RANCHO CUCAMONGA, October 19, 2006 - Mark Paine's future was wide open when he finished high school, with acceptances from a number of highly ranked universities; he chose to serve his country and graduated from West Point.

"He's one of those guys who could have been successful at anything," said his friend, Mark Benson. "He kept high morals and everyday he lived those morals."

Capt. Paine, 32, of Rancho Cucamonga, died Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Taji, just north of Baghdad, in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. Paine was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Hood, Texas.

Paine's friends from Campolindo High School in Moraga remembered the soldier as an outstanding leader who set an example of loyalty and kindness for everyone around him. He even spent his two-week leave from Iraq meeting with relatives of slain soldiers, they said.

"His company had taken some pretty bad hits, and he actually interfaced deeply with the families of the men who had been killed. He's just a superb individual," said Benson's father, retired Navy Admiral Burt Benson.

Paine was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, and had been due home at Christmas.

His family, who moved to Rancho Cucamonga after he graduated from West Point, declined comment.


Copyright © 2006 KABC-TV and the Associated Press.

Rancho man killed in Iraq
Area officer one of 70 U.S. deaths in October
From staff and wire reports
Article Launched:10/19/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT

A Rancho Cucamonga man was one of 70 soldiers killed during October in Iraq, putting this month on track to be the deadliest for U.S. forces since the siege of Fallujah nearly two years ago.

Capt. Mark C. Paine, 32, of Rancho Cucamonga, was killed Sunday night in Taji, Iraq, about 20 miles north of Baghdad.

He sustained injuries after an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, and he died at about 10:45 p.m., officials at Fort Hood in Texas said.

Paine entered the Army in June 1997. During his military career, Paine was awarded the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal and other medals, including those for service in Kosovo and Korea.

He had been assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood since March 2005 as an infantry officer.

In December 2005, Paine was deployed to Iraq, officials said.

The military says the sharp increase in U.S. casualties is tied to Ramadan and a security crackdown that has left American forces more vulnerable to attack in Baghdad and its suburbs. Muslim tenets hold that fighting a foreign occupation force during Islam's holy month puts a believer especially close to God.

As the deathtoll climbed for both U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians, who are being killed at a rate of 43 a day, the country's Shiite-dominated government remained under intense U.S. pressure to shut down Shiite militias.

Some members of the armed groups have fractured into uncontrolled, roaming death squads out for revenge against Sunni Arabs, the Muslim minority in Iraq who were politically and socially dominant until the fall of Saddam Hussein.

There have been growing signs in recent days of mounting strain between Washington and the wobbly government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who felt compelled during a conversation with President Bush this week to seek his assurances that the Americans were not going to dump him.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Wednesday blamed American officials who ran Iraq before its own government took nominal control for bringing the country to the present state of chaos.

"Had our friends listened to us, we would not be where we are today," Zebari said.

Asked which friends he was referring to, Zebari said:

"The Americans, the Coalition (Provision Authority), the British. OK? Because they didn't listen to us. They did exactly what they wanted to do. ... Had they listened to us, we would have been someplace else (by now), really."

It was an unusually harsh statement from Zebari, a Kurd, whose ethnic group owes much to the U.S. intervention in Iraq and for its virtual autonomy in the north of the country.

A report in Britain's Financial Times on Wednesday said the White House is now pressuring Iraqi authorities to give amnesty to Sunni insurgents. That would be a surprising change for the Bush administration, which has resisted amnesty because it could potentially include fighters who have killed American troops.

At the State Department, spokesman Tom Casey said a decision on amnesty would be left to the Iraqi government.

"I wouldn't describe our position as pressuring them to do this now or at any particular moment except at a point when they feel their national reconciliation process has gone through its appropriate steps and they're ready to move forward with it," Casey said.

Soon after taking office in May, al-Maliki proposed an amnesty for insurgents who put down their arms. But no insurgents took up the offer, and the proposal bogged down amid differences over who would be eligible. Al-Maliki said those "with blood on their hands" -- either Iraqis' or American soldiers' -- would not be covered.

Despite the climbing death toll, the U.S. military claims it is making progress in taming runaway violence in the capital as it engages insurgents, militias and sectarian death squads, rounds up suspects and uncovers weapons caches and masses of stockpiled explosives.

The latest American death took place Wednesday, when a soldier was killed after his patrol was attacked with small-arms fire south of Baghdad. Ten Americans were killed Tuesday -- nine soldiers and a Marine -- the highest single-day combat death toll for U.S. forces since Jan. 5, when 11 service members were killed across Iraq. There have been days with a higher number of U.S. deaths, but not solely from combat.

October is now on track to be the deadliest month for American forces in Iraq since November 2004, when military offenses primarily in the then-insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, left 137 troops dead, 126 of them in combat.

With Iraq becoming an increasing issue in the Nov. 7 midterm elections in the United States, White House spokesman Tony Snow was asked if the rising toll would cause Bush to alter course.

"No, his strategy is to win," Snow said. "The president understands not only the difficulty of it, but he grieves for the people who have served with valor. But as everybody says correctly, we've got to win. And that comes at a cost."

