This March 30, 2009 photo shows U.S. Marines from 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment preparing for a mission in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq. As the Marine Corps shrinks its footprint in Iraq's western desert, Arab community leaders are publicly voicing worries about what will happen once the Americans are gone. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Early Bird summary
Tuesday’s Early Bird leads with numerous articles regarding Somali piracy and the resolution of the U.S. hostage situation over the weekend. The lead story in that roundup (from the Wall Street Journal) reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that despite the successful rescue of an American merchant captain Sunday, piracy off the coast of Somalia will flourish until a stable government is established in Mogadishu.Mr. Gates said poverty and rampant criminality in Somalia make piracy an attractive option for local youths, and problems there are "probably going to get worse.""There is no purely military solution to it," Mr. Gates said in an address to the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Va. "There's really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids."
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that President Obama vowed Monday to “halt the rise of piracy” off the coast of Africa following the dramatic rescue of an American merchant captain, foreshadowing a longer and potentially more treacherous struggle ahead as he weighs a series of problematic options.In permitting members of the Navy Seals to shoot the pirates holding the captain, Richard Phillips, Mr. Obama navigated a crisis that played out in full view of the world. But policy makers and experts said the precision killing of three Somali pirates with three bullets would certainly prove easier than wiping out the larger threat in the shipping lanes or reversing the instability that makes Somalia a breeding ground for pirates and Islamic terrorists.With the “Black Hawk Down” episode in Somalia still etched in the American consciousness 16 years after two helicopters were shot down and 18 American soldiers were killed, Mr. Obama and his advisers are wary of becoming deeply involved in the region again. That wariness comes at a time when Mr. Obama is already trying to end a war in Iraq and win another in Afghanistan. White House officials on Monday played down suggestions that the United States could attack pirate bases on shore, portraying that as premature at best.
Elsewhere in the Early Bird, the New York Times reports that Taliban insurgents are teaming up with local militant groups to make inroads in Punjab, the province that is home to more than half of Pakistanis, reinvigorating an alliance that Pakistani and American authorities say poses a serious risk to the stability of the country.The deadly assault in March in Lahore, Punjab’s capital, against the Sri Lankan cricket team, and the bombing last fall of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, the national capital, were only the most spectacular examples of the joint campaign, they said.Now police officials, local residents and analysts warn that if the government does not take decisive action, these dusty, impoverished fringes of Punjab could be the next areas facing the insurgency. American intelligence and counterterrorism officials also said they viewed the developments with alarm.
On a related note, the Wall Street Journal reports that thousands of Islamist militants are pouring into Pakistan's Swat Valley and setting up training camps, quickly making it one of the main bases for Taliban fighters and raising their threat to the government in the wake of a controversial peace deal.President Asif Ali Zardari effectively ratified the government's deal with the Taliban Monday by signing a bill that imposes Islamic law in Swat, a key plank of the accord, hours after legislators overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging it. Pakistani officials have touted the deal, reached in February, as a way to restore peaceful order in the bloodied region -- which lies just a few hours' drive from the capital -- and halt the Taliban's advance.The number of militants in the valley swelled in the months before the deal with the Taliban was struck, and they continue to move in, say Pakistani and U.S. officials. They now estimate there are between 6,000 and 8,000 fighters in Swat, nearly double the number at the end of last year.Taliban leaders make no secret of their ultimate aim. "Our objective is to drive out Americans and their lackeys" from Pakistan and Afghanistan, said Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the group, in an interview. "They are not Muslims and we have to throw them out."
The Iraqi military put local journalists on notice on Monday that their organizations could be shut down for misquoting officials, while the Iraqi government accused the news media of deliberately seeking to promote sectarian strife, according to a report in the New York Times.The top military spokesman in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, said he was filing a lawsuit seeking to close the Baghdad office of Al Hayat, one of the most prominent newspapers in the Arab world, as well as the satellite signal of Al Sharqiya, a popular Iraqi television channel that has been a strong critic of the government. The lawsuit was announced on the Web site of the Baghdad Operations Command, which coordinates Iraqi security forces in the capital.The National Media Center of the Council of Ministers criticized local, Arab and international news media on Monday for recent reports about arrests of members of the Awakening Councils. “These attempts by some media to depict wanted persons as heroes targeted by security forces provoke hateful sectarian strife in order to damage Iraqi unity,” the government said in a statement, adding that such reports “make us wonder about the true goals of these campaigns and the groups behind them.”
