SPECIAL SALUTEU.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Duane Thiessen, right, the deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for programs and resources, presents U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Perez, left, with a United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington Special Salute award during the USO-Metro 27th Annual awards dinner at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Arlington, Va., March 25, 2009.
ROOFTOP RANGE - A U.S. Marine and an Afghan National Police officer provide security in Delaram, Farah province, Afghanistan, March 23, 2009. The Marines are assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. The Marines have partnered with the Afghan police to provide security for Delaram citizens in response to two recent insurgent suicide attacks and a plot to harm civilians by planting an improvised explosive device near the bazaar in Delaram.
Early Bird summary
Friday’s Early Bird leads with an article from the Washington Post that discusses how the confusing, contradictory forces at work as the government in Kabul, with encouragement from the United Nations and the Obama administration, attempts to find a peaceful way out of a conflict that has taken thousands of lives since 2001, involved tens of thousands of foreign troops and become entangled in a wider, increasingly deadly regional campaign for Islamist control.According to experts and officials here, including several Afghans who served in the Taliban government of 1996 to 2001, there is a widespread desire among Afghan Taliban fighters to seek a settlement that would end intervention by NATO forces on one side and foreign Islamists, including al-Qaeda, on the other.
Roadside bombs cause 75% of casualties to coalition forces in Afghanistan, USA Today reports, up from 50% two years ago, prompting urgent pleas from commanders there for more armored vehicles to protect troops, according to data and interviews.The growth in casualties caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) worries Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who meets Friday with a task force meant to speed Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to war zones, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said."The secretary is concerned that with IED casualties in Afghanistan on the rise and tens of thousands of additional U.S. forces flowing into country that we have enough MRAPs to protect our troops from this increasing threat," Morrell said.The rate of casualties from IEDs — those wounded or killed — in Afghanistan for the first two months of 2009 is higher than the rate in Iraq when fighting there was at its worst. It was 60% there in 2006 and 2007, according the Joint IED Defeat Organization. So far this year, IEDs have caused 40% of casualties in Iraq. Casualties from IEDs have dropped as more MRAPs have been sent to Iraq.
NBC’s Matt Lauer conducted an interview with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen on the “Today Show.” A transcript of the interview is available at this link.
More, more, more.That's the message President Obama will take to this weekend's NATO summit in France, where the need for the United States' allies to contribute more troops, funds and military training programs in Afghanistan will overshadow celebrations of the security organization's 60th anniversary, according to USA Today.On Thursday, the top coalition commander in Afghanistan called on NATO to expand its role there to include training Afghanistan's nascent police force, which has lagged its army in training and effectiveness."I think if NATO and other military contributors to this campaign don't put an effort into working with the police the same as we put into working with the (Afghan) army, then I think we're short-sighted in our approach here," U.S. Gen. David McKiernan said in Kabul.
The number of American troops killed in Iraq last month dropped to single figures for the first time since the conflict began, the London Daily Telegraph reports. Nine soldiers died in the country during March, making it the lowest fatality rate since the 2003 invasion and marking a milestone in the success of the "surge" strategy. While the total number of US deaths stands at 4,263, the rate at which soldiers have been killed has dropped off dramatically since the bloody early days of the "surge" in spring, 2007, during which 330 died in three months.Of the nine that died last month, only four were killed as a result of enemy fire. The rest were killed in accidents or by other means.
Since Marine Sgt. Ryan Weemer's murder trial started Tuesday at Camp Pendleton, his attorneys have described his shooting of an unarmed detainee as self-defense during a chaotic battle in Iraq, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.Yesterday, the prosecution tried to undercut that assertion by introducing witnesses who said regulations clearly required Marines to bring captives to a designated holding area instead of killing them.Chief Warrant Officer Paul Pritchard ran prisoner operations during the November 2004 offensive in Fallujah that included Weemer. He testified that the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment kept prisoners in a train station north of the city.About 1,000 captives were brought there by the time the fighting ended, Pritchard said.Maj. Jonathan Vaughn, who was a lawyer for the battalion, said every Marine was taught the laws of armed conflict and the U.S. military's rules of engagement.“More than sufficient,” Vaughn replied when asked if the battalion had received enough training to know a legal right from a legal wrong.
