15 January 2009

Early Bird summary
Thursday’s Early Bird leads with a story from the New York Times that reports that military commanders are drawing up plans for a faster withdrawal of American troops from Iraq in anticipation that President-elect Barack Obama will reject current proposals as too slow, Pentagon and military officials said Wednesday. The new plans would provide alternatives to a timetable drawn up by the top American commanders for Iraq to bring troops home more slowly than Mr. Obama promised during his presidential campaign. Those plans were described to Mr. Obama last month. The officials said that Mr. Obama had not requested the new plans, but that they were being prepared in response to public statements from the president-elect and on the basis of conversations between military officials and members of Mr. Obama’s transition team.
The Boston Globe reports that Vice President-elect Joe Biden told President-elect Barack Obama yesterday that "things are going to get tougher" in Afghanistan. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, Biden's partner in the five-day fact-finding mission to Kuwait, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, predicted that "casualties are likely to increase" in Afghanistan as the number of US troops there goes up this year. The Pentagon is rushing as many as 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, seeking to turn the tide in fighting that has seen Al Qaeda-linked militants and the Taliban make a comeback after initial defeats in the US-led invasion in 2001.
The Financial Times reports that John Hutton, Britain’s defense secretary, will on Thursday launch an attack on the commitment of the UK’s European Union allies to the war in Afghanistan, warning that Europe can no longer continue “freeloading” on the back of US military security. In one of the most stinging public broadsides in years by a British defense secretary on European defense policy, Mr Hutton will say in a speech that Nato’s campaign in Afghanistan exposes “a continued over-reliance from certain members on the US to do the heavy lifting”. Mr Hutton, who became UK defense minister last autumn, does not say which EU states he believes are failing to pull their weight in Nato’s Afghan campaign. But he warns that the conflict has exposed the “significant variance in political commitment to the campaign” across Europe.The defense secretary insists that the imbalance between US and European defense expenditure cannot be addressed by simply parcelling up the hard military tasks for the US and the “soft diplomatic” ones for the majority of the Europeans.“Freeloading on the back of US military security is not an option if we wish to be equal partners in this transatlantic alliance. Anyone who wants to benefit from collective security must be prepared to share the ultimate price,” he said.
Other noteworthy stories in today’s Early Bird:
§ Inside the Pentagon reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to direct major changes to the Pentagon’s long-term weapons system investment plans this spring as part of an accelerated schedule for the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, a previously unreported goal that would give the Obama administration a better-informed opportunity to significantly reshape the fiscal year 2010 defense budget proposal.Gates outlined his plan for a quick start to the QDR to the military service chiefs and combatant commanders during a two-day conference last week, according to a senior Pentagon official. He is looking to implement as quickly as possible any early decisions deemed ripe for action, raising the stakes for the first months of the review.
§ The Hill reports that Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) likely will introduce his controversial legislation to reinstate the draft again this year, but he will wait until after the economic stimulus package is passed. Asked if he plans to introduce the legislation again in 2009, Rangel last week said, “Probably … yes. I don’t want to do anything this early to distract from the issue of the economic stimulus.”
§ Washington Times reports that Retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, President-elect Barack Obama's incoming national security adviser, will be given sweeping new powers if Mr. Obama takes the advice of a little-noticed task force charged with recommending reforms to the nation's security apparatus.The Project on National Security Reform's executive board last month issued a report recommending updates to the National Security Act, the 1947 law that established the National Security Council. Among other things, it recommended giving the national security adviser more budget authority over the State Department, the Pentagon and military and intelligence agencies.The report could be considered one of the kind that is often requested but rarely acted upon in Washington, except for one thing: Gen. Jones was a member of the panel that crafted it.
