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 The Pentagon Early Bird 5 March 2008 Use of these news items does not reflect official endorsement. Reproduction for private use or gain is subject to original copyright restrictions. Item numbers indicate order of appearance only. This is the single print version. Use the PRINT command in your browser to print the entire Early Bird as one document. (NOTE: This single file format is a long document and can use 50 or more pages of paper.) Please Scroll Down to Read the Headlines, Then to Read that Headlines full Article, please scroll down to Read. Links will NOT LINK out ! IRAQ
Los Angeles Times March 5, 2008 Iran Still Fuels Iraq Violence, U.S. Says Two top military commanders allege that Tehran continues to direct Shiite militias and is trying to permanently weaken the government in Baghdad. By Peter Spiegel and Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers WASHINGTON — Two top U.S. military commanders said Tuesday that Iran continues to train and direct violent Shiite militias in Iraq and is attempting to permanently weaken the Iraqi government. Iran has become the biggest long-term threat to Iraqi stability and is encouraging radical elements among the Shiite population to continue attacks even as some prominent militia leaders push for cease-fires, said Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who just completed a 15-month assignment as day-to-day commander in Iraq. "This is about keeping, in my opinion, a weak government in Iraq," Odierno told reporters at the Pentagon. "I think Iran benefits from that." Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, was more conciliatory during a Senate hearing, saying this week's visit to Baghdad by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a "mixed bag" because it offered an opportunity for Iraqi leaders to push Iran to take further steps to stop the flow of weapons and bombs into Iraq. But pressed by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Fallon said there was still evidence that Iran was training militants and providing them with weaponry. "I have yet to see anything since I've been in this job in the way of a public action by Iran that's been at all helpful in this region and particularly . . . in Iraq," he said. Iran's role in Iraq remains an intensely debated issue among U.S. policymakers. Though many accuse Tehran of continued meddling, others credit Iranian restraint with helping to reduce violence in Iraq over the last year. Most visibly, there has been a sharp decline of sophisticated roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators, which American officials allege are manufactured exclusively in Iran. Also, radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, the most prominent anti-American leader in Iraq, recently extended a cease-fire by his loyalists despite his close ties to Iran. But Odierno said the importance of Sadr's cease-fire had been overstated and that Iranian operatives had been working to peel off radical elements of Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, to continue fighting. Odierno noted that Ahmadinejad was able to travel Iraqi roads unmolested by violence during his two-day visit, citing that as evidence that Iran could start and stop Shiite-backed attacks at will. "Whenever a visitor would come from the United States, we'd either foil a rocket attack or the rocket attack happened," Odierno said. "That's because it was being done by Iranian surrogates. And when the government of Iraq holds a meeting, there tends to be rocket attacks. Why is that? Because it's done by Iranian surrogates." Odierno, who was recently nominated to become vice chief of staff of the Army, said he agreed with Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the overall commander in Iraq, that ongoing troop withdrawals should be suspended after July when force levels return to where they were before last year's buildup. He also suggested that when Petraeus next gives Congress his recommendations for the Iraq campaign, in April, it may be too early to determine whether troop reductions could continue through the end of the year. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585158.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP New York Times March 5, 2008 8 Die In Iraqi Copter Crash, One From U.S. By Solomon Moore BAGHDAD — An Iraqi Army helicopter crash in northern Iraq on Monday killed all eight people on board, including one American serviceman, Iraqi military officials said Tuesday. The helicopter disappeared south of Mosul, the officials said, as sandstorms swept over much of the country, reducing visibility. American rescuers found the wreckage on Tuesday. The helicopter, a Russian-made Mi-17 troop transport that had recently been refurbished, took off from Sinai Air Base, five miles from Baiji in Salahuddin Province, Iraqi military officials said. Air traffic controllers lost radio contact with the helicopter as it passed over a village about 60 miles north of Baiji, military officials said. Two more Iraqi helicopters flying in the same area on Tuesday had to make emergency landings to avoid the sandstorm, said an official in the Third Division of the Iraqi Army. Those helicopters were each carrying eight Iraqi servicemen, the official said. The pilots turned off their radios in order to avoid insurgents who might have monitored them, cleaned their air filters and flew back to base. Iraq is developing a rudimentary air force built around the Russian aircraft, Huey helicopters and three American C-130 cargo planes. Also in Salahuddin, two civilian guardsmen were killed east of Tikrit, Iraqi security officials said. The guardsmen, members of tribal groups that have renounced Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, an Iraqi insurgent group, and have allied with the American military, were manning a checkpoint when gunmen shot them. American forces killed three people believed to be insurgents in an operation east of Baghdad on Monday, the military said Tuesday. American troops fired at the suspects’ vehicle as they tried to escape. The vehicle was destroyed, according to a military statement. An Iraqi civilian received minor injuries during the operation. Iraqi security forces in Latifiya, just north of Babil, reported finding an unidentified body in a canal. The decomposing body was taken to a local forensic hospital for identification. Iraqi security officials said two bodies were also discovered in Diyala Province, just north of the capital. One victim had apparently been shot to death and was found just north of Baquba. Another body, which was decapitated, was found in Khalis, farther north of Baquba. Iraqi employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Tikrit, Samarra, Baquba and Baghdad. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585304.