Meet Lt. Col. Dominic Caraccilo, the author of GI letters to newspapers

[IndianaGreen]

According to his bio, which appears on the book flap of a book that is on sale by Barnes & Noble and Amazon:

"Major Dominic J. Caraccilo is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds a master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is the author of The Ready Brigade of the 82nd Airborne in Desert Storm and has contributed to the award winning Faces of Victory, a two-volume World War II commemorative sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Major Caraccilo is currently the operations officer for the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky"

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=4820I06T07&isbn=0811715965&itm=2

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0811715965/ref=lib_rd_ss_TBFL/103-1517633-8375051?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader&img=28#reader-link

First, here is the BBC story that mentions his name:

Last Updated: Tuesday, 14 October, 2003, 15:00 GMT 16:00 UK
US Army's 'fake' letters cause stir

Critics said if the letters were found to be part of an organised effort by the military to win over US hearts and minds regarding the conflict it could be a violation of military ethics.

However, the soldiers' commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dominic Caraccilo, told ABC News on Tuesday his staff had written the letters merely to get "good news" back to the US more efficiently.

He says he then sent it round to his soldiers saying they could send a copy home if they wanted to.

"We thought it would be a good idea to encapsulate what we as a battalion have accomplished since arriving Iraq and share that pride with people back home," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3190934.stm

Our dear Colonel is quite a busy author-wannabee. Here is his review of a book on the history of the use of psychotropic drugs and their side effects:

One might think that the advent of anti-psychotic drugs in the 1950s would have marked the beginning of a positive approach to therapy. However, Whitaker’s conclusion is that neuroleptic drugs make patients worse, rather than better and he proves this by repeatedly comparing treated and untreated patients from different institutions, with differences in referral patterns and severity of illness.

Mad in America reveals a great deal about the society that attempts to “cure” the patients, for the treatments for the severely mentally ill quite accurately reflect the societal values of the day. Whitaker faults the skewed studies employed by drug companies in the 1980s and 1990s as an attempt to prove the “effectiveness” of a drug all the while ignoring dangerous side effects. The archaic treatments of the past and the ineffective ones of the present are telling. Whitaker has presented a book well worth a look. In short, it is a dose of reality and makes one wonder about the state of the nation’s mental health system.

Reviewed by Dominic J. Caraccilo, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army, Vicenza, Italy.

http://www.asa3.org/ASA/BookReviews2000-present/6-03.html

Here is a book that he edited, on sale at Barnes & Noble and Amazon books:

Surviving Bataan and Beyond: Colonel Irvin Alexander's Odyssey As a Japanese Prisoner of War
by Irvin Alexander, Dominic J. Caraccilo (Editor), Ken Hechler

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=4820I06T07&isbn=0811715965&itm=2

Here are a couple of books that he authored:

The Ready Brigade of the 82nd Airborne in Desert Storm: A Combat Memoir by a Headquarters Company Commander
by Dominic J. Caraccilo

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0899508294/qid=1066152131/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/103-1517633-8375051?v=glance&s=books

E-Tailing: Careers Selling over the Web (The Library of E-Commerce and Internet Careers)
by Dominic J. Caraccilo

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0823934284/qid=1066152131/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-1517633-8375051?v=glance&s=books

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

1. A book editor that never heard of PLAGARISM!!!

I would think the UCMJ says something about having the troops under
your command engage in political propaganda.

[RobertSeattle]

2. Great info

This guy is quite a prolific writer.

About a 1/3 of an officer's career is spent in some type of schooling so I'm assuming he had the time to do these pieces then.

[Tyler Durden]

3. There goes that "eagle"...

Sorry, Dom, I'd say that silver oak leaf (LtCol) is now on your collar with super glue. Hope you weren't thinking of retiring as a "bird" Colonel.

[DemVet]

22. Don't kid yourself...

....this will probably get him that bird AND star. Sad, but true.

[Cha]

4. Yeah, he's a busy writer all right. Too bad about..

"However, the soldiers' commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dominic Caraccilo, told ABC News on Tuesday his staff had written the letters merely to get "good news" back to the US more efficiently."

"It makes it look like you cheated on a test, and everybody got the same grade," Grueser said by phone from a base in Italy where he had just arrived from Iraq."

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20031011/frontpage/121390.shtml

[IndianaGreen]

8. I don't think much of a field grade officer that blames his staff

for something that happened under his command.

[RobertSeattle]

13. Good point - he must be a Republican

The buck stops....over there.

