23 April MARFORCOM Media Summary

Early Bird summary

Thursday’s Early Bird leads with an article from the New York Times reporting that Taliban militants have established effective control of a strategically important district just 70 miles from the capital, Islamabad, officials and residents said Wednesday.The fall of the district, Buner, did not mean that the Taliban could imminently threaten Islamabad. But it was another indication of the gathering strength of the insurgency and it raised new alarm about the ability of the government to fend off an unrelenting Taliban advance toward the heart of Pakistan.
Top US officials are increasingly concerned about Pakistan's ability to confront the Taliban, who appear emboldened by the government's decision to cede a large part of its territory to the armed Islamic militants, the Boston Globe reports.Weeks after a cease-fire in the northwest Swat Valley gave the Taliban free rein to impose Sharia religious law, Pakistani officials reported yesterday that the Taliban were extending their presence to an adjacent district known as Buner, just 60 miles from the capital of Islamabad. US officials fear the tribal border areas with Afghanistan could be a base for Al Qaeda to plot further attacks against the United States.The Swat Valley cease-fire is jeopardizing the central government's ability to stop infiltration into other parts of the country and is allowing the Taliban to operate with virtual impunity in the Afghan border area, where their followers are stepping up attacks against American and Afghan troops, warned Army General David Petraeus.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that the Pakistani government "is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress yesterday in an unusually blunt statement that reflects the unease within the Obama administration about an agreement authorized by President Asif Ali Zardari last week.The agreement would permit sharia, or Islamic law, in the Swat Valley -- just 100 miles west of the capital, Islamabad -- and was reached after the Pakistani military failed to rout Taliban fighters there.Clinton, appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tempered her remarks by saying that the Pakistani government needs to improve its delivery of justice and services -- precisely what leaders there aim to do with billions of dollars in new U.S. assistance."Look at why this is happening," Clinton said, referring to the Swat Valley agreement. "If you talk to people in Pakistan, especially in the ungoverned territories, which are increasing in number, they don't believe the state has a judiciary system that works. It's corrupt. It doesn't extend its power into the countryside."
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff began a review Wednesday of a new community-based defense program recently deployed to combat rising violence in a province on the doorstep of Kabul, according to the Washington Post.Adm. Mike Mullen visited Wardak province, where U.S. troops deployed in large numbers for the first time this year. The program he's assessing draws volunteers from Afghan communities to defend their villages against militants.Critics say the force is a state-sponsored militia that is likely to worsen the security situation and raise ethnic tensions and tribal rivalries. But its supporters say the program creates a community-based security apparatus."The early reviews are positive," Mullen told The Associated Press. "We are in the beginning stages, and this is a pilot, and we chose Wardak because it is such a critical province, and that's why I came today to see how things are going on the ground."
NBC’s “Today Show” conducted an interview with Adm. Mike Mullen on Wednesday. For a transcript of that interview, follow this link.
Both the New York Times and Washington Post report that the Obama administration is finding that it must turn to military personnel to fill hundreds of posts in Afghanistan that had been intended for civilian experts, senior officials said Wednesday.In announcing a new strategy last month, President Obama promised “a dramatic increase in our civilian effort” in Afghanistan, including “agricultural specialists and educators, engineers and lawyers” to augment the additional troops he is sending.But senior Pentagon and administration officials now acknowledge that many of those new positions will be filled by military personnel — in particular by reservists, whose civilian jobs give them the required expertise — and by contractors.
The Wall Street Journal says that the shape of the Afghan conflict is shifting, as U.S. reinforcements have brought hints of progress along the porous eastern border with Pakistan, while security conditions in southern Afghanistan continue to deteriorate, according to U.S. officials.
Senior American commanders say they believe the war may be won or lost in southern Afghanistan, a Taliban stronghold and one of the world's largest opium-producing regions, where an estimated 80% of Afghanistan's insurgent violence occurs. A shortage of U.S. forces has allowed the Taliban to create safe havens in the south."We're at a stalemate" in the south, said U.S. Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, deputy chief of staff for operations for the American-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization force in Afghanistan. He didn't provide figures on worsening violence."We just simply do not have enough forces to address the needs of the people down there," he said by video link from Kabul. "The enemy, obviously, is taking advantage of that posture."More than 21,000 new U.S. forces are expected to deploy to Afghanistan in coming months. The addition will push U.S. troop levels there to about 65,000, their highest since the start of the war in 2001. Most of the reinforcements will be sent to southern Afghanistan, where the U.S. and its allies are preparing a major offensive against the Taliban.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates plans to meet with Marines in North Carolina as thousands of them train to deploy to Afghanistan, Marine Corps Times reports.Gates is scheduled to visit Camp Lejeune on Thursday to watch members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade train at the base’s urban terrain facility. Gates also will present awards for four Marines.The 8,000-member brigade will deploy later this spring as part of the surge of forces to Afghanistan. The unit last deployed to Iraq in 2003.
The Associated Press reports that the Pentagon's top Middle East adviser said yesterday insurgent attacks in Iraq will probably increase as US forces start to leave, but there's no plan now to delay troop departures.Colin Kahl, the deputy assistant defense secretary, said that the military will continue to watch whether increased violence may push back deadlines for US troop withdrawals ordered by President Obama.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a Marine pilot whose stricken jet incinerated two University City homes and killed four people in December has been cleared to fly again, but veteran military aviators warn that it will be tough to recapture the swagger needed to command a machine that zooms at twice the speed of sound.“That's got to be a tough thing, knowing you killed somebody on the ground,” Scott “Yogi” Beare, a former Navy F/A-18 pilot who flew with the Blue Angels aerial team, said yesterday. “Things like that, they definitely shake your confidence.”Two flight review boards scrutinized Lt. Dan Neubauer's case before the Marine Corps' deputy commandant for aviation determined that he's fit to resume flight, said Maj. Eric Dent, a Marine spokesman. It's unclear when Neubauer will get back in the sky.Neubauer will be placed on probation, with superiors closely watching his performance as he repeats parts of his training.“It's not a disciplinary thing,” Dent said. “It's a matter of: Is this pilot capable of carrying out safe flight operations?”
The Obama administration turned up the pressure on Iran to agree to negotiations on its nuclear program Wednesday, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton threatening "crippling sanctions" on Tehran if it fails to respond to Western diplomatic overtures, the Washington Times reports.Mrs. Clinton's language was tougher than most of the administration's comments on Iran since it took office, although she insisted that Washington's preference is for Iran to open its program to international inspection and supervision in exchange for political and economic incentives.Preventing Tehran from building a nuclear weapon is "imperative" for the United States and its allies, and Washington's deeper engagement on such issues gives it "more leverage with other nations" and a "much stronger international footing," Mrs. Clinton said.
The challenge of protecting the government’s computer networks is too big for any one agency to handle alone, a top adviser to President Barack Obama said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. That suggests the administration doesn’t intend to consolidate control of U.S. cybersecurity under a single department like the National Security Agency, as some have feared.The comments by Melissa Hathaway, in her first public appearance since completing a still-secret 60-day study on the nation’s computer security, were light on details but offered some hints on how the administration plans to address the turf wars and confusion surrounding the country’s patchwork cybersecurity policies.