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Wall Street Journal March 5, 2008 Pg. 13 Sentiment On Iraq Is Changing By John D. McKinnon WASHINGTON -- The perception that the U.S. troop surge in Iraq has succeeded is changing some public views of the war, potentially blunting Democrats' political edge on the issue. Americans continue to judge the nearly five-year-old U.S. invasion of Iraq as a mistake, by margins that have barely budged. But in a notable shift, public perceptions of the current U.S. military effort there "have become significantly more positive over the past several months," says a recent report from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. It shows that almost half of Americans think the war effort is going well, and that the U.S. should keep its troops there, at least for the time being. Other polls echo the trend to varying degrees. The results suggest that -- barring another reversal in conditions -- Democrats' ability to use the war as a political weapon could be somewhat curtailed, particularly when the general-election campaign begins. In part because of the shift in sentiment on the war, Democrats have turned more frequently to other issues -- particularly the weakening economy. That has been true both on the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill. The recent change in public opinion appears pronounced among independent voters, and independents who see progress in Iraq are much more likely to support Republican John McCain, at least so far. In the short run, the change also could be helping Hillary Clinton gain a measure of traction against Barack Obama, a persistent war critic who has scored by pointing to her vote in favor of authorizing the war. The lessening of concerns over the war "is one thing that has enabled her to stave off the Obama onslaught" as long as she has, says Ruy Teixeira, a public-opinion expert at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Bill Burton, a spokesman for Sen. Obama, said he "will not hesitate to do what is required to keep the American people safe as president, regardless of what the polls say." In the most in-depth picture of the trend, the Pew report says that about half the public (48%) now says the Iraq war effort is going either very well or fairly well. That compares to a more than 2-1 majority who said it was going badly a year ago. Nearly half (47%) say the U.S. should keep its troops in Iraq until the situation there has stabilized -- roughly the same as those (49%) who favor bringing troops home as soon as possible. A year ago, 53% favored rapid withdrawal versus 42% who favored keeping the troops in Iraq. Pollsters first noticed an uptick in public perceptions of the war in the fall. But the change in February "struck me as, 'Wow,'" said Andrew Kohut, the Pew Research Center director. The U.S. troop surge during 2007 sent 30,000 additional combat troops to Iraq to help quell growing violence. The last of the surge troops are scheduled to be withdrawn this summer. To be sure, some other polls show less-dramatic change. And depending on how the question is asked, support for some form of troop withdrawal remains high. Mr. Teixeira says that, on the whole, "people have the impression that things must have improved, but they haven't changed their verdict on the war or what to do about it." Several polls reflect improvement in public perceptions. In a recent Gallup poll, 43% of respondents say the year-old U.S. troop surge has improved the situation. In July 2007, only 22% thought the surge was bringing improvement. Mr. Kohut says there is no certainty that positive public opinion on Iraq won't plunge again. But in the fluctuation, he sees confirmation of a basic difference between Iraq and the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 1970s. "Opinions about Iraq have gone up and down in ways that opinion about Vietnam never did," he says. Why the difference? "By the end of the [Vietnam War], the domino theory was so abstract it was hard for people to think of the negative consequences of South Vietnam going communist," he says. "On the other hand, the terrorist threat is more pressing and immediate." Mr. Kohut thinks Americans want to see security gains from the U.S. involvement. Troop losses seem to matter less in public opinion than a positive trend on security, he adds. The change in public attitudes comes at a time when it's increasingly likely that tens of thousands of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq for years to come, regardless of who is elected president. Advisers to the two Democrats say the candidates would begin withdrawing "combat" troops, but would keep significant numbers of "noncombat" troops in Iraq, and would largely abandon the counterinsurgency role that the U.S. currently is playing. But the change in public attitude implies a potential political benefit for Sen. McCain, who supports both the war and the Bush administration strategy. The Pew findings show that independents who think the war is going well favor the Arizona Republican versus Sen. Obama by a large margin of 31 points, 58% versus 27%. Recent polls suggest that, so far, Iraq isn't proving to be as much of an albatross around Sen. McCain's neck as some anticipated, says Karlyn Bowman of the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Some polls also show the Democratic lead on handling Iraq has shrunk. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, it was six percentage points in January compared with 15 points last July. The political change is discernible in the way Democrats have begun to address the war. Instead of focusing on efforts to cut off funding for the war, for example, congressional Democrats are spending more time and effort publicizing its enormous financial costs, as well as the impact the war on terrorism has arguably had on civil liberties in the U.S. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585225.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Washington Times March 5, 2008 Pg. 12 Iraqi Forces Stand Up As U.S. Mentors Step Aside Trained commanders plot to wrest al Qaeda from last urban stronghold By Richard Tomkins, The Washington Times MOSUL, Iraq -- Thousands of U.S. soldiers and Mar- -ines are mentoring their Iraqi counter-parts across Iraq to bring to bear President Bush's pledge: "As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." More than 4,000 military transition teams work with Iraqi army units from the company level on up, teaching combat tactics, operational planning and logistics to lead to a sustainable Iraqi combat force capable of planning and conducting operations in the long term. Col. David Brown and the 17 soldiers of Team Griffin lead the effort at India Base in the al-Kindi district of Mosul, al Qaeda in Iraq's last urban stronghold. The facility is thought to have been a missile testing site during the regime of Saddam Hussein. Team members still find small missile and rocket components in the sand next to the protective barriers they have built. India Base is adjacent to the headquarters of Iraq's 2nd Division and the offices of its charismatic commander, Brig. Gen. Moutaa Habeeb Jassim. The 2nd Division is considered one of the best in Iraq. For years, it has operated independently in planning and conducting missions in northern Iraq, detaining insurgent suspects, breaking up terrorist cells and maintaining a semblance of security. With the Iraqi police, it has developed an extensive system of informants who disclose the locations of weapons caches and point out terrorist suspects. U.S. combat forces in Mosul act in a supporting role for 2nd Division troops when asked, typically supplying vehicles for raids. "I don't think they get the credit for what they've done over the past 24 months," Col. Brown said of the 2nd Division. "This isn't Baghdad, and they didn't have the large U.S. presence the capital did. But they stood up and did what they had to do. "They're absorbing a lot of change right now. Our mission with them is to ... help them follow a more strategic or operational viewpoint." The Iraqi military is setting up a national operations center in Mosul. That will require Gen. Moutaa to obtain the