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WORLD
U.S. finds Iraq tactics don’t work in Afghan war
DELARAM, Afghanistan – On a sunset patrol here in late December, U.S. Marines spotted a Taliban unit trying to steal Afghan police vehicles at a checkpoint. In a flash, the Marines turned to pursue, driving off the main road and toward the
gunfire coming from the mountain a half-mile away.
But their 6-ton vehicles were no match for the Taliban pickups.
The Marines, weighted down with 60 pounds of body armor each, struggled to climb up Saradaka Mountain. Once at the top, it was clear to everyone that the Taliban would get away. Second Lt. Phil Gilreath, 23, of Kingwood, La., called off the
mission.
“It would be a ghost chase, and we would run the risk of the vehicles breaking down again,” Gilreath said. The Marines spent the next hour trying to find their way back to the paved road.
The men of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, based at Camp Lejeune, are discovering in their first two months in Afghanistan that the tactics they learned in nearly six years of combat in Iraq are of little value – and may even inhibit their ability to fight their Taliban foes.
Doctor reporting to Israeli media loses family members in shell attack
TEL HASHOMER, Israel – For days, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a physician from the Gaza Strip, was a voice from the war zone, telling Israeli radio and television stations in fluent Hebrew about life under fire as Israeli troops pursued a ground
offensive against Hamas.
Friday, the unspeakable happened. An Israeli shell hit a room where the doctor’s daughters were gathered, killing three of them and a cousin. His broken voice brought the tragedy into Israeli living rooms.
“They killed my daughters,” he sobbed over a cell phone
after the strike, his agony broadcast live on Channel 10 television. Israeli medics were dispatched to evacuate the doctor, along with a wounded brother, daughter and niece, to the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv.
NATION
Prosecutor loses bid to delay terror hearings
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba – In a surprise move Friday, Jan. 16, reflecting uncertainty in the future of President Bush’s war court, the Pentagon prosecutor sought – and lost – a late-night bid to delay next week’s terror hearings that straddle the inauguration of Barack Obama.
“Both motions were denied. It’s full-speed ahead,” Air Force Lt. Col. Ann Knabe, spokeswoman for military commissions, said.
Had the judges granted the request, the Defense Department would have had to ground a special flight of war crimes staff, including lawyers, judges and court reporters, plus dozens of
reporters and victims of the Sept. 11 attacks that was slated to
arrive Saturday.
“The government cannot represent with confidence that there will not be an interruption in all commission proceedings,” Army Col. Lawrence Morris, an Army colonel presiding in the war crimes prosecution of five men accused of conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks, wrote to Judge Stephen Henley.
Morris also said in his 9 p.m. submission, obtained by The Miami Herald, that the government had “certain discovery
issues” as well as unavailable witnesses that would likely delay a full hearing on whether 9/11 accused Ramzi bin al Shibh was mentally competent to stand trial.
N.Y. expert calls collision with geese ‘a freak thing’
NEW YORK – Studying birds’ flight patterns, where and when they perched, and what they ate in and around New York’s two airports was practically written into Charles J. Millner’s job description.
As operations supervisor for the Port Authority, he garnered 35 years of experience in bird matters – so much that he literally wrote a book on the subject.
The Plainview, N.Y. man fondly recalls his time at the agency, saying the Thursday, Jan. 15 midair collision between machine and migrating geese was the type of event he was charged to prevent.
“Birds were my responsibility,” Millner said from his home Friday. But he conceded the accident on U.S. Airways Flight 1549 was probably unavoidable since it occurred too high and on the same path as the birds’ natural southbound flight pattern.
“There’s nothing they can do about geese flying from Canada when you’ve got a natural flyway here – unless they go to Canada and kill all the geese,” said Millner, who retired in 1985. “It was just a freak thing that the flock was going by at the time that this poor guy was taking off.”
Phonathon begins, may help scholarship funds
Alumni and friends of Boise State University can expect calls beginning last Sunday, Jan. 18, asking for their support during the semiannual phonathon that emphasizes the need for student scholarship funds.
The “Dollars for Scholars” program is designed to bolster
funding for student scholarships due to the downturn of the
financial markets. The deadline is Feb. 20 to help replenish scholarship awards that have experienced a significant drop in
endowment earnings. The Boise State University Foundation
currently has about 850 student scholarships through endowed accounts. “Dollars for Scholars” will provide much needed funds for scholarships the Financial Aid Office will distribute in the 2009-10 academic year.
LOCAL/BSU
Boise State College works to help the valley
Boise State University’s College of Business and Economics is launching a new effort to assist Treasure Valley businesses
during a down economy.
“The College of Business and Economics is a key driver of Idaho’s economic growth,” COBE Dean Pat Shannon said. “We want to make it as easy as possible for civic leaders, businesses and economic development entities to access, utilize and gain from the college’s wealth of resources.”
The college has a long history of assisting local businesses. The college plans to do so this semester through internships, faculty consulting, graduate assistantships and more.
Past efforts have led to a higher level of success for participating businesses and organizations. For example, a team of Executive MBA students formulated a plan for the Idaho Youth Ranch to increase revenue by starting an
e-books business.
Inauguration to be played on the big screen
Boise State’s College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs is hosting an all-campus live television viewing of Tuesday’s historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.
Boise State political and historical experts will be present at the event, and able to talk about the significance of the event during the three-hour open house event.
What: Live big screen viewing of the Presidential Inauguration.
When: 9 a.m. – noon, Tuesday, January 20.
Where: Jordan Ballroom, Student Union Building.
Who: BSU faculty, staff and students, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs experts.
WHAT THE?
One way to thin out the competition
A man applying for a job at a cabinet store in Bryan, Texas, encountered another man outside the store who was applying for the same job, so he stabbed him.
Ooh, look, a stair lift, wheee!
A company in England was fined for refusing to install a stairlift for a disabled employee, because “everyone would want to ride on it, and no work would get done.”
I think we both want what’s best for the boy
A man got into a shouting match with his ex-girlfriend at the video store where she works in Commerce City, Calif., as they argued about how to raise their four-year-old son. The two belong to different street gangs, and they disagreed about which one the boy should join when he grows up.
Tell me that again, ma’am, you’re where?
When she couldn’t get her key to open her driver’s side door at a mall in Newington, N.H., a woman entered her car through the trunk and then tried to crawl over the seats but couldn’t fit. Then the trunk slammed shut and she was stuck inside. She had to call the police on her cell phone to get her out.
COMPILED BY ARBITER STAFF
