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BEARFEST |
Photos:
Click here to see various pictures of Bear and his family and friends
Articles:
'The world is a
darker place because we've lost a true warrior'
October 4, 2006
By Kevin Reece
SEATTLE - The flag at the Milton Police Department flies at half
staff and officers, in tribute to one of their own, have covered
their badges.
That's because Guy Barattieri was one of their own. But he was
killed in Iraq Wednesday.
"Guy is a very personable guy and everybody that met Bear liked
him," says Milton police officer William Downey.
Downey says everyone called Barattieri "Bear." Before leaving
for Iraq with the National Guard, he was a reserve police
officer for the small Pierce County Department. He'd been there
only a few months, but Downey says the friendship already ran
deep.
"Bear was so excited about being a father for the first time,"
said Downey. "The world's a darker place today without Bear in
it."
Downey says Barattieri celebrated the birth of a daughter just
three months ago.
Wednesday night his family in Seattle, and in his home state of
Ohio, asked for their privacy. A friend at the Seattle Police
Department, where Bear also served as a reserve officer a few
years ago, offered these words in their place:
"Bear was an extraordinary person," said Detective Nick Bauer,
who called Barattieri among his friends. "Just an extraordinary
man. But more importantly he was a great friend to not only
myself but everyone who met him."
Barattieri was a West Point graduate and played linebacker on
the Army football team. He served active duty for more than a
decade, then left to join the Seattle Police force, Bauer says,
to give his family a more permanent place to call home.
But his friends say he stayed active in the National Guard and
returned to serve in Iraq.
In Milton, this is a loss that hits for a second time. Sgt.
Christopher Van Der Horn was also a former reserve for Milton
Police. He was the first soldier to die in Iraq this year:
killed by a roadside bomb on January 1st.
"You know that's the thing," said Bauer. "Every soldier or
officer who is injured or killed in the line of duty... they're
not just a number. They're a person."
"The world is a darker place today," added Downey. "Because
we've lost a true warrior."
As of Wednesday night, there has been no official confirmation
of how Barattieri died. Friends say they have been told he was
killed by a roadside bomb.
A spokesperson for Seattle Police say they expect to provide a
full police escort for Barattieri's body when flown to Sea-Tac
Airport, perhaps later this week.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former Seattle police officer killed in
Iraq
October 5, 2006
Associated Press
.
SEATTLE - A former police officer and West Point graduate who
was moved by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to return
to the military has died less than a week after arriving in
Iraq, friends said.
Circumstances of the death of Army Special Forces Reserve Maj.
Guy R. Barattieri, 36, a native of Cincinnati, have not been
disclosed, but the Washington National Guard on Thursday said he
died in Iraq late Monday. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer cited
unconfirmed reports that he was killed by a roadside bomb.
Barattieri was in Iraq as a contractor, not on a military
deployment, the National Guard said. The Seattle Times reported
he arrived in Iraq on Saturday.
"He was the best of the best," his stepmother, Barbara
Barattieri told The Times by telephone Wednesday from her home
in Cincinnati. "We are just having a hard time dealing with
this. He was one of these guys this could never happen to."
Barattieri completed his studies at the West Point Military
Academy in 1992, and left the Army to become a Seattle police
officer in August 2001. He was president of his police academy
class and became known as "Bear" on the force because of his
physical presence while patrolling the South Precinct.
"He was an outstanding guy who really liked helping people, a
great husband and dad, just an amazing man," said King County
sheriff's Deputy Matt A. Tighe, who patrolled with Barattieri
before switching to the sheriff's force.
Feeling an obligation to return to the military after the
terrorist attacks, Barattieri joined the Washington National
Guard's Special Forces, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces
Group, based in Buckley, in 2004.
"He was absolutely a distinguished soldier and a distinguished
officer, an extraordinary man, one of those guys who won the
hearts and minds of everyone he came in contact with," said
police Detective Nicholus J. Bauer, Barattieri's field training
officer.
Cliff Pope, assistant principal of Purcell Marian High School in
Cincinnati, where he and Barattieri were on the football team as
students, told The Cincinnati Enquirer his friend had been to
Iraq "off and on" since the war began.
In his last e-mail, which arrived Tuesday, "He said he couldn't
make the 20th reunion for the state championship football team,"
Pope said, "but his wife and daughter were coming into town and
he wanted me to meet them."