approval of high-level officials before acting on some of his plans. The operations center is being established as part of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's declaration of a "decisive" battle against al Qaeda in Mosul. U.S. commanders estimate that 300 hard-core al Qaeda members and other terrorists are lurking in or near the city. That number rises to more than 1,000 when factoring in those who plant explosives on behalf of these groups, an Iraqi brigade commander said. Twelve to 24 terrorist incidents occur on an average day in Mosul. About half involve vehicle bombs or improvised explosive devices. Col. Brown's 17 team members are divided into specialties in engineering, explosive ordnance disposal, reconnaissance, communications, logistics and intelligence. Their roles and jobs are switched often because of a lack of support personnel. Captains and even majors man the machine guns or drive the Humvees. All are specialists, and many are on their second or third tours of Iraq. The transition teams are branches of military units, such as the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in nearby Forward Operating Base Marez, whose own needs take priority. Members of Col. Brown's unit say logistics is the biggest issue. One brigade of the Iraqi division has fewer than a dozen operating Humvees. The rest are rusting or awaiting repair with cannibalized parts or new parts that can take up to three months for delivery. Col. Brown's team helps the Iraqis arrange transport and work through the painstaking maze of paperwork and procedures to obtain parts and repairs. Operational planning is Col. Brown's specialty. He advises senior officers on patterns to lead to operational success without having to rely on U.S. forces. During the long campaign against terrorists in Mosul, a dozen Iraqi officers recently gathered to formulate plans to push forces from the fringe of the city into the urban area. They discussed ways to build and man combat posts for a round-the-clock security presence in key Mosul neighborhoods. Col. Brown, an observer at one meeting, smiled at the depth and breadth of discussion. The commanders challenged one another's ideas, rethought approaches, debated tactics for building the outposts without upsetting residents, and looked beyond the operation toward the impact on future security efforts. They would debate the details in later meetings before deciding on a plan to submit to high-level officials. The lessons in operational planning had been absorbed. Later, Col. Brown and Gen. Moutaa sat in the general's office, talking late into the night about the meeting. They shared endless glasses of sweet tea while exploring ways for the Iraqis to solve logistics problems and how Col. Brown's team could assist in the interim. Mentoring, trust and building a new Iraqi army follow no 24-hour clock. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585308.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Houston Chronicle March 5, 2008 Army Unit That Led The Surge Is Heading For Home U.S. drawdown resumes in test of security gains By Robert Burns, Associated Press WASHINGTON — An Army paratrooper unit that led the U.S. troop surge into Baghdad last year is returning home, marking a resumption of a troop drawdown that will test the durability of recent security gains. The drawdown began last December with the departure of one brigade, numbering about 5,000 troops, dropping the overall U.S. troop level in Iraq to 158,000. A three-month lull was built into the drawdown plan, during which commanders saw insurgent violence shift from Baghdad to northern Iraq. Although it has not yet been publicly announced, a senior military official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the 2nd brigade, 82nd Airborne Division is heading back to Fort Bragg, N.C., soon and will not be replaced in the rotation. That will drop the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 19 to 18, with an additional three scheduled to leave by July. Yet to be decided is whether further reductions will be made after July; President Bush on Saturday declined to promise that he will order more cuts before he leaves office in January. A brigade usually numbers between 3,500 and 5,000 troops. Some military leaders have pushed for a continued drawdown beyond July, arguing that a strained Army and Marine Corps need relief after five years of combat and multiple tours of duty with long absences from home. On the other hand, they don't want to reduce so quickly that security gains are lost. The 2nd brigade, 82nd Airborne has been operating in Baghdad since January 2007, when Bush announced he was sending 21,500 Army and Marine reinforcements as part of a revamped military strategy to tamp down sectarian violence. The reinforcements included five Army brigades and two Marine battalions. The first unit to leave Iraq without being replaced in the rotation was the 3rd brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, which went home last December. It was not one of the five "surge" brigades. Rather, it reached the end of its 15-month tour and left without being replaced. That unit had been operating in volatile Diyala province, north of Baghdad, and when it departed U.S. commanders moved other forces into Diyala from nearby areas. It was not clear Tuesday which U.S. units are being moved into Baghdad to take over for the departing 2nd brigade, 82nd Airborne. The paratrooper unit, known as Falcon Brigade and led by Col. Don Farris, has operated in northeast Baghdad, including the Sadr City and Adhamiya districts. At a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, who was the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq until he returned home in mid-February, noted that another brigade was coming out of Iraq. He did not identify the brigade. The U.S. will have about 140,000 troops in Iraq once the brigade total has dropped to 15. That is about 8,000 more troops than when the buildup began. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585263.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Financial Times March 5, 2008 UN Alarm At Spread Of Afghan Opium By Stephen Fidler, London Afghanistan’s record poppy crop is fuelling an intensifying drugs emergency in neighbouring countries, a United Nations report published on Wednesday warns. The UN International Narcotics Control Board says the rise in Afghanistan’s opium cultivation is “alarming” and that its effects – including an increase in organised crime, corruption and the incidence of drug use – are spilling over into Iran, Pakistan and the central Asian republics. Afghanistan is estimated to supply more than 90 per cent of the world’s illicit opium, from which heroin is made. Poppies were cultivated on an estimated 193,000 hectares last year, 17 per cent up on 2006, according to UN estimates. The opium harvest jumped 34 per cent last year to an estimated 8,200 tonnes. Much of the growth in poppy cultivation is taking place in the south of the country, where the Taliban insurgency against the government of Hamid Karzai, president, is most intense. The issue is the subject of fierce policy disagreement, marked by disputes within Mr Karzai’s government and with foreign donors and troop contributors. Iran, the chief transit country for drugs from Afghanistan, now has the highest rate of opiate abuse in the world, the report states. Some 2.8 per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64 use opiates, the UN says, equivalent to 1.3m people. This