Bomb Attacks Targeting Iraqi Police Continue in Baghdad (Oct. 12, 2011)

Coordinated Bombings in Baghdad Target Iraqi Police (Oct. 11, 2011)

Insurgents Target Iraqi Soldiers, Police in Spate of Attacks (Sept. 14, 2011)

Bloody Mayhem Across Iraq (Aug. 15, 2011)

Baghdad Area Bombings Continue (July 5, 2011)

Deadly Blasts Shatter Calm in Baghdad (June 23, 2011)

Spate of Bombings in Baghdad (April 18, 2011)

Iraq: Many Dead in Tikrit (March 29, 2011)

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Iraq Violence Persists (Feb. 9, 2011)

Wholesale Slaughter in Iraq (Jan. 18, 2011)

Iraq Celebrates U.S. Exit: ‘Dawn of a New Day’

Sunni Muslims celebrate the departure of U.S. troops from Iraq in a Baghdad neighborhood Friday, Dec. 30, 2011. (Photo credit: AFP / Getty Images via CNN)

December 31, 2011

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki declared a new dawn on Saturday as Iraq celebrated the departure of American troops at a ceremony held amid tight security and without Maliki’s key political rivals.

Iraq was engulfed in its worst political crisis in a year after the last U.S. troops left on Dec. 18 when Maliki sought the arrest of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, threatening a frail coalition government of Sunnis, Shi’ites and Kurds.

Saturday marked the end of the 2008 security pact agreed by then-President George W. Bush and was the last day for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq, nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and allowed the Shi’ite majority to take power. …

“I declare this day, the 31st of December, on which the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq is complete, as a national day,” said Maliki in a televised ceremony, surrounded by security officials in dress uniforms.

“It is Iraq’s day. It is a feast for all Iraqis. It is the dawn of a new day in Mesopotamia … Your country is free.” …

In Babil province, south of the capital, an Iraqi flag was raised to the top of a 24-meter pole in a ceremony attended by Governor Mohammed al-Masoudi and about 500 guests.

Soldiers and police paraded with banners, one reading “Sovereignty day, a day of dignity for all Iraqis.” …

Full story

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Related report

‘Iraq Day’ Marks Deadline for U.S. Withdrawal

Dhirgham al-Zaidi, right, stands atop a pedestal that once held Saddam Hussein’s statue as the Iraq flag is waved on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011.
(Photo credit: CNN)

December 31, 2011

BAGHDAD — Television stations in Baghdad are calling it “Iraq Day,” the Saturday deadline for American troops to completely withdraw from the country under a U.S.-Iraqi security pact.

Stations aligned with Sunni and Shiite extremist groups, many of whom attacked U.S. troops, have dubbed it the “Day of Defeating the Occupier” — others have called it the “Day of Fullfillment” or “Day of Evacuation.” …

Under a security agreement signed in 2008, the United States agreed to withdraw its troops by the end of 2011. Negotiations to extend the deadline broke down in October after Baghdad’s political leaders refused to grant U.S. troops immunity from Iraqi prosecution, a move that Washington leaders said was unacceptable. …

Udey al-Zaidi, the brother of Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi who threw his shoes at then-President George W. Bush during a 2008 news conference in Baghdad [link added], … was among a small group of less than a dozen protesters who gathered Friday to mark “Iraq Day” in Baghdad’s Firdous Square — the place where Saddam’s statue was toppled in one of the most iconic moments of the invasion in 2003.

Al-Zaidi said they planned to burn the American flag at 2:15 p.m. — the exact time he says U.S. troops raised the flag in the square in April of 2003. …

Full story

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Related reports on this site

A U.S. soldier secures the scene of a roadside bombing in Baghdad in 2008, at a time when Iraqi leaders were demanding the withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of 2011. (Photo credit: Khalid Mohammed /Associated Press)

End of Iraq War for U.S. (Dec. 18, 2011)

Obama Honors Promise to Withdraw from Iraq (Oct. 23, 2011)

Al-Sadr Threatens U.S. to Honor Withdrawal Agreement (Sept. 12, 2011)

Pro-Iran Pact Emerges in Iraq (May 5, 2010)

Iraq Exit Will Be Long and Hard (March 7, 2009)

GOP Support for Iraq Pullout (Feb. 27, 2009)

Election Foreshadows Iraq’s Future (Jan. 25, 2009)

Iraq: ‘Ten More Years’ (Dec. 13, 2008)

Iranian Approval for Iraq Security Pact (Nov. 18, 2008)

Iraqis Demand Withdrawal Date (Nov. 8, 2008)

Iran Presses Iraq on U.S. Troops (Oct. 9, 2008)

The Iraqi Cabinet approved a U.S.-Iraq status-of-forces agreement Nov. 16, 2008, following months of difficult negotiations. (Photo credit: Iraqi Government / AP)

‘The War is Over’: Last U.S. Soldiers Leave Iraq

Video

Last troops leave Iraq (NBC “Today,” Dec. 18, 2011) – Nearly nine years after the U.S. invaded Iraq, the last American troops crossed the border into Kuwait, marking the end of the war that cost more than 4,500 American lives. NBC’s Richard Engel reports on the pullout. (04:22)

The Associated Press, Reuters, and NBC News via via MSNBC.com
December 18, 2011

KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait — The last American troops crossed the border from Iraq into Kuwait early Sunday, ending the U.S. military presence there after nearly nine years.