[morebunk]

5. The way this administration USES our military is rivaled only by the way

Rush USED oxycotin. It is dispicable to say the least. It's as bad as the KGB under the USSR. We have truly become the enemy we SAY we abhor!

[qwertyMike]

6. Lt. Col. Dominic Caraccilo

soon to be Sgt. Dominic Caraccilo

Heehee

[Eloriel]

20. Nah, he'll either get a promotion or a cushy job somewhere

Or both. This is the administration that loves liars and rewards "loyalty."

Eloriel

[IndianaGreen]

23. He is bucking for the full bird

and his latest exploit may have brought him to the attention of Rumsfeld. The good colonel is the sort of officer that Rummy likes.

[Patriot_Spear]

7. This Soldier needs an attitude adjustment...n/t

n/t

[Bandit]

9. Just say you're sorry and all will be forgiven

It doesn't matter that you put words into our young people's mouths and allow a lie to be distributed throughout America. After all we are Compassionate Conservatives here. We know you meant well.

[IndianaGreen]

10. LTC Caraccilo is quite a publicity hog, here is more...

Our prolific author and editor is also quite a publicity hog. Like General MacArthur, the good colonel must have some of his staffers working full time on his public resume. This guy is bucking for a star!



Lt. Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade, checks a map while speaking with Chosen Company Commander, Capt. Arie Richard during Operation Peninsula Strike. The operation, which included more then 400 paratroopers, resulted in the capture of more then 50 members of the Feydayeen organization.

http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/htmlinks/Press_Releases/2003/Jun2003/16Jun2003-01.htm

While Lt. Col Dominic Caraccilo, commander, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry looks on, Col. James Yarbrough, commander of the 173d Airborne Brigade unfurls the battalion colors as part of the reactivation ceremony in Vicenza, Italy.

http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/htmlinks/Press_Releases/2002/Jan2002/30Jan2002-01.htm

During a visit to a childrens hospital Lt. Col Dominic Caraccilo,Commander of the 2/503rd,173rd Airborne Brigade, holds a injured child in Kirkuk, Iraq, April 28.

See the picture on this page (look at the expression in the kid's face):

http://www.173rdairborne.com/iraq10.htm

A Washington Post story about our Lt. Col:

Story last updated at 7:05 a.m. Monday, June 16, 2003

Officer takes a chance on a tip that leads to 2 suspects
The Washington Post

KIRKUK, IRAQ--The word came at 11:15 a.m. Sunday: al-Qaida suspect in the southeast segment of the city.

At the Kirkuk air base, headquarters for the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry, U.S. Army Col. Dominic Caraccilo weighed his options.

Orders had come from Central Command to move this weekend against anyone suspected to pose a threat to U.S. forces, an operation across Iraq called Desert Scorpion. On Saturday night, Caraccilo's men had picked up 13 former military and intelligence officials and members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, now detained at the air base.

But in northern Iraq, especially near the Iranian border, where an al-Qaida-linked guerrilla group called Ansar al-Islam had been based until the war, U.S. forces are particularly concerned with tracking down suspected al-Qaida operatives.

An Army officer who declined to give his name said that in this often tense, multi-ethnic area, it is hard to know how seriously to take reports of al-Qaida activity.

http://charleston.net/stories/061603/ter_16raid.shtml

Another story. This is quite interesting in that it shows that our colonel does have good diplomatic skills. The point is that this guy seems to have a good PR operation going all the time:

Posted on Sun, Apr. 13, 2003

Playing diplomat for a day
A N.J. Army captain out to secure a compound on Kurdish turf ended up a man in the middle.
By Ken Dilanian
Inquirer Staff Writer

KIRKUK, Iraq - He has never set foot in the State Department, but 30-year-old Capt. Eric Baus, of Collingswood, N.J., was the man conducting diplomacy for the United States in this strategically important northern city yesterday.

Baus, a company commander in the Army's 173d Airborne Brigade, began the day with what seemed a fairly straightforward mission: clear and occupy a compound that had been the center of municipal government under Saddam Hussein.

<snip>

When Caraccilo arrived and the paratroopers asked to speak with the man in charge, they were taken to the office of Faridon Abdulkadir, who described himself as the PUK's interior minister.

After asking his advice about which sites in Kirkuk the 173d should occupy as a show of force, Caraccilo and Baus spent several minutes requesting that Abdulkadir clear all the soldiers out of the building.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/special_packages/iraq/dispatches/5623196.htm

[lebkuchen]

11. He's had lots of military publishing experience

Seems like the perfect "yes" man for Rove to request favors of.