Barattieri leaves his wife of one year, Laurel Barattieri, and a
3-month-old daughter, Odessa.
Contributions can be made to the "Bear Fund," courtesy of the
National Guard Association of Washington at the American Lake
Credit Union, Camp Murray. Phone 800-228-2377.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fund set up to help family of slain soldier
Friends reaching out to former Seattle police officer
Friday, October 6, 2006
By MIKE BARBER
P-I REPORTER
As word of his death continued to spread among his many friends
and family around the country Thursday, a fund was set up for
the family of Washington National Guard Maj. Guy R. Barattieri,
36, a West Point graduate, decorated Green Beret and former
Seattle police officer.
Barattieri, a major in the state National Guard's Alpha Co., 1st
Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group based in Buckley, was
killed Wednesday morning by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Though he
was at the time working in a civilian contract capacity,
Barattieri, originally of Ohio, was a senior officer with the
state National Guard "in good standing" at the time of his
death, Guard officials said Thursday.
"The Bear Fund," referring to Barattieri's long-standing
nickname since his high school football days near Cincinnati,
was created through the National Guard Association of
Washington.
The account through the American Lake Credit Union, Camp Murray,
will be used to help Barattieri's wife of one year, Laurel, and
3-month-old daughter, Odessa, and stepdaughter, Rees.
"Bear was a doting stepfather to her, taking her to swim
lessons, making her lunch and taking her to school every day,"
said Mary Mascarella, a family friend in Seattle.
Donations can be made in his name to the credit union through
account number 13878, Guard officials said.
Donations can be made by visiting any branch, or arranged by
telephoning the main branch, 800-228-2377, or the Department of
Veterans Affairs branch at 800-244-0874.
Inquiries about electronic funds transfers should be directed to
Cindy Arnold by e-mail,
cindy@americanlake.org.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unknown Title
October 13, 2006
Barattieri had been in Iraq only a few days before he was
killed. Barattieri had served numerous times in Iraq either with
the military or lately working for a contractor, his friends and
military officials said.
Since last year, he had held the post of operations officer for
the state National Guard's Special Operations Detachment --
Pacific.
Buckley's Green Beret company is one of the military's elite
units that carry out secretive missions.
A 1992 West Point graduate, Barattieri first served in the
regular Army infantry before becoming a Green Beret and serving
with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Lewis.
After leaving active duty as a captain, Barattieri became a
citizen-soldier in August 2000 with the state National Guard's
Special Forces outfit in Buckley, which is east of Tacoma. From
August 2001 to 2004, he was a Seattle police officer in civilian
life, and he was elected president of his police academy class.
Barattieri went on activie duty in 2002 as a Special Forces
detachment commander in Kuwait. In March 2003, his team led the
101st Infantry Division on its march to Baghdad. Barattieri
received a Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman's badge for his
role.
Barattieri transferred to the state National Guard's information
operations group in 2004 before being appointed last year to the
post he held at the time of his death.
Many who knew Barattieri here, including many police officers,
were stunned at his death. And Barattieri's many friends
nationwide Thursday read of his death and wrote the Seattle P-I.
"Word of Guy Barattieri's death in Iraq has dropped all of
'Bear's' Cincinnati family to one knee," wrote Mark Steiner of
Cincinnati, a high school friend of Barattieri's.
Steiner said Barattieri's father, Guy Sr., was a veteran and the
original "Bear" who was the defensive line coach for the state
championship high school football team on which Steiner and
Barattieri played in 1986.
"It will be a difficult Friday night later this month when
Purcell honors the 20th anniversary of our undefeated 1986 state
football championship that we were teammates on. Bear played
defensive end. What other position would you expect a guy named
'Bear' to play?" Steiner said
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maj. Guy Barattieri grew up here as
'Bear'
October 13, 2006
PLEASANT RIDGE - As an Army Special Forces reservist, Maj. Guy
Richard Barattieri, 36, completed several missions in Iraq. He
captured three of the most wanted members of Saddam Hussein's
government who were depicted on a deck of playing cards issued
by the U.S. military.
He returned to Iraq on Sept. 30 to protect dignitaries and
businessmen. Four days later, he was killed by a roadside bomb.
"The person they were protecting was unharmed," said his uncle
Larry Wheatley, of Loveland. "The four soldiers protecting him
were all killed."
A memorial Mass will be celebrated Tuesday for Maj. Barattieri
at Nativity of Our Lord Church in Pleasant Ridge.
