23 January 2009

Early Bird summary
Friday’s Early Bird leads with a story from USA Today reporting that Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. needs goals in Afghanistan that are more "concrete" and pursuit of drug lords in that nation is "fair game" if they are supporting Taliban insurgents.Gates spoke with reporters at the Pentagon the day after President Obama said he and top military leaders will soon conduct "a full review" of the situation in Afghanistan to develop "a comprehensive policy for the entire region."
A related story in bloomberg.com reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he is “very comfortable” with President Barack Obama’s order that all interrogations of terrorist suspects be conducted according to rules set down in the U.S. Army’s field manual.Gates, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, said the need to use methods that go beyond those permitted in the Army manual is “dramatically less” today than in earlier years because the U.S. now knows much more about the functioning of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.And he said the country ultimately stands to gain from the change in policy because “you have to weigh the costs of the more severe interrogation measures” on U.S. values.In any case, Gates said, the matter is ultimately up to the president. “If that’s what he said, that’s what will be done,” Gates said.
The Washington Post also reports that Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen said that if the law on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military changes, they will comply with the law.Gates also responded to questions raised by the Senate Armed Services Committee about lobbying work for Raytheon by Obama's nominee for deputy defense secretary, William Lynn."People in the transition certainly recognized that it was an issue," Gates said. "And I interviewed Bill Lynn; I was very impressed with his credentials; he came with the highest recommendations of a number of people that I respect a lot. And I asked that an exception be made, because I felt that he could play the role of the deputy in a better manner than anybody else that I saw.
Several stories (from the Washington Post, New York Times, Washington Times, Houston Chronicle, and Arizona Republic), discuss President Obama’s reversal of the most disputed counterterrorism policies of the Bush administration on Thursday, declaring that “our ideals give us the strength and moral high ground” in the fight against Al Qaeda. But Mr. Obama postponed for months decisions on complex questions the United States has been grappling with since the terrorist attacks of 2001.Mr. Obama signed executive orders closing the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, within a year; ending the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret prisons; and requiring all interrogations to follow the noncoercive methods of the Army Field Manual.“We intend to win this fight,” he said. “We are going to win it on our own terms.”
Other noteworthy stories in today’s Early Bird:
§ The New York Times and Los Angeles Times report that a Senate panel on Thursday postponed a vote to confirm President Obama’s pick for deputy secretary of defense because the nominee’s previous lobbying work violated the new administration’s ethics rules.Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, did not rule out confirmation of the nominee, William J. Lynn III. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, noted Thursday that the rules included provisions for waivers in a case of public interest.
§ The Arizona Daily Star reports President Obama's plan to nearly double American troop numbers in Afghanistan needs to be matched by a similar surge in development workers and aid funding, NATO's top official said Thursday.In a sign of the tough fight there, NATO and Afghan troops earlier in the day killed up to 22 militants in airstrikes and ground battles near the Afghan border with Pakistan, officials said.The United States has about 33,000 soldiers in Afghanistan battling a resurgent Taliban, and Obama is expected to send up to 30,000 more this year as his administration shifts its focus from the war in Iraq to the Afghan conflict.
§ The Washington Post reports that Ryan C. Crocker, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Iraq, warned Thursday that a precipitous withdrawal of American troops runs "some very serious risks," from the resurgence of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq to a collapse of faith in a nascent Iraqi state that still faces what he called "enormous challenges."A loss of confidence, Crocker said, could create a "chilling effect," where people "pull back, dig the trenches, build the berms and get ready for what comes next. I'm not saying that that would happen; but I am saying these are dangers that could happen."
Media summary
1. Leading newspaper headlines: The Washington Post leads with a look at how congressional Republicans are increasingly raising grievances about the economic-stimulus plan that President Obama wants to pass with broad bipartisan support. (Slate Magazine)
2. Reserve unit conducts urban training at Camp Lejeune. (Jacksonville [N.C.] Daily News)
3. Iran doctors jailed over ‘plot’: Two prominent Iranian Aids doctors have been jailed for a total of nine years for their part in an alleged coup plot. (BBC)
Leading newspaper headlines
The Washington Post leads with a look at how congressional Republicans are increasingly raising grievances about the economic-stimulus plan that President Obama wants to pass with broad bipartisan support. Republicans say Democratic lawmakers are high on power and have written the $850 billion legislation largely by themselves while ignoring their concerns that many items included in the draft bill wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy. The New York Times leads with Obama's nominee for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, accusing the Chinese government of "manipulating" its currency, suggesting the new administration will be more confrontational in dealing with Beijing's controversial exchange-rate policies.

