The New Nation - Internet Edition

US military to abandon Iraqi cities

AP, Washington

The U.S. military in Iraq is abandoning - deliberately and with little public notice - a centerpiece of the widely acclaimed strategy it adopted nearly two years ago to turn the tide against the insurgency. It is moving American troops farther from the people they are trying to protect.

Starting in early 2007, with Iraq on the brink of all-out civil war, the troops were pushed into the cities and villages as part of a change in strategy that included President Bush's decision to send more combat forces.

The bigger U.S. presence on the streets was credited by many with allowing the Americans and their Iraqi security partners to build trust among the populace, thus undermining the extremists' tactics of intimidation, reducing levels of violence and giving new hope to resolving the country's underlying political conflicts.

Now the Americans are reversing direction, consolidating in larger bases outside the cities and leaving security in the hands of the Iraqis while remaining within reach to respond as the Iraqi forces require.

The U.S. is on track to complete its shift out of all Iraqi cities by June 2009. That is one of the milestones in a political-military campaign plan devised in 2007 by Gen. David Petraeus, when he was the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and his political partner in Baghdad, Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The goal also is in a preliminary security pact with the Iraqi government on the future U.S. military presence. The shift is not explicitly linked to U.S. plans for increasing its military presence in Afghanistan, but there is an important connection: The logistical resources needed to house and supply a larger and more distributed U.S. force in Afghanistan have been tied up in Iraq. To some extent that will be relieved with the consolidation of U.S. forces in Iraq onto larger, outlying bases that are easier to maintain.

These moves coincide with priorities expressed by President-elect Obama during his campaign: reducing the U.S. military commitment in Iraq and putting more resources into Afghanistan. It also fits with Petraeus' view that a more robust counterinsurgency approach is needed in Afghanistan, meaning not only a larger number of troops but also getting them spread out into more villages. But it also points up a major gamble in Iraq - namely, that the Iraqis are ready to handle the insurgency themselves. Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow for defense policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and an occasional adviser to Petraeus, is among those who worry about the consequences of excluding U.S. forces from the cities.

"It gets us out of the way" should Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki decide to use Iraqi security forces to crush the U.S.-allied Sunni neighborhood militia groups who have been instrumental in attacking extremist elements of the insurgency, Biddle said in an e-mail exchange. Al-Maliki sees those militiamen, whom the U.S. has dubbed "Sons of Iraq," as an internal threat to Shiite political predominance.

Biddle said that on balance he believes the risks are more likely to outweigh the benefits of sticking to the June goal.

Retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor, who served as Petraeus' right-hand man in Baghdad during the U.S. troop buildup and has written a book, "Baghdad at Sunrise," about the counterinsurgency effort, also has misgivings. He said in an e-mail exchange Tuesday that his main concern is sectarian violence.

"Without U.S. forces in the cities, the Shiite and Sunni militias could once again take to fighting each other without an honest broker to keep the peace," he said. "The Iraqi army is not ready to play this role, in my view - not yet, anyway."

Ready or not, U.S. commanders are marching steadily in that direction - and not just in Baghdad.

Brig. Gen. Martin Post, deputy commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq, where the Sunni insurgency has sharply abated - if not almost disappeared - since 2007, said Monday his outfit is shutting down the U.S. base at Fallujah. The U.S. headquarters elements there are moving to al-Asad air base, a large but remote facility in the vast desert halfway between Fallujah and the Syrian border.

"There's been a big effort to move all the Marine forces out of the cities," Post said in a videoconference with reporters at the Pentagon. "And so as you go throughout, from Fallujah all the way up the Euphrates River Valley, up to al-Qaim - where we used to have Marines actually living in the cities - we've pulled them all out."

Militants seize convoy for US-led forces

AP, Peshawar

Suspected Taliban fighters hijacked trucks carrying Humvees and other supplies for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, authorities said Tuesday after a brazen attack near the Khyber Pass that underscored the militants' grip across key mountain strongholds.

The assault highlighted the vulnerability of a vital supply route for the 65,000 U.S. and NATO forces battling a resurgent Taliban in landlocked Afghanistan. A significant amount of supplies for the Western forces go through Pakistan. Separately, in the nearby city of Peshawar, gunmen blocked the car of an American aid worker on Wednesday and killed him and his Pakistani driver, police said.

Attacks on convoys carrying food, fuel and other supplies are common on the road. But Monday's raid was especially large and well-organized. It also could further strain U.S.-Pakistani relations over rooting out Taliban and al-Qaida militants along the border, which remain entrenched despite military offensives and U.S. missile strikes.

Some 60 masked militants blocked the route at several points before overpowering the convoy, said Fazal Mahmood, a government official in Khyber tribal region. He identified the attackers as members of Pakistan's Taliban movement.

Security forces traded fire with the gunmen, but were forced to retreat, he said. The militants took about 13 trucks along with the drivers, who were believed to be Pakistani.

A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed the thefts late Tuesday.

"There were some U.S. military materials that were taken - Humvees and water tank trailers," said Maj. John Redfield.