Media summary
1. Leading newspaper headlines: The New York Times leads with a look at how members of the Taliban in Pakistan are forging alliances with militants in Punjab, the country's most populous province. (Slate Magazine)
2. As Marines’ exit gathers pace, some Iraqis fret: As the Marine Corps shrinks its footprint in Iraq's western desert, Iraqi community leaders here are publicly voicing worries about what will happen once the Americans are gone. (Associated Press)
3. Marine’s family dispute finding on his death: The Marine Corps has concluded that Cpl. Christian Scott Cotner, a Waterbury Marine who died in a non-combat incident in Iraq last year, committed suicide. (Republican American, Waterbury, Conn.)
4. Journalist goes on trial in Iran: An Iranian-American journalist accused of spying in Iran went on trial this week and a verdict is expected soon, an Iranian official has said. (BBC)
Leading newspaper headlines
The New York Times leads with a look at how members of the Taliban in Pakistan are forging alliances with militants in Punjab, the country's most populous province. This alliance has already led to some high-profile attacks, such as the assault against the Sri Lankan cricket team in March, and authorities warn that unless swift action is taken, areas of Punjab could soon be overrun by Taliban insurgents. USA Today leads with a report by the U.S. Agency for International Development's inspector general that reveals the United Nations spent millions of dollars on poorly built infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. The U.N. diverted some money from a $25 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development for a "quick impact" infrastructure program to other countries and then refused to answer questions from U.S. investigators.
The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox lead with the Obama administration announcing that it would lift restrictions on travel to Cuba by Americans with family on the island as well as limits on remittances. The White House also said U.S. telecommunications companies would be allowed to do business in Cuba. The broad trade embargo that was imposed ins 1962 will largely stay in place, but White House officials say the change in rules toward the island would allow Cubans to become less dependent on the communist government. The Los Angeles Times leads with news that Phil Spector was convicted of second-degree murder yesterday, six years after police found an actress shot to death in the legendary record producer's mansion. Spector is now "the first celebrity found guilty of murder on Hollywood's home turf in at least 40 years," declares the paper. The 69-year-old faces a minimum of 18 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
Pakistani insurgents with ties to al-Qaida and the Taliban are moving deeper into Pakistan, and officials see their growing alliance with local militant groups in Punjab as a critical step toward expanding their base beyond the country's lawless tribal regions. Links between the Punjab militants and the Taliban have existed for years, but they have grown stronger. The NYT reports that "signs of creeping militancy abound" in a number of areas in Punjab, where sectarian attacks are growing. Government officials have chosen to largely ignore this development and have left it up to the police to deal with the growing presence of insurgents, but they're vastly understaffed, particularly in rural areas. The situation on the outskirts of Punjab hasn't quite reached the levels of the Swat Valley, where a controversial truce was declared in February, but "there are strong parallels," declares the paper.
So, how bad are things in Swat Valley? The WSJ traveled to the region and fronts a look at how the valley that was once a popular tourist destination has quickly become "one of the main bases for Taliban fighters." The fighters have quickly moved in, and officials estimate there are now somewhere between 6,000 to 8,000 militants in Swat, which is "nearly double the number at the end of last year." The insurgents have set up a network of training camps and are recruiting young men, many of whom agree to join in order to secure the safety of their families. The paper talks to a Taliban spokesman who openly admits the militants want to use Swat as a base to expand into neighboring areas. "This is a rest stop for the Taliban, it's nothing more," an American official said.
In the USAID report that USAT obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the agency's inspector general wrote that many questions relating to the U.N. infrastructure program in Afghanistan remain unanswered because the international organization refused to cooperate with the American investigation. The program was meant to demonstrate quick results in Afghan reconstruction efforts, but it seems that around 40 percent of USAID's grant money was diverted to other countries. Meanwhile, several of the infrastructure projects that were supposedly complete were actually so poorly built that they were unusable.
The White House's new policy on Cuba effectively allows Cuban-Americans to travel as often as they like and send as much money as they want to the communist country. That change was largely expected, but news that telecommunications firms would be allowed to do business in Cuba was a surprise. The move is meant to open Cubans up to a vast array of information from the outside world, but it "may be mostly symbolic in the short term," notes the WSJ. Telecommunications companies would need permission from the Cuban government to operate in the island, and there's no reason to believe this permission would be granted.