The spiking American death toll has compounded a period of intense violence among Iraqis. If current trends continue, October will be the deadliest month for Iraqis since the Associated Press began tracking deaths in April 2005. So far this month, 775 Iraqis have been killed in war-related violence, an average of 43 a day.

That compares to an average daily death toll of about 27 since April 2005. The AP count includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces, and is considered a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported.

Just north of Baghdad, in the city of Balad for example, at least 95 people died in a five-day sectarian slaughter that began Friday.

On Wednesday, key tribal, religious and government officials brokered a 20-day truce in the region, hoping to work through Sunni and Shiite grievances during the cooling-off period. Balad is a majority Shiite town, but is surrounded by territory that is mainly populated by Sunnis.

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AP News Research Center in New York contributed to this report, as did AP correspondents Christopher Bodeen, Hamza Hendawi and Qassim Abdul-Zahra

Copyright © 2006
Los Angeles Newspaper Group

A video report is viewable at the original location of this article http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4677700 -DJ

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Soldier From Moraga Killed In Iraq

By Leslie Brinkley

Oct. 19 - KGO - Today in Moraga, former classmates and friends of Captain Mark Paine mourned his violent death this week in Iraq.

Thirty-two-year-old Captain Mark Paine died earlier this week when improvised explosives detonated his humvee in northern Iraq. It was his third tour of duty there and he was scheduled to leave for good this December.

Capt. Paine graduated from Campolindo High School in 1993 and went on to West Point. Teachers and friends remembered him.

Burton Benton, friend of Paine's: "He's just a consummate leader, charismatic. Just a strong individual. A true believer. He prayed for his men everyday."

This man's son was best friends with Mark Paine, who came to stay at their house in Orinda last Christmas and last month.

Burton Benton: "He was like my fourth son, and so it is a real loss."

Captain Paine's death came in a week of escalating violence against U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The White House responded to a New York Times editorial comparing the situation to Vietnam's tet offensive.

Tony Snow, White House Spokesman: "It is possible, although we don't have a clear pathway into the minds of terrorists, it is possible that they are trying to use violence right now as a way of influencing the elections."

Steven Weber, U.C. Berkeley Institute of International Studies: "The tet offensive was a military success for the United States. It was a political defeat."

ABC7's Leslie Brinkley: "And you see the same thing happening?"

Steven Weber: "I think the White House is scared to death of that prospect. The insurgents understand that the Bush administration is on the ropes, domestically around Iraq. Very few Republican candidates for Senate or House are willing to defend the administration's policy in Iraq. They are going to press their advantage as hard as they can over the next few weeks up to the election.

Leslie Brinkley: "So more violence?"

Steven Weber: "I would guarantee it."

For those who knew Captain Paine, the tragedy overshadows the politics.

Dagmar Ortman, Paine's high school teacher: "This is how he wanted to serve his country. I'm just sad because this is a person who could have done a lot for our country."

Thirty-two-year-old Mark Paine's life will be celebrated this weekend in Moraga. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Copyright 2006, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT.

A video report is viewable at the original location of this article http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_292201612.html -DJ

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Oct 19, 2006 5:15 pm US/Pacific

Soldier From East Bay Killed In Iraq

(CBS 5 / AP) MORAGA An Army captain who grew up in the East Bay is among the latest casualties in the Iraq war.

Mark Christopher Paine, 32, was killed Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Taji, Iraq -- just north of Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense.

Paine's future was wide open when he finished high school, with acceptances from a number of highly ranked universities; he chose to serve his country and graduated from West Point.

"He's one of those guys who could have been successful at anything," said his friend, Mark Benson. "He kept high morals and everyday he lived those morals."

Paine's friends from Campolindo High School in Moraga remembered the soldier as an outstanding leader who set an example of loyalty and kindness for everyone around him. He even spent his two-week leave from Iraq meeting with relatives of slain soldiers, they said.

"His company had taken some pretty bad hits, and he actually interfaced deeply with the families of the men who had been killed. He's just a superb individual," said Benson's father, retired Navy Admiral Burt Benson.

Benson and his family last saw Paine just before Labor Day.

Paine was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, and had been due home at Christmas.

"The reason why he was in Iraq is so that they would fight the war in Iraq, and we would not be fighting the war in Moraga, and not have terrorists in Moraga. That's what he truly believed," Benson said.

Though it's been more than 13 years, it's clear Paine made a lasting impression on his teachers at Campolindo High School.

"I'm just sad because this is a person who could've done a lot for our country, if he came back and continued," said Dagmar Ortman, Paine's high school German teacher.

Teachers described Paine as a huge presence on campus who was smart, fun-loving, athletic, and had a definite ability to be a leader. He graduated in 1993.

"I tell my class we lost a very wonderful person but represented what he really loved and believed in," said Campolindo coach Chris Walsh of his former track star.

Beneath his senior yearbook photo, Paine wrote, "Victory will always belong to the most persevering," ending with a line from a General MacArthur speech, "Old soldiers never die."

Paine's family, who moved to Rancho Cucamonga after he graduated from West Point, declined comment.

Paine was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Hood, Texas.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)