compares with 3.8m users in the whole of Europe. The report says that more than half of inmates in Iran’s prisons have been convicted for drug-related offences, and seizures of opium, morphine and heroin have risen rapidly. Iran seizes more opiates than any other country and impounded more than 180 tonnes of opium in the first half of 2007 alone. Pakistan, through which an estimated 35 per cent of Afghanistan’s opiates are smuggled, faces growing problems, with seizures in 2006, the last year for which figures were available, rising 46 per cent. An estimated 21 per cent of Afghanistan’s heroin and morphine transit via central Asia, the report says, leading to large increases in seizures in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. “The increased availability of opiates in central Asia, with its population totalling 60m, resulted in an alarming rise in drug-related crime, the abuse of narcotics drugs and the spread of HIV/Aids,” says the UN. The UN is also worried that drug trafficking and abuse in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, which have long borders with Turkey and Russia, will deteriorate further. The problems are also being felt farther afield. The report says drug abuse in Iraq appears to have risen dramatically and while opiate use in western and central Europe has remained stable or declined, it has increased in Russia and eastern Europe. The report also notes the rise of cannabis cultivation in Afghanistan, including in some areas that have been declared poppy-free. The area under cannabis cultivation increased to 70,000ha last year, from 50,000ha in 2006 and 30,000ha in 2005. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585144.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Washington Post March 5, 2008 Pg. 17 China's Military Budget Reported at $59 Billion Sharp Buildup Raises Concern in U.S. By Jill Drew, Washington Post Foreign Service BEIJING, March 4 -- China announced Tuesday that it will again sharply increase its military spending this year, budgeting a 17.6 percent rise that is roughly equal to last year's increase. Disclosure of plans for a $59 billion outlay in 2008 followed a Pentagon report Monday that raised questions about China's rapidly increasing military budget, and came less than three weeks before a presidential election in Taiwan, the self-governed island over which China claims sovereignty. A Chinese government spokesman said the country's decade-long military buildup does "not pose a threat to any country," but he warned that relations with Taiwan were at a "crucial stage" and that the island would "surely pay a dear price" if it were to take steps that China viewed as a declaration of independence. At the same time Taiwanese choose a president, they also will vote on a referendum issue asking whether the island should apply for U.N. membership under the name Taiwan. China's reported $59 billion budget is still a fraction of what the United States spends each year on its armed forces. President Bush last month requested $515 billion to fund the Pentagon in fiscal 2009, a 7.5 percent increase, plus $70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States has pressed China to be more open about its intentions as the scope of its military capabilities and pace of spending increase. At a Pentagon briefing Monday, David Sedney, deputy assistant defense secretary for East Asia, reiterated the U.S. view that China's defense establishment still severely underreports total spending and has not been clear about its intentions. "China's military buildup has been characterized by opacity," Sedney told reporters, and "by the inability of people in the region and around the world to really know what ties together the capabilities that China's acquiring with the intentions it has." The Pentagon report said China's near-term focus remains on preparations for potential problems in the Taiwan Strait. But China's nuclear force modernization, its growing arsenal of advanced missiles and its development of space and cyberspace technologies are changing military balances in Asia and beyond, the report concluded. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a news conference in Beijing that the United States was stuck in a "Cold War mentality" and that the annual Pentagon report on China's military power, mandated by Congress since 1999, "is a serious distortion of facts and attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs." Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for the National People's Congress, said at a separate news conference that the 2008 budget would fund only a "moderate increase" in weapons purchases. Most of the additional funds would go toward higher military salaries, rising oil costs and training programs, he said. He noted that the country has a long-standing plan to modernize its forces. Jiang said that from 2003 to 2007, China's national defense spending increased by an annual average of 15.8 percent, while government revenue increased by an annual average of 22.1 percent. Defense spending was the equivalent of 1.4 percent of China's gross domestic product last year, he said. By comparison, he said, U.S. defense spending was 4.6 percent of GDP and Britain's was 3 percent. Although the Pentagon report raised questions about China's military intentions, Sedney told reporters Monday that he had just returned from "surprisingly successful" talks with his Chinese counterparts. In addition to reaching a deal to establish a military telephone link between the two countries, announced last week, the two sides agreed to move forward in a dialogue on nuclear strategy and policy, he said. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585157.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP New York Times March 5, 2008 China Plans Steep Increase In Military Spending By David Lague BEIJING — China announced a further sharp increase in military spending on Tuesday, a day after the United States renewed its warning that a lack of openness surrounding the rapid buildup of China’s armed forces posed a threat to stability in Asia. China’s military budget for 2008 will increase by 17.6 percent to 417.8 billion yuan, or about $58.8 billion, Jiang Enzhu, spokesman for the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, said at a news conference. This follows a 17.8 percent increase in 2007. Military experts in the United States and elsewhere say Beijing’s real military spending is at least double the announced figure. But even if it was double, China’s yearly military budget would still be only about one-fourth the size of the Pentagon’s. Before the annual legislative session, which begins Wednesday, Mr. Jiang also said the situation in the Taiwan Strait was “grim and complex,” and called on the Taiwanese president, Chen Shui-bian, to halt what Beijing described as unacceptable moves toward independence. China considers the island of Taiwan a breakaway province. China has increased annual defense outlays by double-digit percentages most years in the past two decades to pay for an array of modern weapons and better training and conditions for the 2.3 million people in its military, the world’s biggest standing force. Foreign security experts say those sustained increases have put China on track to become a major military power and the country most capable of challenging American dominance in East Asia. They also say China’s main objective is to develop the firepower to overwhelm Taiwan in the event of a conflict while deterring or delaying any