§ The Boston Globe reports that, in an interview that aired last night on CBS, President-elect Barack Obama, even as he described Al Qaeda as the top national security threat, took a somewhat more measured approach."I think that we have to so weaken his infrastructure that, whether he is technically alive or not, he is so pinned down that he cannot function," Obama said."My preference obviously would be to capture or kill him. But if we have so tightened the noose that he's in a cave somewhere and can't even communicate with his operatives then we will meet our goal of protecting America."
Media summary:
1. Leading newspaper headlines: USA Today leads with Apple CEO Steve Jobs' announcement that he will go on a six-month medical leave due to health problems that are "more complex than originally thought." The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post lead with the dismal situation facing banks (Slate Magazine)
2. Swat diary: ‘Taleban rule now’: Munir (not his real name), an administrator in the Swat region of north-west Pakistan, describes the challenges of daily life in his valley as the Taleban and the army vie for influence. (BBC)
3. U.S. Marines still seek better body armor: The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered major modifications to its body armor to improve comfort, mobility and safety, The Associated Press (AP) has learned. (Body Armor News)
4. Marine Corps places tight restrictions on visits to Mexico: Continuing drug-related violence in Tijuana and the Baja Peninsula has led to an extension of an order that makes it a lot harder for local Marines and sailors to sojourn over the border for a little fiesta time. (North County Times)
5. Afghan general dies in air crash: One of Afghanistan's top army officers and 12 other soldiers have been killed in a helicopter crash in the west of the country, the defence ministry says. (BBC)
Leading newspaper headlines
USA Today leads with Apple CEO Steve Jobs' announcement that he will go on a six-month medical leave due to health problems that are "more complex than originally thought." The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post lead with the dismal situation facing banks—especially Bank of America, which needs more cash to complete its purchase of Merrill Lynch—as fourth-quarter returns show the full extent of their losses. The Los Angeles Times leads with a look at how many firms are opting for broad-based salary cuts and mandatory furloughs rather than layoffs to stay afloat, hoping to get out of the gate quickly as the economy recovers.

The New York Times leads with news that as falling oil prices deflate his political clout, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela is inviting Western oil companies to come back after he nationalized many of their oil fields in 2007. His preferred partners from Iran, China, and Belarus haven't been able to reverse the country's declining oil output, while the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela has become increasingly dependent on foreign contractors like Halliburton to facilitate the more complex projects.
Wall Street became suddenly very concerned with Steve Jobs' health, as the 53-year-old pancreatic cancer survivor announced in an e-mail to employees he would be temporarily relinquishing CEO duties to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook. According to the Journal, Apple is staying tight-lipped about Jobs' illness, which hasn't made investors happy: The company's stock dove 7 percent on news of the turnover. Both USAT and the Post's articles read like obituaries. Sources tell the LAT that although Jobs says he'll remain involved in major decision-making, this is really a way of transitioning to the next generation of leadership at Apple, with Cook as a leading contender for the top job.
Also rocking the tech world, the Journal reports that Microsoft may be planning a round of layoffs, although the number would be far fewer than the 15,000 that have been rumored in recent weeks. Google hasn't announced major staffing cuts so far, although the company won't be doing much hiring in the near future.
Turns out that Bank of America will need more bailout cash after all in order to close its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, which has lost 60 percent of its value since the sale agreement was announced last year. Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis had previously said that his company would not need federal help to purchase Merrill, but the company has so far received $25 billion and is expected to get more if Congress votes to release the second half of the bailout funds, which it may (or may not!) do as early as this week.
Meanwhile, congressional Democrats' proposed stimulus package has grown to $850 billion—three times the size of early estimates in the wake of Barack Obama's victory—including $300 billion in tax cuts. Final details will be released today, and President-elect Obama has asked that Congress pass a plan by the middle of next month.
The NYT fronts a look at one of the uglier sides of the housing bust: "foreclosure rescue companies" that charge consumers thousands of dollars upfront while doing little or nothing to help them keep their homes. And USAT reports that there are a lot to prey upon: A record 3 million houses foreclosed last year, up 81 percent from 2007.
