Former CIA commander visits Glendale Rotary Club

“What really happens behind enemy lines in our attempts to capture terrorists?” That was one of the questions asked at the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club meeting on March 31. Guest speaker Gary Berntsen was, until recently, one of the CIA’s most decorated commanders, so was uniquely equipped to provide answers and to provide a first-hand look at what is happening inside Afghanistan and Iraq.

Berntsen spent more than 23 years in the CIA. With his extensive clandestine knowledge and paramilitary training, in 2001 Berntsen was sent to command the CIA’s largest paramilitary team inside Afghanistan.

Berntsen described his duties in Afghanistan were to annihilate the enemy. As the CIA’s key commander, he coordinated the fight against Taliban forces around Kabul, and also the drive to Tora Bora. Berntsen led dozens of CIA and Army Special Forces operatives and more than 2,000 Afghan fighters in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

He told about cornering bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains and how politically sensitive Washington officials did not want to take the next steps necessary to block his escape into Pakistan.

Berntsen was asked why, with our highly sophisticated satellite surveillance systems, we could not capture bin Laden. He said that bin Laden has a very extensive network that moves him from place to place at night, inside taxi cabs where cameras cannot see, and within buildings where cameras are blocked. He indicated that bin Laden will not be captured like Saddam Hussein alone in a hole in the ground.

Berntsen brought copies of his recent book, “Jawbreaker,” for the members. He indicated his book was heavily edited by the CIA, but it would give more insights in U.S. efforts to combat terrorism.

Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club meets at 7 a.m. every Friday morning at the Hilton Glendale, 100 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale. For more information, call Steve Ropfogel at (818) 547-3227.

GLENDALE STUDENT WINS REGIONAL SPEECH CONTEST

Cristina Cordova, a senior at Ribet Academy and resident of Glendale, won first place in the Lions Club International Metro Regional Speech Contest on April 5. The other speech contestants were Lions Club contest winners who had advanced from Lions Club Zone contests.

Each contestant had to speak on the same topic, “The Internet ? Hero or Villain.” Cordova painted a very visual picture of how the Internet had become a “hero” in many different ways.

She next competes against students from all over California and Nevada at a contest on April 29 in Bishop.

Cordova is senior class president, a National Honor Society student and president of the Debate Club. She plans to attend either Stanford or the University of Pennsylvania and to study either economics or political science. She is sponsored by the Griffith Park Lions Club.

Griffith Park Lions Club meets at 12:15 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays at the Tam O’Shanter Inn, 2890 Los Feliz Blvd. For more information, call James Daniels at (818) 243-8261.

KIWANIS CLUB FUNDS NEW HORIZONS FAMILY CENTER

Maria Rochart, executive director of New Horizons Family Center in Glendale, accepted a check on behalf of the center from the Kiwanis Club of Glendale for $2,970 at the club’s March 31 meeting.

Rochart, and her colleagues Eleanor Torres and Aristides Ferral, and teacher Margo Gonzalez, gave the Kiwanis an overview of their overall programs and the special activities at their new Mental Health Center.

Kiwanis Club of Glendale meets at noon every Friday at the Glendale Elks Club, 120 E. Colorado St., Glendale. For more information, call Vic Legerton at (818) 354-8838.