Later Monday, a separate group of insurgents halted a truck carrying what appeared to be a NATO jeep, setting the military vehicle on fire, Mahmood said. NATO officials could not immediately be reached for comment on that incident.

In the past, U.S. and NATO officials have played down their losses along the pass.

But earlier this year, NATO said it was trying to reduce its dependence on the route by negotiating with Russia and other nations to let it truck "non-lethal" supplies to Afghanistan through Central Asia.

Security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, hunted for the missing trucks and drivers. The military said late Tuesday it had recovered some of the stolen materials but would not specify what.

"We are using all resources to trace and recover the hijacked trucks, some of which were carrying vehicles for the allied forces in Afghanistan," Mahmood said.

Most of the supplies for U.S. and other foreign troops in Afghanistan arrive by ship at Pakistan's port of Karachi in unmarked containers. They are then taken by colorfully decorated trucks to places like Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, the Afghan capital.

NATO and U.S. officials have declined to say if the trucks carry weapons and ammunition. They have in the past suggested that ordinary criminals - not an orchestrated campaign by militants - are the main problem.

The Khyber Pass, a stretch of about 30 miles, has long been an important trade route and militarily strategic area traversed for centuries by armies, from Moghul warriors to British colonial forces. It abuts Peshawar, Pakistan's main northwestern Pakistan city.

In a bid to eliminate militancy in the border region, the U.S. has stepped up unilateral missile strikes there, a move condemned by Pakistani leaders who say it only deepens anti-American feelings among civilians.

India test-fires nuclear-capable missile, Iran ground-to-ground

AP, New Delhi

India test-fired a medium-range, nuclear-capable missile Wednesday from a land-based launcher in eastern India, a defense ministry official said.

The weapon tested was a K-15 missile, an undersea submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of up to 435 miles, said the officer on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Iran has test-fired a new generation of ground-to-ground missiles, state television reported on Wednesday. "Iran successfully test-fires new generation of ground to ground missiles," state television said in a scrolling headline. Another Iranian channel said the missile was a type that used combined solid fuel but gave no further detail.

It was fired from a test range in Chandipur in eastern Orissa state, nearly 700 miles southeast of New Delhi.

India and longtime rival Pakistan routinely test-fire missiles. They usually notify each other ahead of missile launches in keeping with an agreement between the two nations. India test-fired the K-15 missile from a pontoon immersed in the sea earlier this year. India's current crop of missiles are mostly intended for confronting neighboring archrival Pakistan.

The Agni 3, in contrast, is India's longest-range missile, designed to reach 1,900 miles - putting China's major cities well into range, as well as targets deep in the Middle East.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947. They have been holding peace talks since 1994 aimed at resolving their differences, including their dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

American shot dead in Peshawar

Reuters, Peshawar

Gunmen shot dead a U.S. aid official along with his driver as he left his home in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar Wednesday, police said.

The attack took place in a neighborhood favored by diplomats and foreign aid workers and close to the American Club.

"As he was coming out of his home, the attackers opened fire on him and killed him along with his driver," a senior police officer, who requested anonymity, said. "He was working for U.S. aid projects for tribal areas," he added.

Peshawar has borne the brunt of a wave of Islamist militancy sweeping in from the rugged semi-autonomous tribal region bordering Afghanistan, where al Qaeda and Taliban fighters have taken root.

The U.S. embassy in Islamabad confirmed that an American had been killed, but withheld the name of the slain man.

"An American citizen and his Pakistani driver were killed in an attack in Peshawar," acting embassy spokesman Wesley Robertson said. "The attack is currently under investigation and we are coordinating with the local authorities."

Robertson said the dead American was not part of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Pakistan, but was serving in the country in a "private capacity."

Abdul Qadir, a superintendent of police, told private Samaa television police had "close camera shots of the assailants" and had launched a search and cordon operation.

Just hours after the shooting a suicide car-bomber killed three Pakistani soldiers and wounded four in an attack on military camp in the northwestern town of Shabqadar, 35 km (22 miles) north of Peshawar and close to the Mohmand tribal region.

Tuesday evening, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a sports stadium in Peshawar, killing three people.

Obama talks to Indian PM, says Indo-US ties 'very important’

AP, Washington

US President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday telephoned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said that the US- India strategic relationship is a "very important partnership" and the administration wants to work together with India on all important global issues.

The call was placed this morning as earlier attempts to establish contact between the two sides failed to materialise because the prime minister was travelling abroad.

Singh congratulated Obama on his historic victory and said his success would be an inspiration for the oppressed people all over the world, according to PMO sources.

The prime minister said that the relationship between India and the US was "very good" but "we should not be satisfied with the status quo". Singh conveyed his best wishes for the success of the Obama administration in meeting challenges that face the world.

The prime minister also invited Obama and his wife Mitchelle to visit India, the sources said. Obama praised Singh's contribution to the progress of India as finance minister earlier and the prime minister now.