As the Gaza offensive drags into its fourth week, an A1 NYT analysis shows that the Israeli incursion may have the opposite of its intended effect: Hamas is likely to survive in some form after the military operation ends, the paper says, while Fatah and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, enjoy less and less support among Palestinians. Egypt sees a cease-fire on the horizon, perhaps in five or six days. Consternation over the high civilian death toll has continued to mount; half of the 1,000-plus Gazans killed to date were noncombatants.
Cabinet confirmation news is coming hot and heavy: Following tax-related hiccups in Timothy Geithner's confirmation proceedings, Tom Daschle's appointment to Health and Human Services has also hit the skids in committee hearings due to questions about his association with an education loan provider. Along with the still-nameless opening at Commerce, three Cabinet positions are likely to go unfilled by Inauguration Day, unless Republicans make trouble with Eric Holder's nomination for attorney general. USA Today preens over its senatorial shoutout at hearings for EPA nominee Lisa Jackson, whom Sen. Barbara Boxer questioned about the paper's investigation of toxic air pollution around schools. The Journal takes a look at the record of Obama's pick to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, saying she's been timid as Wall Street's brokerage account watchdog—the paper doesn't quite fault her for missing the Madoff scandal and failing to avert the mortgage meltdown, but it wants to.
The real winner in confirmation hearings this week, the Journal notes, is the coal industry, with Jackson and Energy Department nominee Stephen Chu backpedaling on previous criticisms of the energy source.
Basically nothing is happening in Washington, D.C., as a security cordon closes around the city in advance of Inauguration Day. The effort will involve 20,000 police officers at a cost of $50 million to the city, plus the entirety of the federal government's intelligence establishment. The Post highlights D.C.'s plans for its homeless people, who are being urged to stay in shelters as the city goes into lockdown. The balls aren't even all that, grouses the (jaded?) LAT.
Military officials are saving some time by drawing up plans for a faster Iraq withdrawal in anticipation that Obama would reject the current ones as being too slow.

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Swat diary: 'Taleban rule now'
Militant Taleban sympathisers are fighting for control of Swat
Munir (not his real name), an administrator in the Swat region of north-west Pakistan, describes the challenges of daily life in his valley as the Taleban and the army vie for influence. In recent weeks, he says, the Taleban have gained the upper hand and are making their presence felt in brutal fashion.
I know I always say the situation is terrible. And each time I find myself saying it, I am aware it has got worse.
Over the last five to six days 13 bodies have been found in our area. In Mingora [capital of Swat] bodies are laid out in the square called Green Chowk. Hundreds come and look at the dead bodies.
Sometimes they have been beheaded, sometimes they are just shot.
Over the last few months the number of people killed in my village alone is in double digits. Some of them are villagers, others are frontiers corps and sometimes we see total strangers just lying there.
But recently there was a terrible death in our village. It happened while I was away. It was a prominent man who spoke against the Taleban and tried to unite people against them. He was shot dead.
Here, nobody really fully knows who belongs to the Taleban. The militants are obvious, the sympathisers are not.
The deadline of 15 January that the Taleban have set for girls schools to close down is a false deadline. Schools have already closed.
Dozens have been burned to the ground. My two nieces were going to school and now they just stay at home. Nobody dares to educate girls now.
People are very sad about this but they are more sad about the dead bodies. People are really becoming very upset about this problem.
'Beatings'
And the Taleban are taking power, they are going up in the world.
Last night I saw for myself in my village that they had painted on walls signs saying: "Do not smoke" and "do not sell hashish". It is frightening to see these things painted around your home.
In a village close by militants entered people's homes and broke television sets and beat the owners using terrible force on them.
They walk about warning people not to smoke and sell cigarettes or hashish. Some people in our village smoke hashish and opium.
The people who were seen smoking during Ramadan were taken by the Taleban, beaten and their mobiles were broken.
'People leaving'
Most of the Taleban in my area are local villagers, I have come to believe now. Or at least people who were close friends of the Taleban.