The NYT specifies that yesterday's announcement amounted to "the most significant shift in United States policy toward Cuba in decades," but were ultimately "modest" steps that reflect "the complicated domestic politics around Cuba and the unpredictability of the Cuban response." People on both sides of the debate criticized the moves, some saying the administration went too far while others contend it didn't go far enough. The LAT points out that the moves will also "blunt pressure" that Obama is likely to face when he meets with Latin American leaders this week at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
The NYT fronts word that the Obama administration is currently in discussions with European allies to change strategy toward Iran that would drop demands on the country to halt its nuclear programs before talks can take place. Nothing has been finalized, but the proposals currently under discussion would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium during at least the first phase of nuclear talks, and there would be a bigger focus on pressuring Tehran to open up its program to international inspections. The change would amount to a recognition that Iran would never accept to immediately shut down its nuclear facilities before talks can take place, which the Bush administration had demanded.
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As Marines' exit gathers pace, some Iraqis fret
By CHELSEA J. CARTER
RAMADI, Iraq (AP) — As the Marine Corps shrinks its footprint in Iraq's western desert, Iraqi community leaders here are publicly voicing worries about what will happen once the Americans are gone.
They fear a wave of corruption and the return of the insurgency that once held sway over the area.
Marines have begun divorcing themselves from the task of advising local leaders, the clearest signal that their role in Anbar province is quickly nearing its end.
An Associated Press reporter embedded with the troops witnessed two cases in a single day of Iraqis — a headmistress and a party of businessmen — asking for help and being told the Marines could do very little for them.
"We've always said it's not going to be easy," said Marine Lt. Col. Thad R. Trapp. "They are sure looking over with some anxiety at the separation. There is some anxiety about what the road ahead will look like."
Raheem Kalaaf Mohammed, vice president of the North Ramadi City Council, was more blunt, saying: "We feel there will be a disaster here."
President Barack Obama says he will withdraw combat troops from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010. American commanders are already working on plans to pull out of Iraqi cities by June 30 under a U.S.-Iraqi security pact that also calls for all American forces to be gone by 2012.
Anbar is the largest Iraqi province, stretching from the western gates of Baghdad to the borders of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It was a main battleground in the insurgency that broke out soon after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein.
The 22,000 Marines in Anbar have already pulled back to the outskirts of Ramadi, Fallujah and other cities in Anbar. They are wrapping up their involvement in U.S.-funded reconstruction, and are tearing down bases or handing them over to Iraqi control.
Maj. Gen. Richard T. Tryon, commander of Marine operations in Anbar, has ordered the closure or handover of 16 small bases in Ramadi, Fallujah and Karmah since late January. More closures are expected, including in Hit, a town once used as a way station for extremists infiltrating from Syria.
Tryon told The AP in an e-mail that improvements in Iraq's security forces made a "responsible drawdown" possible.
However, Iraqi security chiefs have spoken in recent interviews of their worries that some of the thousands of Iraqis being freed from U.S. custody under the security pact will revitalize the insurgency.
Privately, some Marines share the doubts about the future of Anbar, where tribal and sectarian differences are often dealt with through violence. None would speak publicly because their views go against Marine Corps policy.
Trapp, commander of the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, dismissed the concerns, saying: "The end always comes, and it always seems quick when we get there."
A U.S.-directed effort in 2006 recruited and funded tribal leaders who fought against al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups.
Violence throughout Iraq has dropped sharply since 2007 and is almost nonexistent in Anbar. In recent weeks, however, there have been a handful of high-profile attacks in Fallujah, targeting primarily Iraqi security forces.
Trapp, 41, of St. John, Bermuda, said it has been hard for the troops to divorce themselves from helping leaders and security officials to correct mistakes.
"Some of their growth is going to be made with mistakes," he said.
The frustration was evident after the March handover of the Jumiyah base in downtown Ramadi, which the local government quickly reopened as a girls' school to ease classroom overcrowding.
Principal Zanib Ahmed told a Marine lieutenant the school has no electricity, running water or working sewage system. To screen the girls in this conservative Muslim community from the stares of men, she had to build a makeshift wall from rubble and concertina wire.