1. Leading newspaper headlines: The Los Angeles Times leads with a Senate intelligence committee report that was released yesterday and gives the most detailed chronology of events that led to the Central Intelligence Agency's use of harsh interrogation techniques on terror suspects. (Slate Magazine)
2. Pakistan disorder poses global threat: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban by allowing them to control parts of the country. (BBC)
3. Iraq: Suicide bombs kill scores: Scores of people have been killed in two suicide bombings in Iraq. (BBC)
4. Pakistan bid to stop Taliban push: The Pakistan government has sent troops to tackle Taleban militants who have advanced into a region just 100km (67 miles) from the capital, Islamabad. (BBC)
5. Marine fraud alleged: Marine Corps veteran charged with running another scam: A Marine Corps veteran convicted of soliciting funds for a non-existent charity for veterans and their families has been charged with running a similar scam this month. (Chicago Tribune)


The Los Angeles Times leads with a Senate intelligence committee report that was released yesterday and gives the most detailed chronology of events that led to the Central Intelligence Agency's use of harsh interrogation techniques on terror suspects. The techniques were approved by a group of senior Bush administration officials in July 2002 after the issue was discussed in a series of meetings that apparently didn't include the secretaries of State and Defense. The report also states that the Justice Department issued memos in 2006 and 2007 noting the techniques were still lawful despite congressional moves to restrict their use. The Washington Post leads with a look at how the release of the torture memos has once again dragged President Obama into a controversy related to his predecessor. Republicans and CIA officials have criticized the release of the documents, while Democrats are pushing for an investigation, a subject that was a hot topic of debate on Capitol Hill yesterday.
The Wall Street Journal banners word that Bank of America's chief executive was pressured by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to not disclose the increasingly dire conditions at Merrill Lynch before the bank bought the company. In February testimony before New York's attorney general, CEO Kenneth Lewis said he wasn't explicitly told to keep quiet, but he made it clear that he believed it was what the government officials wanted. USA Today leads with word that General Motors will stop production at most of its U.S. plants for nine weeks in mid-May. In what the paper says could very well be "a record voluntary shutdown," GM plans to close up shop in 15 of its 21 North American plants, mostly in the United States. The move would affect suppliers and could reverberate throughout the entire economy. One expert said it could suggest that "bankruptcy is more likely, rather than less likely" for the automaker. The New York Times leads with new Census Bureau figures that report fewer Americans are changing residences. From March 2007 to March 2008, 35 million people moved, the lowest number since 1962. In percentage terms, it was the lowest number since the bureau began to keep track in 1948.
The LAT points out that the clear involvement of the most senior members of the Bush administration in approving the brutal interrogation techniques makes it clear that "any effort to hold architects of the program accountable was likely to extend beyond Justice Department legal advisors and into the highest reaches of the government." The report released yesterday also raised questions about whether administration officials tried to keep information away from some senior officials, particularly Secretary of State Colin Powell. But it's unclear how complete the report is because it also states that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was not involved in the early discussions when other documents from that time suggest he was. According to the report, neither Powell nor Rumsfeld were briefed on the interrogation program until September 2003. "This chronology is misleading and incomplete and does not reflect the [National Security Council] review process or the information presented to the NSC," a former White House official tells the Post.
Many top Democrats have decided to keep quiet about whether there should be a far-reaching investigation into the approval of the harsh interrogation techniques. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was an exception, saying she was in favor of an investigation and emphasized that witnesses shouldn't be immune from prosecution. While the administration seems confident there won't be a congressionally backed investigation, it's still unclear whether a commission similar to the one that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks could become a reality. Whatever ends up happening, it seems clear that White House officials "have been drawn into a debate they did not foresee," says the Post.