If all goes according to plan, the moment North Korea launches a rocket from its eastern coast, which it says will happen sometime during the daytime between Saturday and Wednesday, a Defense Support Program satellite operated by the U.S. military will pick up the heat exhaust from the booster using an infrared sensor, according to Japanese officials, Japan Times reports.The launch information will first be sent to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the U.S.-Canadian command and control center in Colorado better known as NORAD, the officials said.NORAD will relay the information to the Self-Defense Forces' Central Command Post at the Defense Ministry via U.S. Forces Japan, which is headquartered at the U.S. Air Force's Yokota base in the suburbs of Tokyo.In addition, U.S. Forces Japan will send the information to the Air Self-Defense Force's Air Defense Command, whose commander has been authorized to take charge of intercepting the rocket should it or parts of it appear to be falling onto Japan.The satellite will also transmit its information to U.S. Navy Aegis destroyers deployed around Japan. The warships will share the information with the three Aegis destroyers of the Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed to the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean using a tactical data link system called Link 16, the officials said.
The New York Times reports that, nearly eight months after the war between Russia and Georgia, Russian troops continue to hold Georgian territory that the Kremlin agreed to vacate as part of a formal cease-fire, leaving a basic condition of that agreement unfulfilled.The Russian military, working with the governments and the small military forces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two separatist regions in Georgia, has stationed forces in two large swaths of territory that were under Georgian control before the war. Observers and diplomats say Russia has also used attack helicopters and stationed tanks in areas where none existed before the war.The sustained Russian military presence on land captured last summer — evident during two recent days spent in the area by two reporters — provides a backdrop of lingering disagreement between the West and Russia at a crucial time: The Obama administration is pledging to recalibrate the relationship with Russia, restore cooperation in other areas and explore a new treaty on nuclear arms.
In a related story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, it is reported that Russia sent a strong warning to the United States about supporting Georgia in the U.S. ally’s efforts to rebuild its military following last year’s war. The Foreign Ministry said helping arm Georgia would be “extremely dangerous” and would be “nothing but the encouragement of the aggressor.” The warning came days after Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili stridently vowed to rebuild and prepare his armed forces for missions other than peacekeeping--comments made alongside a top U.S. general.
Media summary
1. Leading newspaper headlines: Everyone leads with the agreement reached by the leaders of the world's largest economies to provide new funds to help countries that have been hit hard by the global recession and a host of new oversight measures designed to increase regulation of the financial sector. (Slate Magazine)
2. Ministry mulls transit of U.S. cargo: Russia is ready for possible cooperation with the United States on the transit of military equipment across its territory to Afghanistan, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday. (Washington Post)
3. Obama underlines al-Qaeda threat: US President Barack Obama has called for better use of Nato resources in Afghanistan, saying al-Qaeda is a greater threat to Europe than the US. (BBC)
4. New Afghan law worries NATO chief: Nato's head says it could be difficult to persuade European countries to contribute more troops to Afghanistan because of controversial new laws. (BBC)
Leading newspaper headlines
Everyone leads with the agreement reached by the leaders of the world's largest economies to provide new funds to help countries that have been hit hard by the global recession and a host of new oversight measures designed to increase regulation of the financial sector. At the Group of 20 summit meeting in London, leaders agreed to provide $1.1 trillion in loans and guarantees to boost international trade that would greatly increase the International Monetary Fund's coffers. They also vowed to implement new regulations for hedge funds and large financial institutions, as well as a crackdown on tax havens, although these would have to be implemented by individual nations. The Los Angeles Times declares that while these measures may not amount to a "new global deal" that President Obama had called for, "the outcome still surprised many observers with its unusually substantive achievements." USA Today seconds that sentiment, saying that the "landmark agreement … was more than what experts expected." And the Washington Post says that the "consensus was remarkable given the discord that preceded Thursday's meeting."
The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are decidedly less impressed. The WSJ says the leaders "deferred many of the trickiest decision or forwarded them to international institutions unaccustomed to the responsibility." While the "measures may ease some pain … many declarations were of principles that have to be followed up" at a later date, notes the paper. The NYT points out that "the final accord was far more forceful in addressing the plight of emerging economies … than it was in addressing the deep recession in the largest countries where the crisis began." Critics were quick to note that the agreement was more than a little vague on how the world should tackle some of the root causes of the financial crisis.
Even those who took the glass-is-half-empty view of the G-20 agreement seem to recognize that, at the very least, world leaders would avoid repeating "the failure of a similar gathering in 1933, which was followed by a surge of protectionism that prolonged the Great Depression," notes the NYT. In the end, there was no commitment for individual countries to boost their government spending, but that was hardly surprising considering that the "White House had lowered expectations for such a result before the summit," says USAT. "These summits are all about managing expectations, and going into this week the expectations were very low," said Edward Alden of the Council on Foreign Relations. "The goal here was to show a united front, and they did that.
Before the summit, France and Germany had been pushing for the world leaders to come up with a new set of regulations for the financial markets. In the end, the nine-page "Leaders' Statement" included vows to crack down on tax havens, impose new regulations on hedge funds, and implement controls on executive pay. French President Nicolas Sarkozy didn't get what he wanted—he had previously called for a global financial regulator—but emphasized that the final agreement shouldn't be seen as a "victory of one camp over another."