American forces sent to help defend the island. Senior Chinese officials dismiss those assessments. Mr. Jiang said the increase in spending this year was purely defensive and would allow for the upgrading of equipment, along with better pay and benefits for service people. As a proportion of government outlays, the amount is less than what the United States, Russia, India and France spend on their militaries, he said. “China’s limited armed forces are totally for the purpose of safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mr. Jiang said. “China will not pose a threat to any country.” In its annual report to Congress on the Chinese military, released Monday, the Pentagon said the outside world had limited knowledge of the motivation behind China’s accelerating buildup and the abilities it was developing. China has yet to give detailed reasons for its modernization or to publish complete figures on military spending, the report said. “The lack of transparency in China’s military and security affairs poses risks to stability by increasing the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation,” it said. In Beijing, the Chinese government criticized the Pentagon report, saying it distorted the facts. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585284.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Seattle Times March 5, 2008 U.S. Military Eases Restrictions The U.S. military has eased restrictions on daytime travel off bases on the southern island of Okinawa that were imposed after a Marine was arrested for allegedly raping a young girl, officials said Tuesday. Charges were never pressed. Tight restrictions on all military personnel, including civilian employees, were put into place after the allegations arose as part of a two-week "period of reflection," an effort by the military to enforce core values. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585135.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP NPR March 4, 2008 Pentagon Flags China’s Rapid Military Build-Up Morning Edition (NPR), 7:10 AM RENEE MONTAGNE: If Pentagon analysts are right, China will spend about three times more on defense this year than its leaders will admit. A new report by the Defense Department says China’s rapid military buildup and the secrecy surrounding it poses a threat to stability in Asia. NPR’s defense correspondent Guy Raz has more. GUY RAZ: According to the Pentagon, China’s defense budget is now the world’s second largest, a distant second after the United States. The Chinese government claims it will spend about $59 billion on defense this year, but Pentagon analysts believe the number is actually closer to between $100 (billion) and $180 billion, and it’s this discrepancy that’s got them worried. Here’s David Sedney, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia. DAVID SEDNEY [Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia]: I think the biggest thing for people to be concerned about really is the fact that we don’t have that kind of strategic understanding of the Chinese intentions and that leads to uncertainty. That leads to a readiness to hedge against the possibility that China’s development will go in ways that the Chinese right now say it won’t. RAZ: Congress requires the Pentagon to assess China’s military capability every year. The Defense Department argues that China has the greatest potential to compete with the U.S. militarily. Here’s David Sedney again. SEDNEY: The Chinese tell us today that their rise is peaceful. They tell us that their intentions are very much to be part of the international system, but when we have all these capabilities that very clearly have regional and global reach, then questions develop. RAZ: Questions like whether China’s aggressive development of anti-satellite weaponry is intended to pose a challenge to U.S. satellites. Last year, China shot down one of its own weather satellites, a move widely seen as a test of its own anti-satellite capabilities and a test roundly condemned in Washington. The Bush administration’s stated position on space policy is clear, that it won’t allow any other country to challenge America’s dominance of space, and so according to Kenneth Lieberthal, former head of the National Security Council’s Asia desk, China’s development of anti-satellite weaponry is simply a reaction to U.S. policy. KENNETH LIEBERTHAL [Former National Security Council Official]: I think by stating that policy in as bold and unconstrained passion as we have done, we have, in fact, made it in Chinese terms, virtually mandatory that they develop a capacity to reduce our control of space. RAZ: Chinese officials don’t like the annual Pentagon report; they regard it as an insult and even U.S.-based China experts like David Shambaugh, director of the China Policy Program at George Washington University, believe the report exaggerates China’s military power and its military ambitions. DAVID SHAMBAUGH [Director, China Policy Program, George Washington University]: They’re not trying to challenge the U.S. military dominance around the world like the Soviet Union once did. They’re not in that game. They have drawn very clearly the conclusion from the collapse of the Soviet Union that that is not the way to go. RAZ: But the Pentagon remains unconvinced and it’s for that reason the Bush administration has worked hard to cultivate alliances with potential military rivals to China, countries like India and Indonesia where military ties to Washington are only growing stronger. Guy Raz, NPR News, Washington. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585168.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP ABC March 2, 2008 Friend Or Foe? -- Inside China's Military By Jonathan Karl JUJU CHANG: Now, an ABC News exclusive. This week, there were reports that the US is hooking up a military hotline directly to China. It says a lot about the fastest growing military in the world. ABC's national security correspondent Jonathan Karl got an unprecedented look at China's secretive military machine. JONATHAN KARL: China, friend or foe? It may be the most important question of the 21st century. And that is where Admiral Timothy Keating comes in. He's the commander of US forces in the Pacific. His most important job? Keeping an eye on China and making a few friends in the process. ADMIRAL TIMOTHY J. KEATING (Commander,U.S. Pacific Command) (To Chinese official): It's my pleasure. KARL: ABC News went along with Admiral Keating on a recent trip to China. It was an unprecedented opportunity to get behind the scenes. This building is called the Bayi. It's basically the Chinese Pentagon, headquarters for the military, an organization that in China is so secretive that until recently it didn't even have a published phone number, and even now doesn't have a spokesman. Inside the Bayi, we did something that is almost never done in China. We asked a top general, the chief of staff, some questions. KARL: (To Chinese official) Should the United States have anything to fear from China's military build-up? (Chinese Spoken) KARL:'That's impossible, isn't it?" He says. 