European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 23 2007 stars and stripes Page family go needs treatment not jail time by Michelle Roberts the associated press san Antonio sgt Paul Miles Ami by knew something was different about him when he came Back from Iraq the Eagle scout and former Church missionary was jumpy later they would learn he built a bomb and used it to damage a statue of the Virgin Mary then he killed a cat ultimately the 22yearold National guardsman was arrested in november on Federal charges accused of building explosives in his apartment and he was diag nosed with bipolar disorder he could get 10 years in prison thousands of soldiers and marines who served in Iraq and Afghanistan Are believed to have been damaged psychologically whether Miles is one of them is not Clear but his father Curtis Miles wants authorities to take his exemplary youth and service record into consideration that3s a pretty harsh sentence to mess his life up for the rest of his life for bad de Casio making that resulted from him com ing Home from Iraq he said the prosecutor on the Case said lie can not simply let Miles go in not in a position to give him a pass John Ratcliffe said there is no service exception for criminal activity he said Miles family and supporters say his pre War life never hinted at violence in addition to achieving boy scouts High est rank and serving As a Church Mission Ary Miles volunteered at a Center for men tally retarded adults padding his Skinny Frame to play Santa Claus at Christmas Par ties he joined the National guard in 2001 and volunteered for Iraq duty so his com rades with families could stay Home according to his father to Aid in his Iraq service Miles Learned some arabic and studied iraqi culture he was awarded an army commendation medal in part for using his language skills to defuse a tense situation Between his patrol and an iraqi wedding party in june 2005 Miles was a gunner and Security guard in Iraq and his War experience was not unusual for service m Iraq where Monotony is punctuated with life threatening attacks Miles is in jail awaiting a court ordered psychiatric evaluation Petraeus seeing mixed results from Iraq surge by Ann Scott Tyson the Washington Post Baghdad Gen David Petraeus the top us commander in Iraq said the ongoing increase of nearly 30000 us troops in the country has achieved modest Progress but has also met with setbacks such As a Rise in devastating suicide bombings and other problems that leave Uncertain whether his counterinsurgency strategy will ultimately succeed assessing two months of tells and iraqi plan to pacify the capital senior american Petrae us adm William fallen head of us forces in the Middle East it Gen Raymond Odi Emo com Mander of military operations in Iraq and top regional command ers see mixed results they said that while an increase in us and iraqi troops has improved Security in Baghdad and Anbar province attacks have risen sharply elsewhere critical now they said in interviews last week is for iraqi leaders to forge the political compromises needed for Lon term stability the commanders search for signs of Success or failure on Fri Day at dusk Petraeus boarded a helicopter to look for scenes of nor Malcy and Progress from above the maelstrom of the capital the aircraft banked right and Petraeus caught sight of a Patch of relative Calm Hes actually watering the grass Petraeus said with a laugh peering Down at a Man tending a soccer Field the air Force Reserve takes care of x and there is the Opportunity for upward mobility if s i is 1 that what you Wani r c the Ari razing Opportunity to better yourself and to become part of something bigger is right there staff sergeant John storm is the noncommissioned officer in charge no ice with the 457th fighter Squadron intelligence flight fort with children playing nearby a bit farther along the Tigris River a hulking pile of twisted steel came into View the re Mains of the Saraiya Bridge blown up april 12 amid a series of spectacular and deadly suicide bombings thais a setback Petraeus said his voice lower the deployment of additional troops in Baghdad is Only 60 per cent Complete and incoming units in Many parts of the City Are still conducting initial Laborin Tensive operations to Clear neighbourhoods before setting up patrol bases a pillar of Petraeus counterinsurgency plan iras Security forces have contributed the nine battalions pledged for the Baghdad operations and rotate those forces every 90 Days the bases which so far in clude 21 combat outposts and 26 joint Security stations run together with iraqi a key build ing Block in the Effort to increase Security for Baghdad residents another part the strategy is to Wall off communities along their traditional boundaries to control population Access and pre vent attacks that part of the Concrete Caterpillar Petraeus said pointing out a Barrier going up in a neigh boyhood in West Baghdad us commanders say sectarian murders in Baghdad fell from 1200 in january to fewer than 400 in March some markets Are Petraeus reopening and a few thousand families have trickled Back to areas they had fled but they agreed that among the most Trou bling trends in Iraq has been the proliferation of suicide bomb attacks because they risk re igniting sectarian revenge killings and undermining the government suicide bombings have in creased 30 percent Over the six weeks that ended in Early april according to military data i dont think youre Ever going to get rid of All the car bombs Petraeus said Iraq is going to have to learn As did say Northern Ireland to live with some de Gree of sensational attacks another major concern shared by us military leaders is whether the government of prime min ister Nouri Almalik is capable of solidifying gains in Security As Well As making the crucial Politi Cal compromises needed to achieve peace were trying to somehow Speed up the Baghdad clock and put time on the Washington clock that All we can do at the end of the Day Petraeus said bar Pes your Hometown newspaper Why pay Fuu Price Home delivery Only per week Toli free 08001011270 Germany 0800780265 Italy 08000858827 us 080078073 Belgium 08000225203 Netherlands 0900958303 Spain Dan 3498437 email hours of operation of 07001800 Samsun 07301300 european stars and stripes attn circulation dept unit 29480 Apoate 09211