Inside, the WP notes that the plans to increase financial regulations could take a while to implement and individual countries have no obligation to accept them, so it is the pledge for $1.1 trillion in new loans and guarantees that "will have the most immediate effect." In order to disburse this money, world leaders will rely on the International Monetary Fund, "which emerges from the summit with a vastly redefined and enhanced mission." In addition to the help for emerging economies, the IMF will also be in charge of a $250 billion line of credit that will mostly go to industrialized nations, potentially even the United States. The WSJ points out that the IMF will have to take on responsibilities that go beyond its "traditional role, and may require the fund to show more spine in dealing with its largest members than it has managed in the past."
Everyone points out that markets around the world soared. Many papers credit the 2.8 percent increase in the Dow Jones industrial average to the G-20 meeting, but the NYT says stock markets in the United States seemed more influenced by "an arcane change in American accounting regulations that would make it easier for banks to defer writing down the value of their most troubled toxic assets."
The LAT and NYT front looks at how Obama did in his debut performance as president on the world stage. "Well, I think I did O.K.," Obama said. Most seem to agree. Although he was criticized for appearing a bit distant, the NYT points out that he "took pains to project a cheerful, humble image." And he was even able to show off his diplomatic skills, thanks to a disagreement between France and China over whether the group of leaders should recognize a list of tax havens being published by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. China was against it, partly because it doesn't belong to the OECD, and also because it could risk embarrassment since the list might include Hong Kong and Macao. So Obama took each country's leader aside for a small chat and suggested that instead of using the word "recognize," they should use the word "note." It may seem ridiculous, but the LAT points out that's "the kind of small dispute that holds up international agreements all the time." The leaders liked Obama's solution, and they all shook hands. "It was not a Middle East peace accord," notes the NYT. "But Mr. Obama had his first moment as a statesman."
"All in all, a pretty successful opening-night performance for President Obama on the international economic stage," writes the WP's Steven Pearlstein. "He achieved most of what he wanted while allowing others to claim victory and allowing the United States to shed its Bush-era reputation for inflexibility and heavy-handedness. And by the standards of past summits, this one was full of accomplishment."
The WP off-leads a long look at Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's tenure as head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that was reported in conjunction with ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization. Geithner and his partners at the New York Fed "missed clear signs of a catastrophe in the making" and spent much of their time trying to solve "narrow mechanical issues in the derivatives market." Geithner wasn't blind to what was happening. Indeed, he often raised concerns that banks were taking on too much risk, and ordered a 2006 confidential review that found banks couldn't really understand, and didn't have a scientific way to measure, the risks they were taking. Despite this information, he failed to "act with enough force to blunt the troubles that ensued" and ultimately "relied too much on assurances from senior banking executives that their firms were safe and sound."
The NYT continues its tradition of revealing extremely troubling information about what takes place inside immigration detention facilities. We already knew that detainees with advanced illnesses or severe injuries had been ignored and denied treatment, with lethal results. Today, the NYT takes a look at the case of Ahmad Tanveer, a 43-year-old Pakistani New Yorker who died in custody but seemed to disappear from the system as soon as he did. Even though civilian activists, the ACLU, and the NYT were all trying to get information on the case it took months for the government to acknowledge that the man had even died. And a supposedly comprehensive list of deaths excludes others who are known to have died while in custody. "We still do not know, and we cannot know, if there are other deaths that have never been disclosed by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], or that ICE itself knows nothing about," an ACLU lawyer said.
The WP fronts news that that the House and Senate approved their own versions of a spending plan for 2010 that included Obama's biggest priorities. Lawmakers did make some changes to Obama's budget, cutting out some spending and scaling back his tax-cutting proposals. Overall though, the budget would permit Obama to pursue his plans for health care, education, and energy. The votes were largely along party lines, with 20 Democrats in the House and two in the Senate voting against the measure. Now, negotiators have to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions, which the WP describes as "a prelude to the more difficult choices that will be required to implement Obama's initiatives."
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Ministry Mulls Transit Of U.S. Military Cargo
Russia is ready for possible cooperation with the United States on the transit of military equipment across its territory to Afghanistan, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.The United States is seeking more supply routes for international forces fighting in Afghanistan after militants in Pakistan stepped up attacks on supply convoys from the south."We are being asked whether Russia intends to make an agreement with the United States on the transit across her territory of military equipment to Afghanistan," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said at a news briefing."Russia is ready for cooperation on this question," he said, adding that Washington had not yet made an official request.The first cargo of U.S. non-lethal supplies such as construction materials crossed Russia last month, but officials say the United States is interested in sending military equipment, too.