Maj. Barattieri grew up in Pleasant Ridge and attended Nativity
School. His friends called him "Bear." A member of the Purcell
Marian High School Class of 1988, he was an excellent outside
linebacker on the 1986 state championship football team.
Penn State offered him a full scholarship but he turned it down
to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
"All his life - from a baby on - he loved the military," his
uncle said. After graduating in 1992, he started his career in
the regular Army infantry. He later joined the 1st Special
Forces Group and served in Bosnia.
In 2001, Maj. Barattieri took a job as a patrol officer with the
Seattle Police Department while continuing to serve with the
Army Special Forces Reserves. He returned to active duty as a
Special Forces detachment commander in Kuwait. His team led the
101st Infantry Division on the march to Baghdad in 2003. Maj.
Barattieri received a Bronze Star.
At the time of his death, he was a reservist with the Washington
National Guard's Special Forces 1st Battalion based in Buckley,
Wash.
Maj. Barattieri became a father when his daughter, Odessa, was
born three months ago.
In addition to his uncle and his daughter, survivors include his
wife of one year, Laurel Rees Barattieri; a stepdaughter, Rees;
his mother, Patricia Wheatley, of Pleasant Ridge; his father,
Dick Barattieri, of Madeira; stepmother, Barbara Barattieri of
Madeira; and three sisters, Nicole and Becky Barattieri, both of
Oakley, and Gina Tesnar of Newport.
A service will be held in Seattle today. Maj. Barattieri's body
will be cremated and interred at Washington Memorial Park in
Seattle.
Mass of eternal rest is 7 p.m. Tuesday at Nativity of Our Lord
Church, Pleasant Ridge, followed by a gathering in the school
cafeteria.
Memorials are suggested to Nativity of Our Lord Church, 5935
Pandora Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45213-2017 or Purcell Marian High
School, 2935 Hackberry St., Cincinnati, OH 45206. The National
Guard Association of Washington has established a fund to
benefit Maj. Barattieri's daughter called "The Bear Fund" at
American Lake Credit Union in Camp Murray, Wash. To donate call
800-228-2377.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remembering 'Bear': A Tribute to a
Protector
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
By Ken LaCorte
Everyone called him "Bear." In fact, many of his colleagues here
at FOX News learned Guy Barattieri's full name for the first
time when they read his obituary.
To us, Bear was a protector. He worked with FOX as a guard in
our Baghdad bureau, leading our large security team when that
office was attacked with a cement mixer full of explosives last
year.
To insurgents, he was a target. While traveling with contractors
to a power plant near Baghdad, they killed him and two others
with a roadside bomb.
Bear survived the blast, but he died shortly afterward on an
operating table.
He was a young man with impressive achievements. At 36, he was a
West Point graduate, decorated Green Beret and Seattle police
officer. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he
rejoined the military and led troops to the heart of Baghdad.
When he died, Bear was a major in a National Guard Special
Forces group, working for private security firms while not on
active duty. He was big, confident and quick with a smile.
A rotation in our Baghdad office is always unsettling, but it
helps that everyone at FOX lives under the constant protection
of men like Bear. They meet us at the airport, fit us with body
armor and explain the procedures for traveling what is said to
be the world's deadliest road. They sleep and eat with us in the
bureau; they never leave our side. Bear's impressive combination
of brawn and brains stood between us and the people who wanted
us dead.
Covering the war in Iraq is dangerous for every reporter,
producer and technician, but even more so for our security
people. We continually evaluate our safety procedures and the
changing threats. At one point I asked Bear for his
recommendation on an important change that would affect us all,
adding "they always go after the big guys with guns first." Bear
smiled and agreed. He knew the risks and gave his life
protecting others, just as he'd protected so many of us here at
FOX.
Guy Barattieri left behind his wife, Laurel, and two daughters,
the younger of whom is 3 months old.
—————————————————————
I'd known Bear for a couple of weeks before I got 'round to
asking him what his real name was. Guy, he told me. He didn't
seem like a Guy. Bear was so much more appropriate for the man
we trusted to protect us while we did our jobs in Iraq. Many
people you meet in Baghdad are transient friends — colleagues
who you don't get the chance to know outside of here. But I,
like many others, was welcomed into Bear's Seattle home. He
promised me a wild night on the town with his army and police
buddies, and he lived up to that promise.