As the last convoy left Iraq at daybreak Sunday, soldiers whooped, bumped fists and embraced each other in a burst of joy and relief, The Associated Press reported. …

After a ceremony Thursday in Baghdad formally marking the end of the war, the timing and all other details of the departure of the last convoy were kept under tight secrecy due to security concerns. The low-key end to the war was just another reminder of how dangerous Iraq remains, even though violence is lower now than at any other time since the 2003 invasion. …

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little [reported] Sunday that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta “approved the order officially ending the Iraq war” at 6:59 a.m. ET.

The Iraq war began on March 20, 2003, at a time when national defense was a top priority for Americans still shocked by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It continued with the invasion and ouster of Saddam Hussein, then ground through years of war against an insurgency that left tens of thousands dead.

Among those dead were nearly 4,500 Americans, and the war cost $800 billion from the U.S. Treasury. The question of whether it was worth it all is yet unanswered. …

For President Barack Obama, the military pullout is the fulfilment of an election promise to bring troops home from a conflict inherited from his predecessor that tainted America’s standing worldwide.

For Iraqis, it brings a sense of sovereignty but fuels worries their country may slide once again into the kind of sectarian violence that killed thousands of people at its peak in 2006-2007.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government still struggles with a delicate power-sharing arrangement between Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni parties, leaving Iraq vulnerable to meddling by Sunni Arab nations and Shiite Iran. …

At the height of the war, more than 170,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq at more than 500 bases. By Saturday, there were fewer than 3,000 troops, and one base. …

A handful of U.S. military personnel will remain in the country, working with the U.S. Embassy to help with arms sales and training for Iraqi forces. Talks could resume next year on whether more U.S. troops can return for future training missions.

In the meantime, U.S. officials say there will be roughly 16,000 people involved in the American diplomatic effort in Iraq.

About 2,000 will be diplomats and federal workers. The remaining 14,000 will be contractors — roughly half involved with security.

Full story

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Related story

Remembering the last slain American

Spc. David Hickman became the 4,487th U.S. military fatality and the last American to die in combat in the Iraq war on November 14, 2011, when his unit was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Baghdad.

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1/22/12 Update

Iraq Becoming Police State, Warns Rights Group

Iraqi residents grieve at the site of a bomb attack in Nassiriya, 185 miles southeast of Baghdad on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. A suicide bomber targeting Shi’ite pilgrims killed at least 30 people and wounded at least 70 others in southern Iraq. (Photo credit: Reuters)

The Associated Press and Reuters via MSNBC.com
January 22, 2012

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Shiite-led government cracked down harshly on dissent during the past year of Arab Spring uprisings, turning the country into a “budding police state” as autocratic regimes crumbled elsewhere in the region, an international rights groups said Sunday.

Security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists, torture detainees and intimidate activists, Human Rights Watch said in the Iraq chapter of its annual report.

“Iraq is quickly slipping back into authoritarianism” [link added], said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for the New York-based group. “Despite U.S. government assurances that it helped create a stable democracy (in Iraq), the reality is that it left behind a budding police state,” she said.

Protests against Iraq’s U.S.-backed and democratically elected government erupted around the country in February 2011, alongside other demonstrations in the Arab world.

While protests in other countries demanded the downfall of autocratic regimes, most of the demonstrations in Iraq pushed for improved services like reliable electricity and water, and an end to corruption.

The government clamped down, sometimes sparking bloody clashes — as when 14 were killed in confrontations between security forces and civilians across the country during the Feb. 25 protests billed as the “Day of Rage” [link added]. A year later, with U.S. troops withdrawn and Iraq’s government mired in a political crisis, the protest movement has all but died out. Demonstrators who gather in Baghdad’s central Tahrir Square are usually outnumbered by the security forces watching over them.

“Iraqis are quickly losing ground on the most basic of rights, including the right to free speech and assembly,” said Samer Muscati, an Iraq researcher for the group. “Nowadays, every time someone attends a peaceful protest, they put themselves at risk of attack and abuse by security forces or their proxies,” he said.