Marine Lt. Robert Symulski, 25, of Houston, took her name, nodding in understanding. Later he said it would have been easy to get a handful of Marines to fix the school — but it's not their job.
Ahmed lamented the Marines' withdrawal, saying that without them, "the work may never get done."
Hours earlier, Symulski and Capt. Dallas Shaw, 39, of Fairfax, Va., listened to business leaders vent their worries at a North Ramadi council meeting.
The officers were peppered with questions about security measures and allegations that Iraqi security forces were stealing from their stores. They debated hiring their own security force, but Shaw shook his head. He told them they needed to deal with their police precinct commander.
"Very soon, there won't be any Marines coming here," he said.
The remark drew murmurs of dismay.
Kareem Arak, the council president, shook his head, telling Shaw: "We feel many bad things are coming."
Col. Matthew Lopez, commander of Camp Lejuene, N.C.-based Regimental Combat Team 6, said he believed many of the concerns expressed in Ramadi would ebb with the seating of the newly elected provincial government, which took office Saturday.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Marine's family dispute finding on his death
The Marine Corps has concluded that Cpl. Christian Scott Cotner, a Waterbury Marine who died in a non-combat incident in Iraq last year, committed suicide.Cotner's family strongly disagrees with the conclusion.Recently, the military completed its investigation into the death of the Waterbury native, graduate of Wilby High School and a member of that school's ROTC program.A copy of the report was provided to the Republican-American in response to a Freedom of Information request.The investigation showed Cotner died of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound from his M-4 service rifle. His death was ruled a suicide.“We may never know why Corporal Cotner took his own life,” wrote an officer whose name was removed from the report.“We mourn this needless loss of life and hope and pray that his family can overcome the tremendous grief and pain of a life that unquestionably ended far too soon. Corporal Christian S. Cotner was a patriot who bravely and honorably volunteered to serve his Nation during a time of war. We will remember him as such.”During the military's investigation, fellow Marines testified to Cotner's character, his frame of mind in the days before he took his own life and about the plans he talked about for his life after the Marines.Cotner enlisted in the Marine Corps on Nov. 28, 2005 at age 18. He graduated from boot camp and Marine combat training in November 2006. He reported to his first Fleet Marine Force duty station with Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, in Okinawa in April 2007. He arrived in Iraq on March 28, 2008. Two months later, he was dead.His mother, Karen Cotner, and her husband, Graham Cotner, said they do not accept the Marines' findings.“They have their finding and they are satisfied,” Karen Cotner said. “But we don't agree. Everyone who knew Christian also does not agree.”
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Ms Saberi has been in Iran for six years, working and doing research
"The first trial meeting on Roxana Saberi was held yesterday [Monday]," judiciary spokesman Ali Jamshidi told a news conference in Tehran.
"I think the verdict will be announced soon, perhaps in the next two or three weeks," the official added.
Ms Saberi, 31, is being held in Evin prison near Tehran.
She worked briefly for the BBC three years ago. She has also worked for the American public radio network NPR and the TV network Fox News.
She has been in custody in Tehran since late January.
'Baseless'
Ms Saberi originally faced the less serious accusations of buying alcohol, then working as a journalist without a valid press card, but last week Iranian prosecutors accused her of spying for the US.
ROXANA SABERI
Raised in Fargo, North Dakota, by Iranian father and Japanese mother
Wins state beauty pageant before studying at Northwestern University in Chicago, and Cambridge University in the UK
2003: arrives in Iran as a freelance reporter for BBC and Fox News among others
2006: Iran authorities revoke her press credentials
January 2009: arrested in Tehran for buying wine
April 2009: tried for espionage
The Justice Ministry said she is being tried in a closed hearing of Iran's revolutionary court, which handles national security cases.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has demanded her release.
Mr Jamshidi criticised the US state department for saying the accusations against Ms Saberi were "baseless".
"That a government expresses an opinion without seeing the indictment is laughable," he said.
No more details of the case have been released, and Ms Saberi's lawyer says he has been told not to speak to the media.
A US-Iranian national, Ms Saberi has spent six years in Iran studying and writing a book.
Her parents arrived in Tehran earlier this month and were allowed to see her for 20 minutes. According to her lawyer, they found her in good health and good spirits.
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