Bear and I arrived back in Baghdad a few days apart earlier this
month. I'd been giving him a hard time over e-mail about
neglecting to send me his mailing address. I'd bought some baby
gifts for his daughter after she was born in July and still
hadn't sent them out.
Bear called me the day before he was killed. We talked about
marriage and being a dad — and he jokingly complained that
babies just eat sleep and poop — for some reason, he thought
they'd be more interactive. Underneath the laughter was a man
fiercely in love with his new family; a devoted husband, father,
son and brother; a man who served his city and his country with
honor. A man I'm proud to have called my friend.
— David Mac Dougall
——————————————————-
In a bad place Bear was calm. You could tell this calm came from
experience, from a man who knew what he was doing. He did not
have to try to impress anyone, and said a lot with a few words,
a nod and a smile. The effect he had on me was to make me feel
better in a bad place.
— Steve Harrigan
——————————————————-
The last time I recall seeing Bear was in a dank, makeshift
kitchen inside Baghdad's Palestine Hotel. I was trying to make a
pizza using a broken oven and Bear came in to borrow some
pepperoni. At first, I didn't see him standing behind my
producer so he overheard our conversation. We were saying, Bear
was the reason our operation didn't fall apart following a
triple car bombing a few weeks earlier. Bear was a natural
leader. He had a way of making people hold themselves to a
higher standard. He made people believe in themselves more than
they normally would. He was truly a force multiplier.
Bear stood just outside the kitchen listening to our
conversation until he couldn't take anymore. We must have
embarrassed him, which was not an easy thing to do. With a grin
on his face, he picked up his pepperoni and told us to be quiet.
Looking back now, I'm glad he overheard us. So often, when
people die, everyone says nice things about them at their
funeral, but we were lucky enough to say these things in front
of Bear while he was still alive. We all loved Bear. He was
literally one in a million.
— Andrew Stack
——————————————————-
In the minutes after last October's car bombs, Bear was the
person who held all of us together both as individuals and as a
news bureau. He made contact with the two staff members who were
trapped outdoors only a few feet away from the blasts, took
roll, turned to me and asked whom I needed to keep us
functioning as a news operation and where I needed those people.
He organized work crews to begin the laborious process of
cleaning up the rooms on one side of the hotel (including his
own) that had been destroyed by the explosions. That night and
the following day he brought a series of American officers,
culminating in a general, into my office to discuss the security
arrangements around the hotel compound.
Throughout it all he remained calm. When it was over he was
confident and smiling, and that attitude helped the rest of us
to understand that we, too, were going to make it through.
— Gordon Robison
——————————————————-
Bear arrived on his first assignment to head up our security
team in Baghdad. We all knew right away that Bear was the man.
You just knew no one would mess with us because Bear would make
sure of it. He would be out there, checking the perimeter,
always watching, never leaving anything to chance and running a
tight ship. And it was done in a quiet, no braggin' way. He was
proud of the army he served in and he played a role in educating
us, keeping us better informed without revealing things we were
never supposed to know.
The quick smile was one of the things that struck me most about
Bear and his biggest smiles were reserved for the many frequent
mentions of his family back home. He never hesitated to show
pictures of his wife, his daughter and eventually his newborn
baby girl.
For those of us at the FOX Baghdad office who lived and worked
with him, we will always owe Bear our greatest gratitude, our
deepest respect and a place in our memories. I will always miss
him.
— John Fiegener
——————————————————-
Bear was the best. In a weird way, he was like the super-cool
summer camp counselor that everyone loved and respected and
wanted to be a good person around. He was smart and honest and
direct. He made us feel safe. He was the kind of guy who could
wear absurd gold hot pants (or gym shorts as he called them) and
yet still be the biggest badass. He was loyal and loved his
family, and when we were in Baghdad, we were a part of that
family. I am so grateful to have shared those times with him.
— Clarissa Ward
——————————————————-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speech of Senator
DeWine
FLOOR TRIBUTE: ARMY MAJOR GUY BARATTIERI
Contact: Breann Gonzalez
Friday, December 8, 2006
Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Army Major Guy
Barattieri, originally of the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood of
Cincinnati, Ohio. A member of the National Guard’s Alpha
Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, based in
Buckley, Washington, Major Barattieri was working in a civilian
contract capacity on October 4, 2006, when he was killed by a
roadside bomb in Iraq. He was 36 years-old.