Things have changed a lot recently as the Taleban have gained more power in this region. They have guns, weapons, they have got everything. So I think this makes people want to become one of them.
Some people are leaving. My uncle's old home has been occupied by the Taleban. They have total control of his village. Many of the homes there were razed to the ground when the Taleban battled the army - but the Taleban are still there, although many villagers have left.
Here, nobody really fully knows who belongs to the Taleban. The militants are obvious, the sympathisers are not. There is no trust. The issue becomes complicated when reporters come to the district. Nobody is willing to talk to them.
Everyone is scared.
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U.S. Marines still seek better body armor
The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered major modifications to its body armor to improve comfort, mobility and safety, The Associated Press (AP) has learned.
The decision results from a survey of more than 1,000 Marines, many of whom reported that their flak jackets, which cost the Marine Corps more than $100 million, were too heavy and restrictive. Therefore, the Marine Corps is now developing an Improved Modular Tactical Vest to address the problem areas uncovered by the survey results. Earlier in 2008, the Marine Commandant, General James Conway, temporarily suspended an order for more than 20,000 of the so-called Modular Tactical Vests. "I've worn the vest on my travels into Iraq and Afghanistan, and I can tell you those Marines have raised some valid points," Conway told the AP. More information: Body armor has been an issue since the Iraq war began in 2003. The Army reportedly had a shortage of the ceramic protective plates needed to make vests effective, and lawmakers demanded answers from the Department of Defense after reports surfaced of soldiers' families buying the plates themselves and sending them to Iraq. The Marine Corps has been ahead in distributing adequate body armor and replacement parts to its troops, though it too has struggled to adapt and fine-tune the technology in an ever-changing urban warfare environment. The vest now used by the Marines in Iraq is the Corps' third since 2001. There are other lighter types of body armor that are widely used by police but they are not approved for combat. The Modular Tactical Vest, designed by the Marine Corps to improve on an older jacket, has a track record of stopping bullets and shrapnel. It was designed to better protect the kidneys, lower back and torso in urban combat, and make it easier to carry ammunition, water and grenades. The vest was the top choice of troops who tested it before a body armor manufacturer was awarded the contract, according to Lt. Col. T.V. Johnson, Conway's spokesman. Marine and Pentagon officials said it has a proven record of protecting troops, and Carey said there are no reports of failings that resulted in injury or death during combat. But troops in the field started complaining almost as soon as the vests were issued in 2007. Loosened straps, tucked away tabs At 30 pounds, it is bulky and between one to three pounds heavier than its predecessor, depending on its size, adding to the burden on Marines who carry more than 90 pounds of gear. Army officials testifying before Congress in 2007 said they turned down the vest because it was heavier and no more effective than what the Army was using. Because the vest rides higher on the chest for added protection, and features shoulder straps and buckles for adjustment and quick removal, several Marines blamed it for causing facial bruises when rifle butts slipped during recoil. To better shoulder their weapon, some Marines loosened straps to lower the vest, exposing their upper torsos, according to a Marine field commander in Iraq who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is against policy for troops to alter the vest. Told of the practice by the AP, Conway said: "Any decision to scale down levels of protection for the sake of comfort is wholly unacceptable." The vest has a tab for quickly removing the bullet proof vest to prevent a tragedy, such as when a Marine in an older jacket couldn't remove it and drowned. But Marines complained that the tab snagged equipment, and are now told to tuck away the tab. Unlike previous jackets, which Marines could just throw on and go, this one requires training or online video courses on how to wear it. An initial 84,000 vests at a cost of more than $84 million were ordered in September 2006, nine months after an urgent request came in from the field for better protection. Conway, who became commandant after the contract was issued, put a hold on the last batch of 20,000 vests, questioning their design and testing. He later lifted the suspension and the Marine Corps ordered more than $17 million worth of vests and replacement parts over the summer. The current bulletproof vest costs about $1,050 per unit.
