Healthspan Blog

By Golnar Motevalli

KABUL (Reuters) - The United States is aiming to send 20,000 to 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan by the beginning of next summer, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday.

Washington is already sending some 3,000 extra troops in January and another 2,800 by spring, but officials previously have said the number would be made up to 20,000 in the next 12 to 18 months, once approved by the U.S. administration.

"Some 20 to 30,000 is the window of overall increase from where we are right now. I don't have an exact number," Admiral Mike Mullen told reporters in Kabul.

"We've agreed on the requirement and so it's really clear to me we're going to fill that requirement so it's not a matter of if, but when," he said.

"We're looking to get them here in the spring, but certainly by the beginning of summer at the latest."

U.S. Army General David McKiernan, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan, has asked for the extra troops to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in the east and south of Afghanistan.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has pledged a renewed focus on Afghanistan, where U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban government in late 2001 after the September 11 attacks.

The United States now has some 31,000 troops in Afghanistan.

After the January deployment, most of the reinforcements are to be sent to southern Afghanistan to bolster mainly British, Canadian and Dutch troops who have suffered heavy casualties in the last two years fighting in the Taliban heartland.

"That's where the toughest fight is," Mullen said. "When we get additional troops here, I think the violence level is going to go up. The fight will be tougher."

He said beefing up U.S. forces in Afghanistan was linked to winding down in Iraq.

"Available forces are directly tied to forces in Iraq. As we look to the possibility of reducing forces in Iraq over the course of the next year, the availability of forces to come here in Afghanistan will increase," Mullen said.

INDIA-PAKISTAN

Mullen said the attacks by Islamist militants in Mumbai last month showed the need to reduce Indian tensions with Pakistan and that would help bring stability to Afghanistan.

"That's another big piece of the strategy, what I would call regional focus to include Pakistan, Afghanistan and India ... leadership in all three of those countries to figure out a way to decrease tensions, not increase tensions," Mullen said.

He said the late arrival of winter this year had meant there were still significant flows of militants from the tribal belt along the Pakistani side of the border, but better cooperation with the Pakistani military was nevertheless helping.

"We're not there, we still have a long way to go but we've actually made a lot of progress," Mullen said.

Mullen said the Afghan government was not as strong as he had anticipated and engaging with tribal areas in remote parts of Afghanistan could be central to future operations.

"We may have overstated the focus on the ability of the central government to have the kind of impact that we wanted given the history here in Afghanistan," Mullen said.

Mullen also said at the same time, more must be done to boost economic development in Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, and to make the Afghan government more effective.

"No amount of troops, no amount of time will provide a solution here without development," he said.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)

By Rina Chandran

MUMBAI (Reuters) - A multi-faith prayer ceremony marked the reopening on Sunday of Mumbai's Trident hotel, one of the sites of last month's terror attacks, with scanners and roses greeting guests as they made their way into the gleaming lobby.

The hotel's 550 rooms, three restaurants and the bar were opened following Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist prayers in the lobby which three weeks ago was strewn with broken glass and streaks of blood.

Guests held pink roses and staff stood with hands folded on the staircase leading to the adjacent Oberoi hotel which remains closed, as religious verses were chanted.

"We are feeling sad as we are reminded of the events, but we are also happy that the hotel is open again," said Rashmi Mehra, a regular at the Frangipani restaurant, who lost a friend in the Nov 26-29 attacks in which 32 guests and staff were killed.

"We are going to see if we can get a table for lunch -- we were told it's fully booked."

Enquiries for rooms and restaurant bookings have been pouring in, although hotel authorities said on Saturday that cancellation rates have been 30-35 percent following Islamist militant attacks that killed at least 179 people.

The nearby historic Taj Mahal Hotel, site of a 60-hour siege, will throw open its doors later on Sunday to more than 1,000 clients and guests for a gala reception.

"WELCOME HOME"

Sunday's newspapers carried a large advertisement with the stunning dome of the Taj Mahal and a headline that said: "Welcome home again."

Authorities at the Trident said at least 100 rooms would be occupied at the hotel, a favorite of foreign business executives, and the restaurants were expected to be full.

"A guest walking in will find no trace of what happened," Rattan Keswani, president of the Trident Hotels said.

"We believe the time has come to look forward to the future. Now, the fears of travelers and governments that have issued travel advisories must be allayed so people will return to Mumbai."

Damage to the Oberoi hotel was still being assessed, and it might take six-seven months to reopen, Keswani added.