The Los Angeles Times and USA Today lead with Obama issuing a series of executive orders to reverse some of the most controversial counterterrorism policies of the Bush administration. Claiming the "moral high ground" in the fight against al-Qaida, Obama ordered Guantanamo closed within a year, the CIA prisons overseas shut down, and the use of harsh interrogation techniques prohibited. While the move sent a strong signal that the United States will change the way it fights terrorism, "Obama put off many of the most difficult decisions," notes the LAT. The Wall Street Journal banners news that former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain was forced to resign from a top job at Bank of America. The bank's chief executive was angry that Thain rushed out bonuses for Merrill executives and spent lavishly before the company's sale to Bank of America closed, despite the brokerage's $15.3 billion in losses during the fourth quarter.
The Democratic majority in Congress makes it unlikely that Republicans could actually stop the stimulus bill, no matter how much they complain. But the rising Republican doubts mean that Obama's first major piece of legislation could pass on a party-line vote, "little different from the past 16 years of partisan sniping in the Clinton and Bush eras," notes the WP. Democratic congressional leaders are basically saying, tough luck, that's what happens when you lose elections. But Obama seems determined to prove that he was serious about all that bipartisan talk and will host a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House and is apparently even willing to discuss the prospect of including more tax cuts into the stimulus package. Some Democrats are hinting that Obama's priorities are all wrong, and the focus should be on passing legislation, not on getting a few more Republican senators on his side.
Geithner made the comments about China's currency in writing to the Senate finance committee, which later in the day recommended that the full Senate confirm him as treasury secretary. White House officials insist Geithner didn't do anything except repeat something that Obama said during the campaign, but the statement will undoubtedly anger China at a time of economic uncertainty. Geithner's words raise the possibility that the administration will explicitly label China a "currency manipulator," which would require negotiations to take place with Beijing over its currency policy. Labor unions and manufacturers that have long cried foul at China's exchange-rate policies are likely to be pleased if the administration takes a harder line on the issue. But China might decide it's suddenly not so interested in buying U.S. debt if the White House begins a serious push to get Beijing to revalue its currency.
In signing the orders that signaled a shift from the previous administration's methods of fighting against terrorism, Obama said he wanted to send a message that "we are willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard." But most of the orders will take time to implement and left many unanswered questions, such as what will happen with the Guantanamo detainees who are identified as dangerous but can't be tried in American courts. And while Obama declared that CIA interrogators must abide by the methods outlined in the Army Field Manual, he suggested these techniques could be expanded and appointed a special task force to look into the issue. The CIA secret prisons haven't been used much since 2006, but their closing has raised doubts about what the agency would do with terrorist suspects captured overseas. The LAT also specifies that the CIA practice of "extraordinary rendition," in which agents transfer suspects to other countries, will remain intact as long as detainees aren't sent to countries that engage in torture.
Some Republicans criticized Obama's moves, saying that the new administration is acting quickly without thinking through the potential consequences. Highlighting the difficult path that lies ahead to close Guantanamo, the NYT fronts word that Ali al-Shihri, a former detainee who was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007, is now the deputy leader of al-Qaida's Yemeni branch. While the LAT points out that the Pentagon has said that 61 former Guantanamo detainees have taken up arms against the United States since their release, the NYT specifies that the "claim is difficult to document." Still, "few of the former detainees, if any," are thought to have become leaders of a terrorist organization like Shihri.
In a front-page analysis piece, the WP's Dana Priest, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on the CIA's secret prisons, declares that Obama "effectively declared an end to the 'war on terror,' as President George W. Bush had defined it." And while the administration insists it will continue to pursue terrorists, the idea that a president can ignore the law "simply by declaring war was halted by executive order." The executive orders marked a quick close to an era that was already ending, as the public had been growing wary of tactics that came to be seen as abuses of government power.
The LAT fronts, and everyone covers, news that Obama will get to keep his BlackBerry. Ever since winning the election, Obama has waged a very public battle to hold on to his beloved device and will now become "the nation's first e-mailing president," as the NYT puts it. But he had to accept certain restrictions. Only a small group of people will be allowed to send e-mail directly to the president—"one of the most exclusive lists ever created," declares the Post. The LAT says that although the White House specifically mentioned the BlackBerry, some experts think Obama would adopt another kind of smartphone that has a higher level of security.