Obama underlines al-Qaeda threat
US President Barack Obama has called for better use of Nato resources in Afghanistan, saying al-Qaeda is a greater threat to Europe than the US.
Speaking before a Nato summit, Mr Obama said the US wanted to see Europe with stronger defences, as it wanted to be a partner rather than a patron to Europe.
However, Nato's secretary general said draft Afghanistan laws violated human rights, hindering involvement.
A massive French-German security operation is in place for the summit.
French police were still holding more than 100 of the 300 people arrested on Thursday when masked protesters smashed bus shelters and burnt rubbish bins.
Some 25,000 French police are set to patrol protests which could attract tens of thousands of demonstrators.
Several hundred German soldiers are at two sites where activists are expected.
The German town of Kehl and the resort of Baden-Baden are also hosting Nato events for the alliance's 60th-anniversary summit.
Mr Obama flew in from London, where he attended the G20 summit.
Before the Nato meeting, he held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Strasbourg and is due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Baden-Baden.
He wants more support from America's Nato allies to fight the Taleban in Afghanistan.
However, the Nato secretary general said it could be difficult to persuade European countries because of planned Afghan laws which he says violate human rights.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was talking about a planned law that, among other things, sanctions rape within marriage.
He told the BBC: "How can I defend this, and how can the British defend this, when our boys and girls are dying there in defence of universal values, and here is a law that fundamentally violates human rights.
"That worries me greatly."
France last month announced it would be fully re-integrated into Nato.
For decades it has stood at a distance from the alliance, taking part in military operations but not in its central planning and decision-making.
Protests have already begun, with police in Strasbourg firing tear gas and rubber bullets as they forced a crowd back on Thursday.
Groups of youths, many wearing hoods or scarves, walked through a suburb of the city carrying banners saying: "Stop repression in London and Strasbourg".
Bus stops and vehicles were vandalised, shop windows smashed and a barricade put up on one street.
An eyewitness who asked not to be named told the BBC that riot vans and water cannon had been seen heading towards the protesters' official camp in Ganzau, south of the city.
New leader
At the talks, the state leaders are expected to consider relations with Russia and possibly announce a new secretary general.
The current secretary general steps down at the end of July.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the frontrunner, but Turkey has expressed opposition to his appointment, based on his stance over the Danish publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2006, and the broadcasting of a Kurdish TV station in Denmark.
Speaking in London hours before the summit began in Strasbourg, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "I look at [his candidacy] negatively.
New Afghan law worries Nato chief
The law has been described as "oppressive" for women
Nato's head says it could be difficult to persuade European countries to contribute more troops to Afghanistan because of controversial new laws.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the planned laws violated human rights and were unjustifiable when Nato troops were dying to protect universal values.
Critics say the law limits the rights of women from the Shia minority and authorises rape within marriage.
Aides to President Karzai insist the law provides more protection for women.
Permission
Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told the BBC's Mark Mardell: "We are there to defend universal values and when I see, at the moment, a law threatening to come into effect which fundamentally violates women's rights and human rights, that worries me."
He added: "I have a problem to explain and President Karzai knows this, because I discussed it with him. I have a problem to explain to a critical public audience in Europe, be it the UK or elsewhere, why I'm sending the guys to the Hindu Kush."
The UN earlier said it was seriously concerned about the potential impact of the law.
Human rights activists say it reverses many of the freedoms won by Afghan women in the seven years since the Taleban were driven from power.
They say it removes the right of women to refuse their husbands sex, unless they are ill.
Women will also need to get permission from their husbands if they want to leave their homes, unless there is an emergency.
The law covers members of Afghanistan's Shia minority, who make up 10% of the population.
It was rushed through parliament in February and was backed by influential Shia clerics and Shia political parties.
Defenders of the law say it is an improvement on the customary laws which normally decide family matters.
A separate family law for the Sunni majority is now also being drawn up.
Nato is holding its annual summit in Strasbourg.
President Obama is to present his new Afghan strategy to his allies.
Ahead of the meeting, a number of leading charities warned that an increase in military deployments in Afghanistan could lead to a rise in civilian casualties.
They called on Nato leaders gathering in Strasbourg to do more to protect the population.
Last year more than 2,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan.
In a report titled Caught in the Conflict, 11 aid groups including Oxfam, ActionAid and Care called on Nato to change the way it operates.
"The troop surge will fail to achieve greater overall security and stability unless the military prioritise the protection of Afghan civilians," Matt Waldman, head of policy for Oxfam International on Afghanistan, said.
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