'There is such a big gap between our military and the American military. If you say you are afraid, it means you don't have enough courage." In fact, even by the Pentagon's estimates, China spends only about one quarter of what the US spends on defense. But China's military is growing every bit as fast as its economy, some analysts say the quickest military build-up in history. KEATING: The Chinese military is developing impressive capabilities. We are watching carefully. KARL: The problem? The Chinese military is so secretive, it's impossible to know what they are up to. That is why Keating is traveling throughout the country, getting to know the generals. We're flying right now on a Chinese military aircraft. It's highly unusual for a journalist, especially an American journalist, to be flying on one of their airplanes. But the Chinese have insisted that when Admiral Keating is flying over Chinese airspace that he take one of their airplanes. It's an odd sight, Chinese and American officials flying around together. It's Chinese hospitality, but it's also a chance for them to keep an eye on the Admiral while he's in their country. KEATING: Quite firm that we, we fly on their airplane inside their territorial airspace, understandable. KARL: Back on the ground, Admiral Keating bids farewell to China's top commander in the South. As he does, he makes an extraordinary offer. KEATING (To Chinese official): If there's anything I can do, personal, professional basis, to help you in your job, please contact me directly. KARL: If this Admiral has anything to say about it, China will be friend, not foe. For 'Good Morning America," Jonathan Karl, ABC News, Guangzhou, China. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585170.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP USA Today March 5, 2008 Pg. 2 Army: Company, Ex-Worker Won't Face Government Ban WASHINGTON — The Army has rejected an internal recommendation to ban a security company and a former manager from getting new government work for allegedly using inside information to win $2.5 million in Iraq contracts. Robert Kittel, the Army official in charge of contracting suspensions, ruled that EOD Technology (EODT) of Tennessee and former manager Eric Barton should remain eligible for government work. Kittel dropped debarment proceedings against Barton on Dec. 20 and against EODT on Jan. 16, according to Army records and the website of Kittel's Suspension and Debarment Office. In a telephone interview from Iraq, where he works for a different company, Barton said he gave the Army copies of e-mails showing that military contracting officers in Iraq routinely gave contract bidders the same kind of information he was accused of obtaining improperly to win seven convoy security contracts from January 2006 to March 2006. He said he was upset that false allegations had damaged his career and reputation. "I'm disappointed the government would let it go this far," Barton said. Erik Quist, EODT's director of business and legal affairs, said in an e-mail the company was happy the Army determined it is a responsible contractor. "EODT recognizes that these processes are a necessary element of ensuring that taxpayer interests continue to be met within government contracting circles," Quist said. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585275.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Seattle Times March 5, 2008 Soldier Could Face Death Penalty In Double Slaying By Jennifer Sullivan, Seattle Times staff reporter Pierce County prosecutors say a Fort Lewis soldier who allegedly shot two fellow soldiers Saturday is expected to be charged today with aggravated first-degree murder, which could result in the death penalty if she is convicted. Army Spc. Ivette Gonzalez Davila, 22, is being held without bail in the Pierce County Jail as the Pierce County Sheriff's Office and military police continue to investigate the slayings of Timothy and Randi Miller in their Parkland home. Police and prosecutors allege Davila shot the couple, then kidnapped their 6-month-old daughter, who was recovered unharmed Sunday at Fort Lewis. Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Ed Murphy said Tuesday that prosecutors plan to file the murder charge, which has only two possible penalties in Washington state: death or life in prison without parole. Murphy said a decision on whether to seek the death penalty had not been made. Authorities were led to Davila on Sunday after she told a fellow soldier that she was caring for the child because she had killed Timothy and Randi Miller, according to court papers. Davila said she was angry with Randi Miller, 25, who she said had an affair with her ex-boyfriend, so Davila shot Randi Miller in the bedroom and shot Timothy Miller, 27, while he was in the shower, court papers said. After the slayings, Davila cleaned the crime scene and took the baby to Home Depot, where she purchased muriatic acid, according to court papers. Davila then returned to the home, dragged Randi Miller's body into the bathtub and poured the acid on both bodies "to get rid of them," court documents say. Military police reported they had recovered a handgun, a receipt from Home Depot for the acid and Randi Miller's purse from Davila's barracks at Fort Lewis, court documents say. Davila has not given investigators a detailed description of what happened at the home in the 700 block of 110th Street South, said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. Sheriff's detectives and military officials are investigating the case jointly, Troyer said. "We have who did it. Now it's a matter of finding out what led up to it," Troyer said. Troyer said the Millers' child, Kassidy, is in foster care but will soon be turned over to relatives of the slain couple. The child was found uninjured by authorities at Fort Lewis, Troyer said. Karen Lee, spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said child-welfare officials plan to place the child with a relative. She declined to say who will gain custody of the child. "Our goal is to hopefully have a relative placement before [Wednesday] afternoon," Lee said. On March 3, Timothy Miller, an operating-room specialist, was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant of the 47th Combat Support Hospital 62nd Medical Brigade, according to the Army. Randi Miller, a sergeant, was a medical-laboratory specialist assigned to Company C, Madigan Army Medical Center. She served eight months in Iraq in 2006, according to the Army. Through their careers, both Timothy and Randi Miller had received several ribbons and medals for their work, an Army spokesman said. Davila, originally from Bakersfield, Calif., is a specialist in the I Corps and a member of the Fort Lewis color guard. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585299.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Norfolk Virginian-Pilot March 5, 2008 Dozens Speak Out On Sonar Training By Matthew Jones, The Virginian-Pilot The Navy conducted the first of a series of public hearings Tuesday night on the draft environmental impact statement for its Atlantic Fleet sonar training. The meeting brought out about three dozen members of the public. The Navy has argued that sonar training is needed to train against mines and quieter diesel submarines. But many environmentalists worry about its effect on marine mammals. Ellis James of Norfolk asked the Navy to balance the need to protect the country with protection of both the marine life and the coastal economies that depend on them. "If we have increased intensity of sonar in training, then we have to step up our ability to protect marine mammals," he said. Debora Mosher of Norfolk said she hoped the Navy would learn from past mistakes. "Sometimes the Navy doesn't estimate its impact correctly, and that's why I'm concerned," she said. Ron Asher of Virginia Beach accused the Navy of escalating "its war" on whales and dolphins by "blasting them with incomprehensible sonic sound levels." http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585323.