NPR 2008-07-21

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama held what was called “a working lunch” with Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai in Kabul today. Obama says Afghanistan has not gotten enough attention because of what he called “the distraction” posed by the Iraq War. NPR’s Allison Keyes has more.

The Illinois senator told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Afghanistan is the No.1 front on the war on terrorism. “The situation is precarious¹ and urgent.” Obama echoed US military brass² who have been implying that troop reductions in Iraq would allow a shift of resources to Afghanistan. “There’s starting to be a growing consensus³ that it’s time for us to withdraw some of our combat troops out of Iraq, deploy⁴ them here in Afghanistan.” Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has also advocated sending more forces to Afghanistan. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.
 
The nation’s top military official says Obama’s plan to remove all US combat troops from Iraq by early in 2010 could be very dangerous. Admiral Mike Mullen says any troop pullouts must be based on security conditions in Iraq. “I’d worry about any kind of rapid movement out and creating instability where we have stability. We are engaged very much right now with the Iraqi people. The Iraqi leadership is starting to generate the kind of political progress that we need to make.” Mullen was on FOX News Sunday. If current trends in Iraq continue, he says he hopes to be able to recommend further US troop reductions to President Bush this fall.

Iraqi election officials say a provincial⁵ vote set for October must be delayed. That vote is intended to satisfy Sunni Arab demands for more influence in the government. Disagreements in parliament over how provincial council seats are allocated⁶ have repeatedly delayed the election.

Tropical Storm Cristobal skirted along the coast of North Carolina today, drenching⁷ part of the state with much-needed rain. From member station WHQR in Wilmington, Catherine Welch has more.

Tropical Storm Cristobal has already dumped five inches of rain on some parts of the state as it makes its way along the North Carolina coast. The National Weather Service says Cristobal will pick up speed and head out into the Atlantic just off the Virginia Coast. National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Pfaff says much of the storm will be felt offshore⁸. “Most of the strong winds associated with the system are offshore, creating large waves and rough conditions for boaters.”  Pfaff says it’s likely Tropical Storm Cristobal will leave rip currents in its wake for a day or two. For NPR News, I’m Catherine Welch in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The latest storm to form in the Caribbean is Tropical Storm Dolly. It’s headed for the Gulf⁹ of Mexico.

GOP presidential candidate John McCain attended a New York Yankees game today along with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Tomorrow, McCain travels to Maine. There, he will be the guest of former President George. H. W. Bush at a fundraiser in Kennebunkport.

This is NPR News from Washington.

The new chief mediator¹⁰ who will attempt to defuse the ongoing¹¹ violence in Sudan’s Darfur region has made his first visit to Sudan. He faces the challenging task of getting the stalled peace process between the government and rebels back on track. Dale Gavlak has the story.

Djibril Bassole, who is also the foreign minister of Burkina Faso, called his task “difficult”, but said it wasn't “mission impossible”. He held talks with Sudan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Karti. He said he wanted dialogue between the two sides strengthened and then an end to hostilities¹², so a comprehensive political solution could be found to the five-year crisis. Thrown into the equation is the recent move by the International Criminal Court. It wants an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar Hasan al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. An estimated 200,000 have died and another 2.5 million have been driven from their homes due to the fighting. From NPR News, I’m Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan.

Treasury¹³ Secretary Henry Paulson insists the US economy is fundamentally strong and will rebound¹⁴ from the turmoil¹⁵ in the financial and housing markets. “We’ve got challenges and we’re focused on those challenges, and it’s gonna take us a while to work through this period, but we’ll work through it, we always do.” Paulson was on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. He sought to reassure¹⁶ Americans who might be worried about their bank accounts. Paulson said the nation’s banking¹⁷ system is safe and sound, and accounts are insured up to 100,000 dollars. He acknowledged, though, that the list of troubled banks is likely to grow as more banks feel the effects of losses from bad mortgages.