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MILITARY: Marine Corps places tight restrictions on visits to Mexico
Escalating drug violence led to new policy on travel to Tijuana
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer Wednesday, January 14, 2009 8:05 PM PST ∞
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Continuing drug-related violence in Tijuana and the Baja Peninsula has led to an extension of an order that makes it a lot harder for local Marines and sailors to sojourn over the border for a little fiesta time.The directive from Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland mandates that any troops who want to visit Mexico must first obtain written permission from a lieutenant colonel or above and complete several other tasks.The policy, first put in place on Christmas Eve, has been extended indefinitely by Helland, who commands about 40,000 Marines and sailors from Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force."This is a prudent step in addressing the real threat to our personnel by ensuring a baseline level of oversight for any travel into the area," the policy states.Expeditionary force spokesman Mike Alvarez said Wednesday that Mexican officials should not interpret the policy as an insult."We are not pitting ourselves against Mexico," Alvarez said. "The sole intent is to look out for the safety and well-being of our Marines and sailors."Alvarez said requiring a lieutenant colonel or above to sign a "liberty chit" to visit Mexico will "probably do a lot toward reducing the list of Marines going down there."The policy followed discussions between the U.S. Marine Corps and law enforcement agencies, Alvarez said.Any Marine or sailor who wants to visit Mexico must first complete anti-terrorism training.Troops who get the OK to cross the border must be at least 18 and follow "the buddy system," which requires them to travel with at least one other person who is 18 or older.They also must carry the telephone numbers of the American Consulate in Tijuana, the border Shore Patrol and their unit command.And before they go, they must register online with the office of the American Consulate.For those with homes or close relatives in Mexico, the policy is a little more lenient, allowing travel for up to 30 days.Commanders are required to keep a roster of all their troops visiting Mexico as well as those who have a residence or next of kin in the country. Anyone violating the policy is subject to unspecified punishment, the order states.At Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, spokesman Maj. Jay Delarosa said the policy also applies to those stationed at that northeastern San Diego base.A spokesman for the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego, Alberto Diaz, was unaware of the policy and had no immediate comment.The Marine Corps has long cautioned its troops about visits to Tijuana and easy access to alcohol and prostitutes. After a series of incidents in 2001, it imposed a rule similar to Helland's but not nearly as onerous. The 2001 rule simply required that junior Marines get approval from their superior officers.At least 5,300 people died in drug violence in Mexico in 2008, authorities there have reported.Several hundred were killed last year in Tijuana, a city of about 1.3 million, and so far this year at least 12 homicides believed tied to the drug wars have been reported. No U.S. service members have been slain.The local Marine Corps restrictions on travel to Mexico come in the wake of a military report that lists Mexico as one of the countries in the world that could see its government collapse."In terms of worst-case scenarios ... two large and important states bear consideration for rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico," says the report from Joint Forces Command, a Virginia-based military planning and coordination center headed by Marine Gen. James Mattis."The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels."Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
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Afghan general dies in air crash
One of Afghanistan's top army officers and 12 other soldiers have been killed in a helicopter crash in the west of the country, the defence ministry says.
It said the helicopter carrying General Fazaludin Sayar crashed in Herat province because of bad weather.
Gen Sayar was one of the Afghan army's four regional commanders and in charge of the west of the country.
The delegation he was leading had been on its way to visit an army base in neighbouring Farah province.
Defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP news agency that it was the army's worst crash since 2001.
According to some reports, Taleban fighters claimed they had shot the helicopter down - but the ministry denied this, saying it was an accident.
The BBC's Martin Patience, in Afghanistan, says the Afghan security forces are still heavily dependent on old Russian aircraft to transport their troops.
And he says questions have been raised about safety standards in the past.
The other people who died in the crash were reported to be the corps' operations chief, its telecommunications official, five bodyguards, four crew and the general's chief-of-staff.