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP San Diego Union-Tribune March 5, 2008 Korean Sailor Undergoes Appendectomy On Nimitz Surgeons aboard the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Nimitz performed an emergency appendectomy Monday on a South Korean sailor, the Navy said. The sailor was assigned to the destroyer Kunsan. He was taken to the Nimitz via helicopter about 9 p.m. and rushed to an operating room. He is recovering in the Nimitz's hospital. This is the second appendectomy performed aboard the Nimitz since its departure from its home port in January, the Navy said. – S.L. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585322.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP San Diego Union-Tribune March 5, 2008 Manslaughter Trial Of Marine Begins On Base CAMP PENDLETON-- Cpl. Douglas M. Sullivan went on trial yesterday at Camp Pendleton, charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a fellow Marine in Iraq. Sullivan, 23, is accused of shooting Lance Cpl. Kristopher Cody Warren, 19, in the head Nov. 9, 2006. The two men were in a communications room in Trebil, Iraq, at the time. Defense attorneys have said Sullivan had no harmful intent when he picked up a rifle he thought was unloaded, flipped off the safety, pointed it at Warren and squeezed the trigger. The trial is scheduled to last four days. – R.R. http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585303.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Boston Globe March 5, 2008 A Top General Urges New Atomic Arsenal The United States needs a new, modern arsenal of nuclear weapons to use as a deterrent for the remainder of the 21st century, the top military commander for strategic warfare said yesterday. Air Force General Kevin Chilton, head of the Strategic Command, said that if the Pentagon develops an improved, more reliable nuclear weapon, it will be able to reduce the number of warheads, now estimated at 1,700 to 2,200. (AP) http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585302.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP ArmyTimes.com March 4, 2008 Fallon: Force Stress May Not Ease Soon By Rick Maze, Staff writer The stress on the force from extended deployments could get worse before it gets better, top combatant commanders warned Congress on Tuesday. No decision has been made on whether the U.S. military will go ahead with plans to cut troop levels in Iraq in July at what was supposed to be the end of the so-called “surge” of combat forces designed to give the Iraqi government time to stabilize, and more troops could be needed in Afghanistan, said Adms. William Fallon, chief of U.S. Central Command, and Eric Olson, chief of U.S. Special Operations Command. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Fallon said there should be “little doubt of our desire to bring force levels down” and cited “encouraging trends.” But he said ground commanders also want to be cautious about withdrawing troops “because it is critical to not lose the ground that was so hard-fought this year.” Fallon said his command is assessing its needs before making a recommendation about whether to draw down force levels in July. “Nothing is written in stone,” he said. The security situation in Iraq has improved, Fallon said, but “progress in governance lags behind security.” Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, is preparing options for the pace and scope of additional reductions in U.S. troop levels, Fallon said. Petraeus “has yet to come back to me with his recommendations,” Fallon said. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., committee chairman, said he does not expect a troop reduction in Iraq. “There is a strong possibility that force levels in Iraq will remain at the pre-surge level of approximately 130,000 and that troop levels in Iraq will be about the same when President Bush leaves office as they were in December 2006, before the surge,” Levin said. Levin also expressed concern that more U.S. troops may be needed in Afghanistan because of fears that the increasing violence and the rise in opium producing are undermining the fragile central government there. He noted that a recent report by the Atlantic Council concludes that Afghanistan “remains a failing state” and “could become a failed state.” Fallon said that despite increased violence, mostly suicide attacks, the ability of the Taliban and other insurgents to carry out coordinated attacks has been “degraded.” Lawmakers, however, remain concerned. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said the poppy trade is a big issue because the profits are funding Taliban operations. Olson said special operations forces do not expect to stand down if the Iraq and Afghanistan operations wind down. Operating tempo “will remain high even when conventional forces downsize in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said, adding that his command “anticipates no relief from our deployed commitments even when U.S. force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan are reduced.” http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585142.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Federal Times March 3, 2008 Pg. 1 Cutting DoD's Fuel Addiction New plan would impact weapons, battles, training By Tim Kauffman Imagine: Air Force bombers and tankers up to 10 times more fuel efficient than the heavy aircraft used today. Soldiers who generate energy from their own motion instead of energy-sucking batteries to charge electronic field gear. Buildings and facilities throughout the world operating entirely on renewable energy. This is the bold vision laid out in a new report by the Defense Science Board that aims to wean the Pentagon off its insatiable appetite for fossil fuels and unreliable electricity sources. The Pentagon is the largest single energy user in the country, accounting for about 1 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and 78 percent of the federal government’s energy use. And in May, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to lay out a new energy security strategy based on the vision outlined by the Defense Science Board. Alan Shaffer, who heads the Pentagon task force drafting the energy security plan, said the DSB report will serve as a foundation for the department’s strategy. “I can’t tell you we’re going to write the world’s greatest strategic plan,” Shaffer said. “I can tell you the energy security task force and the focus the secretary and deputy secretary have put on the task force have brought the right players to the table.” James Schlesinger, co-chairman of the DSB task force that wrote the report, said a comprehensive new game plan is needed. “Energy has not been the center of focus,” said Schlesinger, who was Defense secretary under Presidents Nixon and Ford and Energy secretary under President Carter. The Defense Department’s dependence on fossil fuels and unreliable energy sources is compromising overseas operations and risks disrupting critical missions stateside, according to the Defense Science Board, an influential panel that advises Pentagon leaders. As oil prices have soared to historic highs, the department has had to shift large sums of money from other programs to fund operations. The Pentagon is already developing new technologies for energy-efficient combat systems and investing in renewable energy solutions at many of its