The LAT and NYT go inside with looks at how many legal experts are troubled by the prospect of prosecuting the lawyers who approved the interrogation techniques and think it's unlikely that anyone would be indicted. "Those who want heads to roll are likely to be dissatisfied," a criminal-law professor said. In order to have a case against the lawyers, it would be necessary to show that they deliberately misinterpreted the law. Ultimately, being a bad lawyer who gives bad advice isn't a crime. Considering that some of the lawyers, particularly John Yoo, had been talking about their particular views on presidential power before joining the administration, it would be difficult to prove they actually believed that what they were writing was wrong. The NYT points out "that dynamic" could change. The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility has apparently obtained e-mail messages from that time, and if it turns out the lawyers first thought the program would be illegal but changed their mind when pressured by policymakers, then prosecutors could theoretically have a case.
Interestingly, the LAT points out the whole issue would be different if another country used the same interrogation tactics on Americans. In that case, there would be a consensus that the foreign official who authorized water-boarding of a U.S. agent should be prosecuted for war crimes. "There would be no controversy, no debate," the Washington director of Human Rights Watch said. "And no one would buy the excuse that one of those dictators was relying on the advice of his legal counsel."
In the NYT's op-ed page, Ali Soufan, a former FBI supervisory special agent, writes that "[o]ne of the most striking parts of the [torture] memos is the false premises on which they are based." The memos justify the use of harsh measures because Abu Zubaydah had been uncooperative and then cite the success with that detainee as a reason to continue with the techniques, but that is inaccurate. Soufan interrogated Abu Zubaydah and writes that he "provided us with important actionable intelligence" before the harsh techniques were used. Soufan insists that there was no information that "wasn't, or couldn't have been, gained from regular tactics." The use of these techniques brought a return to the "so-called Chinese wall" between the CIA and FBI that was much criticized after the Sept. 11 attacks. Since the bureau wouldn't go along with the techniques, agents who were the most knowledgeable about the terror suspects couldn't participate in the investigations.
It's hardly a secret that the government pushed Bank of America to buy Merrill Lynch late last year to keep the financial crisis from spreading. The bank's CEO, Ken Lewis, had previously disclosed he had considered backing out of the deal when he began to realize how much trouble Merrill was really in. If Lewis had told shareholders about this, they could have decided that preventing Merril's collapse wasn't in their best interest. But Lewis said that "it wasn't up to me" to disclose the information. The testimony "suggests how aggressively federal regulators have been willing to behave in their fight to fix the U.S. financial system," notes the WSJ, pointing out it was the first time that government officials have been blamed for the failure to disclose troubles at Merrill, which ended up reporting a $15.8 billion loss for the fourth quarter.
The NYT, LAT, and USAT front news that Taliban militants in Pakistan have moved into new territory next to the Swat Valley that is 60 miles from Islamabad (the NYT says 70 miles). The NYT goes even further and declares that the militants "have established effective control" over Buner, which is a "strategically important district." The move doesn't mean that Pakistan's capital is under immediate threat, but it does illustrate how the militants are making progress moving beyond the Swat Valley. "They take over Buner, then they roll into Mardan and that's the end of the game," a law enforcement official said. Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that in signing a deal with militants, "the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists." Clinton remarked that "the continuing advances" pose an "existential threat" to Pakistan and a "mortal threat" to the world.
The LAT says many Pakistanis "have a romantic view of Sharia," or Islamic law, because they're frustrated by the corrupt government and are worried about their own security. Many of the lower and even some of the middle classes don't necessarily think their country is in chaos. The richest members of the population are the ones who are most worried, but they also have the ability to move abroad if things get truly dire. For its part, USAT sees a growing public backlash against the Paksitani Taliban, even among conservative politicians.