[tom_paine]

12. I heard these are GOP Team Leader letters

Straight off the RNC website.

Don't know if this in confirmed true or not.

Just another Orwellian atrocity from the Busheviks.

Par for the course of Imperial Amerika.

[UTUSN]

14. Neh, No Accountability in the World of Shrub

And regardless of the stink, the Shrubbites don't see the prank as being wrong. Whatever happens to his Army career, the Shrubbites will take care of him just fine.

P.S., thanks for the great links and research in this thread.

[kodi]

15. this guy will muster out and land at the heritage foundation, just watch

.

[ShimokitaJer]

16. He's also the leader of the battalion that found "WMD's" last April

This information is courtesy of "penalcolony," in a response to a piece on the Counterspin blog: http://counterspin.blogspot.com/2003_10_12_counterspin_archive.html#106612908626439179


In a St. Petersburg Times article from April 15, 2003:

"The weapons inspectors never would have found this stuff," said Lt. Col. Dominic Caraccilo, the battalion commander who led the team to the sites. "It would have taken 40 years."

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/04/15/Worldandnation/Iraqi_site_yields_mor.shtml

Truly an amazing world of coincidence we live in.

[Must_B_Free]

17. Ah.. you libs are just upset because Bush has been

"Demonstrating Genuine Leadership"...

There's no such thing as GOP astroturf, they are far to honest. It therefore must be the Democrats behind this so they can make the GOP look bad.

:)

[IndianaGreen]

18. Great find, ShimokitaJer!

Looks like future Field Marshall Caraccilo has been quite a busy beaver pursuing Bush's Iraq agenda, with quite an inordinate amount to air and print time compared to other military commanders in Iraq.

I suspect the "Letters to Hometown Newspapers" was not a lark, but that our good colonel eagerly participated in the White House's PR campaign to bring "happy" news to the sheep back home.

I want to know who in the Pentagon is sponsoring his career.

[ShimokitaJer]

19. Thanks, but not my find

Got to give credit where credit is due. Whoever "penalcolony" is, that's who found it.

[IndianaGreen]

21. Thank you penalcolony, wherever you are!

What are the odds of having the same officer involved in the WMD hunt and in the letters to the hometown newspapers?

This colonel appears to be as political as Ollie North was!

[Kolesar]

24. Lt. Col. Dominic Caraccilo "found" the WMDs: What do I make of it?

1. The Pentagon may just send him on important tasks.
2. The Pentagon sent him to that site, because he is good at publicity and the WMDs were the big story that the White House had to get out.
2A. The Pentagon may have already known about these missiles, but did not share it with Hans Blix' UN inspection team. They were saving them as a "political trophy" for conquerer Bush.
3. The Pentagon and White House planted the missiles (:tinfoilhat: )
4. Caraccilo did good political work for the White House on the missiles, so they tasked him to write fake letters to the editor.

I am working on a letter to NPR/ATC, myself. I am still trying to figure out how to tie in Lt. Col. Dominic Caraccilo's missile finds, which is a "whopping coincidence" (=absolute propaganda bullshit).

http://counterspin.blogspot.com/2003_10_12_counterspin_archive.html#106612908626439179

edit: St. Petersburg Times article on 4/15/2003, Caraccilo finding surface to air missiles, not WMDs of any form:
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/04/15/Worldandnation/Iraqi_site_yields_mor.shtml

[ShimokitaJer]

25. The key here is that a sympathetic battalion commander was sent

to a site where they thought WMDs would be. I believe the administration genuinely believed (despite all available intelligence) that WMDs would be found and when they were, they wanted to have someone on the ground to spin things the right way for them. And even if they didn't find WMDs, they got exactly what they wanted: a commander to say his company found weapons that Blix never would have. Too bad they turned out to be nothing. So I agree with #2 and 2A.

I also tend to agree with #4, though I do think it's possible he acted on his own with this one. There is no doubt in my mind that he was orchestrating a political campaign, but he seems like the kind of glory hound who might do so on his own, without prompting from his superiors.

I think you might also add a #5. When he saw the scandal brewing, he took responsibility for it (either on his own initiative or with prompting), knowing it could still be painted as the work of a "noble Army commander" attempting to act in the best interest of his troops.

[Kolesar]

26. my letter is in this DU link

Kudos to you and IG. Thanks for your help. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=536637