installations. Yet these efforts only scratch the surface of what must be done, the board said. Incomplete fuel pricing One of the board’s key recommendations is for the department to consider the full cost of fuel requirements — what it takes to acquire, deliver and protect fuel supplies — when designing future combat systems and planning military operations. The Pentagon doesn’t view fuel costs in such a comprehensive way, and that suggests there’s a huge hidden cost to military operations and weapons programs. For instance, the full cost of transporting, storing and delivering fuel to battle begins at around $15 per gallon, not including the cost of protecting convoys that supply the fuel. Delivering fuel to an aircraft in flight costs about $42 per gallon, when accounting for the costs to maintain fleets of aerial tankers, according to the board’s report. Yet in its typical calculations, the department considers only actual fuel cost, say $2.50 a gallon. Failing to consider the full costs of fuel makes it appear not cost-effective to invest in technologies that could reduce fuel demand, the board said. “We do not design our equipment for how much it’s going to cost us, and we can do a better job of that,” Schlesinger said. In April, the Pentagon issued a new policy requiring that such an analysis be made when making acquisition decisions for all tactical systems. The department is testing how to best do this through a pilot program that will evaluate the cost of fuel for three large acquisition programs: joint lightweight tactical vehicles, next-generation long-range strike aircraft, and the next generation of surface warships. In addition, Shaffer said he’s directed Joint Forces Command to start factoring fuel availability and energy requirements into large-scale war games. Shaffer said making acquisition and logistics decisions based on the total cost of fuel is complicated by operational and budget demands. For instance, choosing an aircraft could mean deciding between a plane that costs 10 percent more than normal and goes 20 percent further without refueling or a plane that has slightly less range and is less expensive but would require an investment in refueling tankers. Likewise, the department could reduce fuel use in vehicles by buying large batteries to power computers and other onboard electronics, but the batteries could add so much weight to the vehicle that any fuel savings are lost. “It’s not quite as simple as it would seem because one of the tenets we have to have whenever we make a fuel trade is, we don’t want to give up operational capability,” Shaffer said. Vulnerable electrical grid One of the most startling findings in the 121-page report was that critical military and homeland defense missions are at high risk because of the department’s almost total reliance on the U.S. electrical grid. The board said the nation’s power grid is more unreliable than the department assumes and is vulnerable to outages from four primary causes: overload, natural disasters, sabotage or terrorist activity, and supply interruptions at power plants. “It did open some people’s eyes,” Shaffer said. Pentagon facilities rely on diesel generators in the event of power failures, but these systems have only short-term utility. More troubling, the board found that many installations don’t distinguish between critical and noncritical loads when configuring these backup systems, leaving critical missions competing with nonessential activities for power during outages. The board recommended that by August 2009 the department assess the mission risks to power failures at all installations and determine how to mitigate those risks, for example by reducing power demands, enhancing backup capability, and generating alternative power sources on site. To help reduce traditional power consumption, the department is making significant investments in renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic systems, geothermal plants and wind farms. Renewable energy accounted for about 12 percent of all electricity the department used in 2007, more than any other agency, and the department has an internal goal to reach 25 percent by 2025. Nonetheless, the Defense Science Board said the department’s efforts are “modest compared to what can be technically and economically justified.” The board said the department should factor in the consequences of outages on the national power grid when planning or investing in new installations. Such an analysis would provide the business case for pursuing higher levels of energy efficiency in buildings and protect such investments from budget cuts. “When budget constraints create a need to find cost reductions, efficiency investments are among the first to be eliminated,” the board said. Poorly coordinated efforts Solving the department’s energy problems will take much more oversight and coordination of efforts by the department’s senior leaders than currently exists, the board said. Individuals who are tasked with various energy management requirements don’t have enough control to make changes that would significantly help the department. For instance, the senior official responsible for energy use at installations oversees only about one-quarter of the department’s total energy usage. “Decisions that affect DoD’s energy demand are scattered throughout the organization with little accountability or oversight,” Schlesinger and his co-chairman, retired Air Force Gen. Michael Carns, said in a memo to the chairman of the Defense Science Board accompanying their report. Some of the recommendations in the board’s report, such as accounting for the full cost of fuel, were made in a 2001 report that Shaffer concedes was all but ignored by the department. “The department didn’t do much with the 2001 report,” Shaffer said. “That report was issued, 9/11 came along, we got involved in the war. Just about the entire focus of the department went to the war effort.” Rising oil costs and the impact on operations began to capture the department’s attention in 2005. Even though the department reduced its overall energy consumption by 5 percent between 2005 and 2007, it spent about $2.5 billion more for energy because of the higher costs. Except for World War II, when the Germans were sinking American oil tankers off the East Coast, the Pentagon hasn’t had to worry about having enough energy to support its military operations, Schlesinger said. Now it must worry: “This is particularly the case as we look at the situation in Iraq. You have forces within the country that are dependent on energy coming in and being escorted by supply trucks that are under attack by guerrilla forces,” Schlesinger said. “To the extent that we can reduce the requirements for those bases inside of Iraq or equivalent situations elsewhere, we can save lives as well as money.” http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20080305585143.html <A href="http://68.142.200.12/us.f318.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?clean=0&fid=Inbox&mid=1_1464085_AEL PjkQAANmiR87cTgrDX1OzXhk&pid=2&tnef=&prefFilename= e20080305aaindex_concat.html&cred=VWHcaYySoK6FHofh pgr5i54OGcJXjGXqmU7Ar142pHl4XP2cQUdrICPuaBXaGTzQ#T OP">RETURN TO TOP Federal Times March 3, 2008 Pg. 9 Automated System Will Streamline Hiring Process, Defense Officials Say By Stephen Losey The Defense Department is developing a new automated system to take some of the headaches out of its hiring process for both job applicants and hiring managers. But it may not be finished for another seven ye |