Baggage scanners, metal detectors, sniffer dogs and armed police behind sandbags are positioned at the entrance to the hotel, with guests also being frisked.

The Trident is working with a security agency to put in place systems in Mumbai and in other locations, Keswani said.

"There are all kinds of deterrents in place, but can anyone have avoided an armed assault of that nature? Probably not."

At Leopold Cafe, another of the 10 sites that were attacked, regulars and curious visitors have flocked back, despite the bullet holes that are still visible in its walls and windows.

(Editing by Bappa Majumdar and David Fox)

By Missy Ryan and Tim Cocks

KUT, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq faces a major test next year when its unseasoned forces cast off U.S. military primacy to defend a fragile peace in a country that only recently stood at the brink of sectarian civil war.

Iraqi forces, which have grown seven-fold since 2003, are seen as far more professional and prepared than they once were.

"We're now ready to take over everything, in terms of security," said Hussein Azab, an Iraqi Army major who oversees the Al Hurriya district of Baghdad. "I can't see any reason why we can't patrol the streets by ourselves now."

But many Iraqi officials acknowledge that inadequate equipment, incomplete training and a host of other problems mean they are not yet ready to ensure Iraq does not slide back into the horrific violence that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The test for Iraqi forces, who now number around 610,000, occurs as U.S. troops curtail their combat activities under a bilateral security pact that takes effect on January 1, 2009.

U.S. raids and other operations will require Iraqi permission, and U.S. soldiers will need arrest warrants for searches and detentions. U.S. troops are supposed to be confined to training and support roles in Iraqi cities by the middle of next year, and all must be out of the country by end-2011.

Officials from the United States, which has spent some $20 billion on Iraq's security forces and justice system since it ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003, describe Iraqi forces in terms that parents reserve for less-than-exceptional children.

"Much better, but not there yet," or "making headway," are common refrains. In some areas, the best U.S. officials hope for in the short run is what they call "Iraqi good enough."

In a recent basic training class in Kut, south of Baghdad, police recruits with close-shorn heads and blue uniforms sat packed in a small classroom as their instructor drilled them on how to avoid becoming yet another police killed on duty: don't eat every day at the same place; vary your route to work.

It is part of a four-week basic training course for police recruits at the center that lacks proper instructors and basics like fuel and ammunition.

During a visit from Major-General Mike Milano, a senior U.S. advisor to Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, Iraqi police trotted out a homemade RPG they use to train recruits -- their proof they are making do with enough support from Baghdad.

AIR SUPPORT, LOGISTICS WEAK POINTS

On Iraqi streets, a frequent sight are skinny Iraqi policemen, holding aging weapons and protected at best by flimsy and ill-fitting bullet-proof vests.

They are a sharp contrast to U.S. soldiers, rumbling by in state-of-the-art armored vehicles, draped with sophisticated body armor and night-vision goggles.

Iraqi security entities have long been beset by political intrigue, sectarian rivalries, and corruption. In late 2007, things were so bad that an independent U.S. commission recommended dissolving the entire National Police.

The situation has improved, but U.S. officials say Saddam's fear-infested rule left a corrosive legacy, including a slow-moving bureaucracy, an inability to spend budgeted funds and decision-making concentrated at the top.

If you made a wrong decision under Saddam "you'd be killed or your hand would be cut off," said Lieutenant General Frank Helmick, who heads U.S. and NATO efforts to train Iraqi forces.

Still, Helmick and others say Iraq's military is far more capable now. Iraq now controls security in 13 of 18 provinces and as of October, 107 of 164 Iraqi Army battalions had taken the lead from U.S. forces or were operating independently.

Last spring, Iraqi soldiers gave Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki a big political boost when they trounced Shi'ite militias in Iraqi-led offensives in Baghdad and southern Basra.

"By the end of 2011, we will be able to fight terror. We will be able to maintain internal security," said Mohammed al-Askari, spokesman for Iraq's Defense Ministry.

(Additional reporting by Khalid al-Ansary; Editing by Michael Christie)

By Waleed Ibrahim and Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament voted on Saturday to reject a draft law that allows troops from Britain, Australia and several other countries to remain beyond the end of this year, Iraqi parliamentarians said.

The draft law, under which those troops would withdraw by the end of July, was rejected because lawmakers objected to it being in the form of legislation, rather than an agreement as was the deal Iraq signed with the United States, said Hussein al-Falluji, a member of the Sunni Accordance Front.