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Pakistan disorder 'global threat'

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban by allowing them to control parts of the country.

Mrs Clinton told a congressional panel the situation in Pakistan posed a "mortal threat" to world security.
She said extremists were being allowed to control territory such as the Swat Valley, in north-western Pakistan.
She also called Pakistan's judicial system corrupt, adding that it has only limited power in the countryside.
Earlier this month, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari signed a law implementing Islamic law - or Sharia - in the Swat Valley region as part of a deal to end a two-year Taleban insurgency there.
Once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, the Swat Valley is now mostly under Taleban control.
Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed as a result of a Taleban-led insurgency.
The Swat Valley is only about 100km (62 miles) from Islamabad, and reports suggest the Taleban are trying to expand the area under their control.
'Existential threat'
Giving evidence in Washington to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world".
"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taleban and the extremists," she said.
She called on the Pakistani people to speak out "forcefully" against their government's policy, in what the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington called an unusual move.
The government's policy was conceding "more and more territory to the insurgents , to the Taleban, to al-Qaeda, to the allies that are in this terrorist syndicate", Mrs Clinton said.
US President Barack Obama has put new emphasis on trying to resolve the security problems in Pakistan, our correspondent says, offering billions of dollars in aid but demanding greater co-operation from the government.
Using stark language, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan needed urgent attention.
"I think that we can not underscore [enough] the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan," she said, describing the rebels as a "loosely-confederated group of terrorists and others seeking to overthrow the Pakistani state".
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The presidents of both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan - where international forces are battling the Taleban - are due to come to Washington for talks next month.
During her hearing Mrs Clinton also answered questions on Cuba and Iran, warning that Tehran faces "very tough sanctions" if it rejects offers of engagement over its nuclear programme.
The US was "laying the groundwork" for such measures if Iran refused dialogue or the process failed, said Mrs Clinton.



