Around the Nation

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Al-Qaeda Greatly Weakened, Anti-Terrorism Official Says

Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda have been rendered ineffective by international anti-terrorism efforts, a Bush administration official said Tuesday.

The comments by Dell L. Dailey, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, were among the administration's most confident declarations of progress against the terrorist organization.

Bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, have eluded an intensive manhunt for more than seven years, but Dailey said the men, thought to be holed up in the remote Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, have been reduced to little more than a media operation.

"Bin Laden can't get an operational effort off the ground without it being detected ahead of time and being thwarted," he said. "Their ability to reach is nonexistent."

The lingering threat posed by al-Qaeda, he added, comes from its regional affiliates and its violent intentions. "Most terrorism is kind of regionally focused now," he said.

"We see al-Qaeda, in a centralized role, [as being] totally controlled," Dailey said.

Gates Says $70 Billion More In '09 War Funding Is Needed

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has told members of Congress that he thinks the Pentagon will need nearly $70 billion to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September, on top of the $65.9 billion approved by Congress.

Gates told Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, in a Dec. 31 letter that the military needed $69.7 billion more in fiscal 2009 to fund operations, replace equipment lost or worn out in the wars and replenish supplies.

Gates said his estimate did not include an expected massive reinforcement in Afghanistan, because the proposal was still under consideration. The buildup could nearly double the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- from 32,000 to about 60,000.

Gates, who has agreed to stay in his job after Barack Obama becomes president Jan. 20, stressed that the dollar figure was his personal assessment and did not reflect the position of the Bush administration or the incoming government.

Wildlife Agency Will Not List 270 Species as Endangered

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected an environmental group's petition to list 270 species as imperiled under the Endangered Species Act.

WildEarth Guardians asked the agency to consider 475 plants and animals for listing; Joshua Winchell, a spokesman for the service, said it has ruled out 270 because the group merely submitted the species' scientific and common names along with brief descriptions, with no supporting documentation.

"Simply putting down a name on a petition is not enough to get the ball rolling," he said. "This is an important lesson for the importance of having good information as well as data on population trends and threats."

Nicole Rosmarino, a scientist with WildEarth Guardians, said the group had provided more details on eight of the species, petitioned for emergency listing last year.

Tex. Scraps Plans for Toll Road Network

AUSTIN -- Texas officials said they are scrapping a proposal for a network of toll roads that critics called an expensive boondoggle. The Trans-Texas Corridor was envisioned as a huge set of highways, rail and utility lines crisscrossing the state, but it had been under fire almost since inception. Rural landowners, in particular, were opposed to giving up their property for the project. Gov. Rick Perry (R) said projects such as Interstate 69 -- which would run from northeast Texas to the Rio Grande Valley -- and highways that would run parallel to north-south Interstate 35 will continue.

Ex-Mayoral Aide Gets 120 Days in Jail

DETROIT -- The former top aide to disgraced ex-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 120 days in jail for obstruction of justice, the same sentence that her old boss received late last year. Christine Beatty and Kilpatrick, both 38, were convicted of lying about their affair under oath during a 2007 civil trial.

-- From News Services