Mr. President, Guy -- known fondly by friends and family as
“Bear” -- was born on June 21, 1970, and raised in Pleasant
Ridge. He attended Nativity School and was a linebacker on the
1986 State Champion Purcell Marian High School football team.
Cliff Pope, a teammate of Bear’s and his closest friend,
remembers him as someone who “had a passion and intensity that
was infectious to us all.”
According to his uncle, Larry Wheatley, Bear had always loved
the military -- had loved it ever since he was just a small boy.
When he was accepted into the United States Military Academy at
West Point, it was a dream come true for him. Once at West
Point, however, injuries kept Bear from continuing to play
football.
Chris Jenks is one of Bear’s former classmates and teammates
from West Point. He remembers the “never-quit” attitude with
which Bear approached his injury. He wrote the following in
Bear’s memory on an Internet tribute website:
“Army doctors told Bear that he could no longer play football.
Bear took that in stride, and . . . decided that, technically,
the doctors never said he couldn’t play Rugby, [so] he started
playing rugby, [instead]!”
After graduating from West Point in 1992, Bear attended the
Infantry Officer’s Basic Course Ranger School and the Mortar
Course before being stationed in Baumholder, Germany. He later
attended the Intelligence Officer Advanced Course and branched
out to the Special Forces. His friend Chris Jenks remembers how
impressed he always was by Bear’s “innate” Infantry leadership
skills. “Some things you can train or teach,” he said. “Some
things you are born with.”
In 2001, Mr. President, Bear joined the Seattle Police, where he
was president of his academy class. Bear’s friend, Detective
Nick Bauer, who was his field-training officer, described Bear
with the following words: “[He was an] absolutely distinguished
soldier, and a distinguished officer -- an extraordinary man,
one of those guys who won the hearts and minds of everyone he
came in contact with.” Bear remained with the Seattle PD until
2004.
In 2002, Bear went on active duty as a detachment commander in
Kuwait. When the 101st Infantry Division entered Baghdad in
March 2003, Bear’s team was at the lead. For the role that he
played, he received a Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman’s
badge.
Without question, Mr. President, Bear made an impact in Iraq. He
participated in multiple missions, during which he captured
three of the most wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s government
-- individuals who had been depicted on the deck of playing
cards issued by the U.S. Military.
Bear was a dedicated and excellent soldier. But he was also
something more -- a loving and devoted family man. For Bear,
those he loved always came first. On December 11, 2005, Bear
married the love of his life -- Laurel. They adored each other.
He was a loving father to his two girls -- his six year-old
step-daughter Rees, and Odessa, who was born on July 19, 2006.
He loved his family more than anything else in the world.
Family friend Mary Mascarella remembers that Bear was a doting
father. He would take Rees to swimming lessons, make her lunch,
and take her to school. And, when Odessa was just
three-weeks-old, the family was visited by Bear’s stepmother,
Barbara. Barbara remembers how excited he was about their new
daughter. “It was his first baby,” she said, “and he did it all
-- diapers and everything.”
I had the privilege of seeing several photos of Bear with his
family. One is from his wedding, with a beaming Laurel on one
arm and Rees cradled in the other. Another picture shows Bear
with the newborn Odessa in his arms. It is clear from looking at
these pictures, Mr. President, how incredibly happy Bear’s
family made him.
Even when he was away from home, Bear’s pride and delight in his
family was apparent. In a tribute to Bear created by FOX News,
John Fiegener remembers the way Bear lit up at the mention of
his family. He wrote:
“[His] quick smile was one of the things that struck me most
about Bear, and his biggest smiles were reserved for the many
frequent mentions of his family back home. He never hesitated to
show pictures of his wife, his daughter, and eventually, his
newborn baby girl.”
In Iraq, Bear was the head of the security team at the FOX
Baghdad office, and was there in October 2005 when car bombs
destroyed the hotel where they were located. On the FOXNews
tribute website, Gordon Robinson remembers how important Bear
was at that time. He wrote this about him:
“Bear was the person who held all of us together, both as
individuals and as a news bureau.... Throughout it all, he
remained calm. When it was over, he was confident and smiling,
and that attitude helped the rest of us to understand that we,
too, were going to make it through.” Cliff Pope had met Bear
during their freshman year of high school at Purcell Marian. He
remembers how committed Bear was to the ideals of freedom and
democracy. In Cliff’s words:
“Bear believed in America, he believed in democracy, and he
believed in his heart that God put him on this earth to protect
this country. And, he lost his life serving out what he felt was
his life’s mission, which was protecting others.”