'Sleeping like a baby’ since defeat: McCain

AFP, New York

John McCain, in his first media interview since the US presidential election, joked Tuesday that he'd slept-and cried-"like a baby" since his defeat. "I've been sleeping like a baby: sleep two hours, wake up and cry, sleep two hours," McCain said on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. Appearing a week after losing to Democrat Barack Obama, the Republican senator looked rested and was relaxed enough to make light of his defeat.

He pointed out that his home state of Arizona had now produced four failed White House candidates. "Arizona may be the only state in America where mothers don't tell their children that some day they can grow up and be president," he quipped.

The first thing he and his wife Cindy had done on the day after losing, he said, was go out to buy a coffee. But "not the newspaper."

The failure had been "tough" on his family, McCain said, but he only wished Obama well. "I salutet president-elect Obama."

Asked why he lost, McCain dead-panned: "a personality flaw." He then went on to insist that he had no hard feelings and that the chance to run for president had been an "incredible honor."

"I'll never forget it, so many of those wonderful experiences," he said.

He also stayed faithful to his controversial pick for running mate, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.

Critics said that choosing the inexperienced Palin showed bad judgement by McCain. But he described her as "a marvelous person" and part of "the next generation of leadership in our party."

He added: "I couldn't be happier with Sarah Palin."

McCain said he was looking forward to returning to his job in the US Senate, dismissed another possible White House run in 2012 and said he was not interested in second-guessing himself over possible mistakes made during the campaign.

Taiwan ex-president arrested in graft probe

Reuters, Taipei

Former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian, a strong advocate of independence from China, was formally arrested on Wednesday over money-laundering allegations he has described as political persecution. Chen, 57, president from 2000 to 2008, was detained on Tuesday after being questioned for most of the day.

Following a night of deliberation, the Taipei District Court arrested Chen and sent him to jail on suspicion of graft, bribery, forgery, money laundering and illegal possession of state assets, the court said. Chen denies the charges. Chen's arrest-the first of a former president in Taiwan-and suspicion surrounding others in the case has cast a shadow over his Democratic Progressive Party, now the main opposition party after its landslide defeat in legislative and presidential elections earlier this year. The party backed him until he left it in August. "The court, after questioning the suspect, believes the suspected crimes to be severe," the district court said. "And there are enough facts to believe there was buried evidence, fabrication, altered evidence and conspiracy among suspects or witnesses," it said in a statement.

Chen has cast himself as a victim in the case, saying the aggressive investigation is the result of behind-the-scenes pressure from the ruling Nationalist Party (KMT), whose policy of closer ties with China contrasts sharply contentious cross-strait relations under Chen's administration.

Bomb rocks gov’t office in Kandahar, 25 wounded

AFP, Kandahar

A strong blast rocked the southern Afghan city of Kandahar near the city's intelligence agency offices Wednesday, wounding at least 25 people, an AFP reporter said.

Authorities could not say what had caused the explosion but it was believed to be a bomb. The city has been hit by a series of attacks by Taliban insurgents in recent months.

The blast was in the centre of the city near the offices of the National Directorate of Security, the country's intelligence agency, as well as the government's provincial council and the chamber of commerce. At least 25 wounded people were brought out of the area, which was cordoned off by security forces, who allowed several ambulances to enter. It was not immediately clear if there were any fatalities.

Several buildings, including homes, were damaged, he said.

Ahmad Jan, a teenager living in the area, said the roofs of two houses had collapsed and people were looking for people underneath the rubble.

In Kabul, the interior ministry confirmed the explosion but had no details. "There has been a blast in Kandahar city. At this stage we have no details. Police are at the scene," spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.

Kandahar has been the scene of a series of bomb attacks blamed on the Taliban.

In one of the most audacious attacks, militants used suicide bombers to blow open the Kandahar jail in mid-June, enabling more than 1,000 prisoners-about half of them militants-to escape.

Peru offers national hairless dog to Obama

AP, Lima

Completely bald and older than the Incas, the Peruvian hairless dog seems like an odd fit for the White House. But Peruvians are mindful of President-elect Barack Obama's preference for a hypoallergenic breed due to his daughter Malia's allergies - and say the dark, rough-skinned pooch with large ears and a pointy snout could be just the solution. At his first postelection news conference on Friday, Obama said choosing a pet dog for his daughters is a "major issue." "It has to be hypoallergenic. On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me," the president-elect said. The Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association responded on Monday, sending a letter to the U.S. Embassy in Peru offering the Obama family a 4-month-old pup that responds to "Machu Picchu," the name of Peru's famed Inca citadel.

"My family also has suffered from t not being able to have a pet because my son and I are asthmatic, so we thought it would be ideal for him (Obama) to have a dog like ours," said association president Claudia Galvez.

Galvez, who has lived with six dogs of the breed for eight years, says being hairless has its benefits: The dogs are flealess and relatively odorless, too.

They were kept as pets during the Inca empire and depictions of the breed appear in 1,200-year-old, pre-Inca artwork.

The hairless dog was long scorned for its appearance before it was recognized internationally as the official Peruvian dog.