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Reserve unit conducts urban training at Camp Lejeune
JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The Marine reservists have already been trained on how to conduct foot patrols, vehicle check points, vehicle patrols and "cordon and knock" operations.
Thursday, they applied those skills in a training environment they said is as close to real life as possible.
The Marines of Company B, 4th Amphibious Assault Battalion, traveled to Camp Lejeune from Jacksonville, Fla.; Galveston, Texas; and Tampa, Fla. to train at the base's Military Operations in Urban Terrain facility. The facility is built to mimic a town, with Iraqi role players and small-scale explosives giving the exercise an added touch of reality.
"For most Marines coming through this, it will be their first time. They're going to make mistakes on the basic fundamentals, because ... they see things happening and they forget about the basics: communication, the buddy system. And that's expected," said Staff Sgt. Jason Fitzgerald, who assisted the company by observing the training and pointing out mistakes.
"Communication is the biggest thing," Fitzgerald said. "When you're in a MOUT facility, things are more closed in. It's not gonna be a wooded environment. You're going to be exposed to alleys, what we call danger areas or avenues of approach, windows. A lot more things or a lot of other places that a bad guy or an insurgent can hide in and do damage to your patrol."
The first foot patrol to run through the exercise experienced that "damage" when a mock roadside bomb exploded nearby.
"You don't know what to expect," said Sgt. David Smith, an assistant squad leader. "They just throw pretty much anything out there ... It really helps you out, really opens your eyes to a new situation and different aspects."
Smith has deployed twice before, but served in an amphibious assault vehicle during those tours.
"This infantry aspect is new for me. But I'm learning. I'm learning a lot, actually," he said.
Cpl. Zachary Tyler deployed a few years ago and said the pre-deployment training he had then was not as realistic. This time, he said the Marines got "a taste of what to look for, how it feels, the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the confusion, the fog of war, all that."
Maj. Zeke Zukowski, Bravo Company commander, said the opportunity to train at the MOUT facility was "an amazing advantage."
About half of the Marines have deployed before, he said, but they may end up doing different types of operations this time than they have in the past. The unit is scheduled to leave for a seven-month deployment this spring in support of 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Zukowski said.
"My orders are to be ready for anywhere or anything," he said. "I don't have any reservations about how ready this company will be."
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Iran doctors jailed over 'plot'
Arash and Kamyar Alaei were respected for their HIV work
Two prominent Iranian Aids doctors have been jailed for a total of nine years for their part in an alleged coup plot.
Brothers Arash Alaei and Kamyar Alaei were accused of being "key elements" in a plan Iran said was backed by the CIA.
The prison sentences were imposed after a secret trial and have provoked strong protests from human rights groups.
Lawyers for the men, known for their pioneering research into HIV and Aids treatment and prevention, said they had strenuously denied all the charges.
They said Arash Alaei was sentenced to six years in prison and Kamyar Alaei to three years.
The men were arrested in June but the reason for their detention was not immediately made clear.
The coup allegations only surfaced in recent weeks.
Iran should have been excited that something positive like this was coming from Iran
Sarah Kolloch Physicians for Human Rights
Iran's state media quoted the Intelligence Ministry as saying the men were among four people engaged in "creating social crisis, street demonstrations and ethnic disputes".
The two other defendants have not been named.
Lawyer Massoud Shafiie said he would appeal against the charges and ask for the brothers' release, "as there is no evidence proving their accusations".
"Their foreign cooperation and relations were only scientific and cultural and not against the country," he said.
'Velvet revolution'
The two doctors had travelled widely outside Iran, including to the US, to take part in conferences on HIV/Aids.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says this may have meant they fell foul of a law banning Iranians from having relations with so-called "hostile states".
"We don't know why they were targeted," said Sarah Kolloch of US-based Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
"Most of their presentations were about innovative work in Iran on HIV prevention. If anything, Iran should have been excited that something positive like this was coming from Iran."
The Iranian government has repeatedly warned of attempts to stir up a "velvet revolution" by creating social unrest in the country to destabilise the government.
But no evidence has been produced to show that Arash and Kamyar Alaei were engaged in anything other than international collaboration to fight the spread of HIV and Aids, says our correspondent.


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