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Iraq: Suicide bombs kill scores

Violence is predicted to rise as US troop numbers start to be reduced

Scores of people have been killed in two suicide bombings in Iraq.
In Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed at least 28 people - detonating a belt of explosives as police distributed aid to a crowd of homeless families.
Another suicide bomber attacked a group of Iranian pilgrims in the north-eastern city of Baquba, killing at least 45, reports say.
Violence has fallen sharply in the last year but insurgents continue to carry out attacks across Iraq.
Officials in Baghdad said the suicide bomber there infiltrated the crowd of displaced families as they received supplies from police in a square near the city centre.
The people had been made homeless by the sectarian conflict which erupted following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
At least five children were among the dead and more than 50 people were wounded, police say.
Restaurant targeted
In Baquba at least 45 people, including several Iranian pilgrims, died when a suicide bomber struck a restaurant, a military official said.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Defense's top Middle East adviser said insurgent attacks would probably increase as US forces started to leave, but added that there was no plan to delay troop departures.
US President Barack Obama says the Pentagon will withdraw all but 35,000 to 50,000 troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010.
A joint security agreement requires all US troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

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Pakistan bid to stop Taleban push

The Taleban's insurgency is spreading beyond the Swat Valley

The Pakistan government has sent troops to tackle Taleban militants who have advanced into a region just 100km (67 miles) from the capital, Islamabad.
Officials say the forces will protect government buildings in Buner district, where insurgents have begun patrolling the streets and mounting checkpoints.
As the troops moved into the region, insurgents launched an attack on their convoy, killing at least one soldier.
The militants advanced from the Swat Valley, a region they largely control.
The BBC's Mark Dummett in Islamabad says if the government is trying to reassert control over the region, its efforts appear to be too little, too late.
The Taleban are reported to have moved several hundred men into Buner from the Swat Valley.
The government sent six platoons - up to 300 men - to deal with the insurgents.
A police official told the BBC that the troops were attacked as they were leaving the village of Totalai in the south of Buner district.
The convoy was heading for Dagar, the central town of the largely mountainous district.
Springboard
The confrontation comes just weeks after a peace deal was signed by President Asif Ali Zardari allowing the introduction of Islamic law in Swat.
The deal was designed to end a bloody 18-month conflict with the Taleban in Swat by yielding to some of their demands.
But critics say that the militants can now use Swat as a springboard to take over new areas of the country.
The BBC's Ilyas Khan says many people believe Buner could be the next battlefield for the Pakistani security forces after Swat.
Human rights group Amnesty International said there was concern that the Taleban were targeting non-governmental organisations, and residents feared the restrictions imposed.
Sam Zarifi, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific director, said: "The people of Buner are now at their mercy, particularly women and girls, whose rights the Taleban systematically deny."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier said the insurgency posed a "mortal threat" to world security.
Speaking to a Congress committee, Mrs Clinton said the Pakistani government was "basically abdicating to the Taleban and the extremists".


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Marine fraud alleged: Marine Corps veteran is charged with running another scam
Man already is convicted of soliciting funds for a non-existent charity
Tribune staff report
A Marine Corps veteran from Villa Park convicted of soliciting funds for a non-existent charity for veterans and their families has been charged with running a similar scam this month.Donald McCarver, 44, of the 300 block of North Ardmore Avenue has been charged with forgery, allegedly going door to door in Wheaton, claiming he was collecting donations for the Department of Veterans Affairs.Assistant DuPage County State's Atty. Brooks Locke told Judge Peter Ostling in Bond Court on Wednesday that McCarver asked citizens to give donations with a check to "DOVA," and then he would alter the check to be made out to "Donald McCarver."Wheaton police said he did this at least twice this month, and when he was arrested Tuesday he had four such checks on him, made out for amounts of about $20, Locke said.
Ostling set his bail at $75,000.McCarver was honorably discharged, according to a DuPage probation report.