"Legally relations between two countries cannot be organized by a law. They should be arranged, according to international law, through treaties or agreements," said Falluji.

"For this reason parliament rejected this law. It was a big mistake by the government."

Both the law governing the British presence and the security pact allowing the 140,000 U.S. soldiers in the country to remain three more years replace a U.N. mandate that expires on December 31.

"What the parliament did today, rejecting the bill, was a great national achievement," said Nassir al-Issawi, a lawmaker loyal to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who wants an immediate end to what he sees as a foreign occupation.

"We believe that British forces and all other forces should pack their things," said Issawi.

No comment was immediately available from the government.

The rejected law covered the future of troops from Britain, Australia, Romania, Estonia, El Salvador and NATO in Iraq, where violence is dropping sharply and foreign troops are increasingly handing over security to local forces.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this week that a reserve component of around 400 British soldiers, compared to 4,100 now, would remain to train Iraqi naval forces in the south after July.

The U.S.-Iraqi security pact sets a withdrawal date for the U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of 2011 and gradually restricts U.S. activities more than five years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

(Writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Michael Christie and Ralph Boulton)

By Frank McGurty

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada will follow the United States by providing C$4 billion ($3.3 billion) in emergency loans to the Canadian arms of Detroit's ailing automakers to keep them operating while they restructure their businesses, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Saturday.

The package, announced by Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, comes a day after the White House unveiled a $17.4 billion package to shore up Detroit's auto industry.

Harper also announced two new federal measures to support the overall industry -- one to benefit automotive suppliers and a second to help consumers get credit to buy cars.

"There are literally across the country hundreds of thousands if not millions of potentially affected families by the distress of this industry," Harper said at a joint news conference.

"And we are obviously making sure at this Christmas time that, within the confines of our responsibility for taxpayer money, that we are also going to look after their interest."

A collapse of the Detroit Three automakers would put nearly 600,000 Canadians out of work within five years, most of them in Ontario, according to a recent report by provincial advisory panel.

Under the plan, the federal government will provide C$2.7 billion in short-term loans and Ontario C$1.3 billion.

General Motors of Canada Ltd is eligible for loans of up to $C3 billion and Chrysler Canada Inc for up to C$1 billion. The Canadian arm of Ford Motor has not asked for immediate assistance, the Industry Ministry said.

Harper said the governments were attempting to attach some liens and secure some assets of the car companies "but I will not fool you -- there is obviously some money at risk here."

He said the aid reflected Canada's 20 percent share of North American production capacity. But at $3.3 billion, the Canadian package actually represents one-sixth, or 16 percent, of the $20.7 billion in North American aid announced over the past two days.

FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

Harper said Canada would not allow a restructuring of the industry on U.S. terms in a way that might cause the relocation of Canadian facilities to the United States.

He said the Bush administration and the incoming Obama team have made it clear they would not let the companies fail.

"We may well have much smaller companies but they will not fail in my judgment," Harper said. "The question then for Canada is to ensure that as they are restructured that we retain our market share."

Harper said the aid to automotive suppliers would come in the form of additional accounts-receivable insurance coverage through the federal Export Development Corp.

The federal government also will create a new facility to support access to credit for consumers. Details were not immediately available.

"We don't want a package that simply helps the Detroit Three and therefore has the effect of ... subsidizing those who are struggling while penalizing those who have made good business decisions," Harper said in explaining why the package included help for suppliers and consumers.

It was apparent any deal would need some concessions from the Canadian Auto Workers. Harper said all stakeholders would have to help in the restructuring.

After the announcement, the CAW said it was willing to work with industry to protect jobs. Even so, it said the crisis was not caused by compensation for North American autoworkers but by the overall troubles in the economy.

McGuinty, the Ontario premier, said Asian automakers, which have facilities in Canada, backed the aid package. He said that if the one of the Big Three companies fail, the entire industry, including the Asian-based companies, would suffer because of the integration of the North American industry.

A recent study commissioned by the Ontario Manufacturing Council warned that a collapse of the Detroit Three would ripple through the entire economy, hitting creditors, suppliers, parts manufacturers and dealerships.

Harper is a Conservative who generally opposes state intervention in the economy but he said on Thursday that the government would end a 12-year string of budget surpluses and inject C$20 billion to C$30 billion of stimulus into the economy next fiscal year.

Interest on the short-term loans to the automakers will be set at 300 basis points above LIBOR, the federal government said in a release. The closing date is December 29.

($1=$1.20 Canadian)

(Additional reporting by Randall Palmer)