Prison brutality, including torture in detention facilities, was a major problem throughout the year, the group’s annual report said.

In February 2011 Human Rights Watch uncovered a secret detention center, controlled by elite forces who report to the prime minister’s military office. …

Full story

———

Related reports on this site

Senseless Waste of Taxpayer Dollars in Iraq, Afghanistan (Aug. 31, 2011)

Endless U.S. War Price Tag Hits $4 Trillion (June 29, 2011)

Another War Like Iraq ‘Nuts’ (Feb. 26, 2011)

Iraq WMD Lie Exposed (Feb. 15, 2011)

Colossal Taxpayer Waste in Iraq (Aug. 29, 2010)

Bush-Cheney ‘Hell Bent’ on War (Nov. 27, 2009)

Iraq War Plan Soon After 9/11 (Nov. 22, 2009)

Iraq Projects Down the Tubes (Nov. 21, 2009)

Iraqi Neglect Costs U.S. Taxpayers (April 29, 2009)

Trillion-Dollar Wars Since 9/11 (March 30, 2009)

Feds Widen Iraq Corruption Probe (Feb. 15, 2009)

Iraq Rebuilding ‘$100 Billion Failure’ (Dec. 14, 2008)

Iraq: Intelligence and Policy Failure (Dec. 10, 2008)

Billions Lost on Reconstruction Projects in Iraq (July 28, 2008)

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12/21/11 Update: Dozens die in wave of attacks as Iraq’s sectarian conflict ignites

Smoke rises from the site of a bomb attack in central Baghdad
on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2011. (Photo: Mohammed Ameen / Reuters)

Dozens Die As 14 Bombs Explode Across Baghdad

Iraqi security forces inspect a crater caused by a car bomb attack in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2011. (Photo credit: Hadi Mizban / AP)

The Associated Press and Reuters via MSNBC.com
December 21, 2011

BAGHDAD — A wave of bombings ripped across Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing at least 60 people and injuring more than 150 in the worst violence Iraq has seen for months. The bloodbath comes just days after American forces left the country.

The blasts also came on the heels of a political crisis between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite factions that erupted this weekend.

The political spat has raised fears that Iraq’s sectarian wounds will be reopened during a fragile time when Iraq is finally navigating its own political future without U.S. military support.

Most of the attacks appeared to hit Shiite neighborhoods although some Sunni areas were also targeted. …

Iraqi officials said at least 14 blasts went off early Thursday morning in 11 neighborhoods around the city.

Figures gathered from Iraqi health and police officials across the city put the death toll at 60, with 160 injured. The spokesman for the Iraqi health ministry put the death toll at 57 and said at least 176 people were injured. …

Full story

Video

Wave of attacks kills dozens in Baghdad (NBC “Today,” Dec. 21, 2011) – A wave of coordinated bombings ripped across Baghdad Thursday morning, killing at least 60 people and injuring nearly 200. NBC’s Richard Engel reports. (02:20)

On Friday night, Dec. 16, at 10ET/9CT, “Dateline” NBC featured ‘The Case of the Missing D.A.’ The program included an interview with a Pennsylvania medical examiner who offered his theory of how the suspected murder of district attorney Ray Gricar could be linked to the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse investigation at Penn State University.

Video

Behind the scenes with Lester Holt (NBC “Dateline,” Dec. 15, 2011) – Dateline NBC’s Lester Holt gives a personal behind the scenes preview of the Dateline report ‘The Case of the Missing D.A.’ which aired Friday, December 16, at 10 p.m. / 9 CT (00:33)

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‘The Case of the Missing D.A.’

 Video

Was DA investigating Sandusky murdered? (NBC “Today,” Dec. 16, 2011) – On April 15, 2005 Ray Gricar, the district attorney who was investigating the first known child-sex abuse allegation against Jerry Sandusky, mysteriously vanished. His car was later found abandoned and his laptop fished out of a river. NBC’s Lester Holt reports. (03:45)

Dateline NBC

December 15, 2011

Disturbing news out of Penn State put a cold case back in the spotlight. A decade ago, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, a tiny town just a few short miles away from the Penn State campus, the accusation that Coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused a child, first came to the attention of Ray Gricar, the local district attorney.

Then, seven years ago Gricar went missing. Investigators uncovered his laptop but the hard drive was unreadable. The question being asked now is – could there be a link between Gricar’s disappearance and the Sandusky scandal? Lester Holt reports.

Watch entire episode online

Video excerpt

The Case of the Missing D.A., Part 6 (NBC “Dateline,” Dec. 16, 2011) – Pittsburgh forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht offers his theory about a possible link between Ray Gricar’s disappearance and the Sandusky scandal. (08:28)

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