Curr Events: Sunday Highlight

Tehran threatens swift retribution for suicide attack, Iranian speaker accuses Obama

Gen. Nur-Ali Shushtari, terrorist commander dies in suicide bombing.
Seven high-ranking Iranian officers, including at least two generals, and several tribal leaders were among the 31 people who died in a suicide bombing attack on their meeting in the Sistan-Baluchi provincial town of Pisheen early Sunday,Oct 18.

Tehran vowed swift retribution, soon after Parliament speaker Ali Larijani accused the US.

Washington condemned the attack and rejected the charge of involvement.

Federal Deficit Hits Record $1.42 Trillion

WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit has surged to an all-time high of $1.42 trillion as the recession caused tax revenues to plunge while the government was spending massive amounts to stabilize the financial system and jump-start the economy.

The imbalance for the budget year ended Sept. 30, more than tripled last year's record. The Obama administration projects deficits will total $9.1 trillion over the next decade unless corrective action is taken.

Gates Seeks Aid on Afghanistan As U.S. Waffles

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon's chief is undertaking the tricky task of convincing allies to remain committed to the war in Afghanistan even as the Obama administration continues to debate whether to send more troops to fight.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates himself is undecided — at least publicly — on whether to order more forces to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan as his top commander there has requested or to focus more narrowly on al-Qaida terrorists believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

Gates leaves Sunday on a weeklong mission to Japan, Korea and Slovakia — in part to ask NATO partners and Asian allies for continued contributions to a war now in its ninth year.

Pakistan - Anti-Taliban Operations

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan moved thousands of troops into the militant stronghold of South Waziristan on Saturday, the army said, beginning a long-anticipated ground offensive against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in treacherous terrain that has stymied the army in the past.

Troops moved in from Shakhai, Razmak, and Jandola.
The operation is the most ambitious by the Pakistani Army against the militants, who have unleashed a torrent of attacks against top security installations in the last 10 days in anticipation of the military assault. The militants’ targets included the army headquarters where planning for the new offensive had been under way for four months.

U.S. troop funds diverted to pet projects

Study finds $2.6 billion taken from guns and ammunition

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

Among the 778 such projects, known as earmarks, packed into the bill: $25 million for a new World War II museum at the University of New Orleans and $20 million to launch an educational institute named after the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

While earmarks are hardly new in Washington, "in 30 years on Capitol Hill, I never saw Congress mangle the defense budget as badly as this year," said Winslow Wheeler, a former Senate staffer who worked on defense funding and oversight for both Republicans and Democrats.