[pjw] NEWS: Navy SEAL killed in Iraq by ISIS (CBS 5/3)

[Peace and Justice Works]

Iraq Affinity Group supporters:

On Tuesday came news of yet another combat death in the war the US is 
supposedly not fighting. (Just "advising.") Details are below.

An article last month posted results of a survey-- which was apparently 
done by a not-very-reputable agency, but still has significance-- showing 
most young people in Iraq think of the US as their enemy.
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/13/young-iraqis-overwhelmingly-consider-u-s-their-enemy-poll-says/

While there's been talk by mainstream political candidates about what a 
mistake it was invading Iraq in 2003, everybody seems to be in favor of 
more bombs and/or boots on the ground for the war against ISIS, aka Iraq 
War part III. PJW is a 501-c-3 nonprofit and is not for or against any 
political party or candidate. We do, however, encourage you to encourage 
every candidate to promise to end the wars and bring all the troops home 
now.
dan h
peace and justice works iraq affinity group


---------- Forwarded message ----------
  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-seal-killed-in-iraq-by-isis-identified-charlie-keating-iv/
Navy SEAL killed in Iraq by ISIS identified
    Last Updated May 3, 2016 9:54 PM EDT

    PHOENIX -- The Navy SEAL who was [57]killed in Iraq on Tuesday as the
    U.S. military stepped up its role helping Christian and Kurdish
    militias battling [58]ISIS near the terror group's stronghold in Mosul
    has been identified as 31-year-old Charlie Keating IV.

    Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced late Tuesday afternoon that Keating
    died in an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ([59]ISIS) attack near the
    city of Irbil.

    Ducey ordered all state flags be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to
    sunset Wednesday in honor of Keating, who was a graduate of Phoenix's
    Arcadia High School. He is the grandson of the late Arizona financier
    involved in savings and loan scandal. His cousin is Arizona Olympic
    swimmer Gary Hall Jr., [60]CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO reported.

    "It is a combat death, of course. And a very sad loss," U.S. Secretary
    of Defense Ash Carter said in Stuttgart, Germany, where he was meeting
    NATO allies.

    There are 30 SEALs in Iraq as part of a Special Forces advise and
    assist mission.

    The death occurred "in the neighborhood of Erbil," the capital of
    Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, according to Carter. [61]CBS
    News national security correspondent David Martin reports the battle
    was north of Mosul, an area that saw intense fighting Tuesday as ISIS
    militants tried to fight their way north from their stronghold.

    The U.S.-led "Operation Inherent Resolve" issued a short written
    statement saying a coalition "service member was killed in northern
    Iraq as a result of enemy fire."

    Martin reports the deceased SEAP was an American adviser to the Kurdish
    Peshmerga force. He was working with a Peshmerga unit two to three
    miles behind the front line during a battle with ISIS when some of the
    militants managed to get into a Peshmerga camp in Kurdish territory to
    kill the American with gun fire.

    "It was a real battle, not just one-off raid," reports Martin.

    ISIS forces broke through using three truck bombs followed by
    bulldozers which cleared the wreckage away, which is how they got in
    the rear. They had two more truck bombs with them but they were
    destroyed by air strikes, Martin reports.

    U.S. advisers rotate from camp to camp -- so U.S. Navy SEALS just
    happened to be at that camp when the attack came, Martin said.

    A senior U.S. military official told CBS News that American F-15
    fighter jets and [62]drones provided air support -- 23 strikes in all
    -- to the Peshmerga forces during what was described as an intense
    battle. There were no other U.S. casualties reported during the battle.
    Casualties among the Peshmerga remained unclear.

    Keating's former track coach at Arcadia said he has kept it touch with
    Keating through Facebook over the years and he is heartbroken by the
    news.
    [63]​An image taken from video posted online by ISIS purportedly shows
    one of the group's militants firing on a Kurdish Peshermga position
    during an intense battle north of Mosul
    View Gallery

    An image taken from video posted online by ISIS purportedly shows one
    of the group's militants firing on a Kurdish Peshermga position during
    an intense battle north of Mosul, Iraq, May 3, 2016.

    "I'm devastated. I'm crushed. I'm trying to hold myself together," said
    Rob Reniewicki, Arcadia High School track coach to KPHO. "I've the
    known the parents. I've known the family. His brother's a Navy SEAL as
    well."

    Keating attended the Naval Academy before becoming a Navy Seal based
    out of Coronado, California.

    Keating was city and region champion in the 1,600-meter run as a
    sophomore, junior and senior in high school.

    He earned all-city and first-team all-state honors as a senior,
    according to Indiana University, where he ran in college.

    Indiana University released a [64]statement on his passing.

    "When Charlie left IU to enlist and try to become a SEAL, I don't think
    it really surprised any of us," said Robert Chapman, professor of
    kinesiology at IU Bloomington, who served as IU's men's cross country
    coach from 1998 until 2007. "You could tell he was a guy who wanted to
    be the best and find out what he was made of, and serving as special
    operations forces for his country embodied that."

    Head track and field coach Ron Helmer issued the following statement on
    Keating.

    "From all accounts, Charles Keating was a great kid and a privilege to
    coach. On behalf of Indiana Track and Field, my condolences go out to
    the entire Keating family. He paid the ultimate sacrifice defending his
    country, and for that we are eternally grateful."

    Reniewicki said Keating was a joyful young man and decorated athlete.
    He said he was compelled by the attacks on 9/11 to join the military,
    KPHO reported.

    Keating was planning to get married in November, according to
    Reniewicki.

    Keating's grandfather, Charles H. Keating Jr., who died in 2014 at age
    90, was the notorious financier who served prison time for his role in
    the costliest savings and loan failure of the 1980s.

    According to the Arizona Republic, Keating was known as C-4 because he
    had the same name as three generations before him.

    During the scandal, Keating was a small child and other children
    reportedly made fun of him.

    "What happened in the past, I really don't care. I'm really close to
    him," the younger Keating told the Republic in May 2004 when he ran in
    the Class 4A state track and field championships in suburban Mesa,
    Arizona, and his grandfather watched him compete for the first time.