There are perhaps no better words than those, Mr. President, to
describe the type of man that Bear was. He was simply someone
who cared. His friends, his family, and his Nation are all proud
of his service, and we owe him our eternal gratitude.
My wife Fran and I continue to keep the family of Major Guy
Barattieri -- his wife Laurel and his daughters Rees and Odessa;
his mother Patricia Wheatley; his father and step-mother Dick
and Barbara Barattieri; and his sisters Nicole, Becky, and Gina
-- in our thoughts and prayers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unknown article and date
On my mantel I keep a twisted piece of
shrapnel from the explosive-laden cement mixer that tried to
bring down Baghdad's Palestine Hotel not quite a year ago. It is
there to remind me that wein the Fox bureau came through the
blast without anyone on our staff being seriously injured. It
also reminds me that some 20 others, all Iraqis, were not so
fortunate. They were killed by the cement mixer and the two
other car bombs involved in the attack. I keep the shrapnel in
plain sight to remind me that I was lucky, not only that day but
throughout my five tours in Iraq with CNN, Fox and the
Coalition. I keep it to remind me of the friends, Iraqi and
Western alike, who have not been so lucky. On that October day
last year the person who did the most to bring the Fox bureau
through the fire was our head of security, Guy "Bear" Barattieri.
Last week, in Baghdad, Bear's luck ran out. He was escorting
contractors on a visit to a power plant north of the city
when their convoy was struck by a roadside bomb. Three people
died in the blast. Bear, severely injured, was medivacd to a
hospital in the Green Zone, where he died a short time later.
Bear was 36. A West Point graduate, a former major in the Army
special forces and, later, a Seattle policeman. He returned to
the military after 9/11, but by 2005 he was back in the private
sector with AKE, a security company that works with a number of
media organizations in Baghdad. As head of Fox's Baghdad
security team he supervised three other western guards and an
Iraqi staff of more than 20. In the minutes after last October's
car bombs Bear was the person who
held all of us together both as individuals and as a news
bureau. He made contact with the two staff members who were
trapped outdoors only a few feet away from the blasts, took
roll, turned to me and asked who I needed to keep us functioning
as a news operation and where I needed those people. He
organized work crews to begin the laborious process of cleaning
up the rooms on one side of the hotel (including his own) that
had been destroyed by the explosions. That night and the
following day he brought a series of American officers,
culminating in a general, into my office to discuss the security
arrangements around the hotel compound. Throughout it all he
remained calm. When it was over he was confident and smiling,
and that attitude helped the rest of us to understand that we,
too, were going to make it through. I've seen some postings on
the internet describing Bear as a "mercenary", which is both
offensive and inaccurate. It is entirely proper that private
companies - contractors and media alike - employ their own
guards rather than relying on the U.S. military to keep them
safe in Iraq. We are there by choice, and we should not rely on
soldiers, who have other things to do, to keep us safe. It is
true that there are, in Iraq, private security guards who need
to be reigned in. Bear, however, was not one of those
people. Working with the media poses particular challenges for
security guards. We need to go places they would rather we
didn't go. We often need to do this on short notice, making it
difficult to scout routes. Is our coverage of Iraq truncated and
inadequate? Yes. But people like Bear are the ones who make it
possible for us to have any coverage of Iraq at all.
I am tired. Tired of the plaintive emails from Iraqi friends.
Tired of the conversations I can only have with the people who
were there. Tired of the accusations from ideologues on both the
left and the right who have never been to Iraq and believe they
can reduce its complexity to soundbites. Tired of writing a
column like this every four or five months. The night before
Bear left Baghdad he gave me a bottle of good single malt
scotch. He'd had it sitting in a bag, unopened, for two months,
"Just in case I needed to butter up a colonel, or something", he
said. I usually kept a small supply of good scotch in my room,
but had contributed it to the bureau the night before to help
salve everyone's jangled nerves. Since he was headed home he
figured he would restock my one-bottle private bar. So tonight I
raise a glass of my best scotch and remember Bear - as I always
will when I look at the mangled metal that sits above my
fireplace. Friend. Colleague. Protector. And yet another
senseless casualty of the Black Hole that is Iraq.