WH: Afghan strategy, then troop levels
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama wants to develop a strategy for Afghanistan before considering whether to deploy more troops, the White House said Monday.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO troop commander in Afghanistan, said in a confidential report he needs more troops within a year or the conflict likely will end in failure. McChrystal said his comments on greater troop strength were predicated on an Afghan strategy that stresses protecting Afghan citizens over killing insurgents or controlling territory. The Washington Post published a redacted version of a confidential 66-page report on its Web site.
Obama and his advisers are conducting a strategy assessment "in a way that lays out the best path forward before we make resource decisions, rather than having this go the other way around where one makes resources decisions and then finds a strategy," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said during a news briefing.
Gibbs said no formal request for additional troops has been sent to the White House.
"(Obviously) the commander has a specific mission in mind for which he sees -- he may see additional resources," Gibbs said. "Again, no resource request has come and I don't anticipate that it will come for a little bit because there's an assessment that's ongoing about where we are right now."
The United States has committed 68,000 troops, but not all have arrived in Afghanistan. The New York Times said McChrystal may request as many as 45,000 more troops.
Gibbs stressed that McChrystal's report was an assessment from which "in several weeks options for additional resources" will be made
"The president is going to focus on getting the strategy right," Gibbs said, "and I'm not going to go through what options he may or may not have."
McHugh sworn in as Army secretary
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- John McHugh was sworn in as the 21st secretary of the U.S. Army during a ceremony Monday at the Pentagon.
Also during the ceremony, Joseph Westphal was sworn in as undersecretary of the Army, the Department of Defense said in a news release.
Before officially becoming Army secretary McHugh resigned his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, CQ Politics reported. McHugh, a Republican from New York, was elected to the House in 1992.
He was nominated to be Army secretary by President Barack Obama in June and confirmed by the Senate Wednesday.
As secretary, McHugh is responsible for Army matters such as manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications and financial management.
Westphal has served in several positions in the educational, public and private sectors, the Pentagon said. He was assistant secretary of the Army for civil works 1998-2001.
Obama unveils innovation strategy
TROY, N.Y., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- President Obama outlined his innovation strategy while weaving in elements of his economic, education and healthcare policies Monday in a speech in Troy, N.Y.
"From biotechnology to nanotechnology, from the development of new forms of energy to research into treatments of ancient diseases, there is so much potential to change our world and improve our lives," Obama said during remarks at Hudson Valley Community College after touring its technology classrooms with Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden.
The innovation strategy will "foster new jobs, new businesses and new industries by laying the groundwork and the ground rules to best tap our innovative potential," Obama said.
The economic recovery plan targeted more than $100 billion to innovation projects, ranging from high-tech classrooms to health information technology and from more energy-efficient homes to more fuel-efficient cars, the president said.
"(This) strategy is about far more than recovery; it is about sustained growth and widely-shared prosperity," he said.
The strategy "begins where innovation so often does: in the classroom and in the laboratory -- and in the networks that connect them to the broader economy," the president said. "These are the building blocks of innovation: education, infrastructure, and research."
He also repeated many of the themes he discussed for the past several weeks, highlighting elements of his healthcare and education proposals, as well as noting the economy is picking up.
The question is if we are ready to embrace that potential, if we are ready to lead the way once more," Obama said. "I think we're ready. I've seen it all across America. This generation ... (has) an unparalleled opportunity. We are called upon to help them seize that opportunity."
Peace activists pitch tent city for G20
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Women peace advocates speaking for war refugees have built a tent city near the site of this week's G20 summit in Pittsburgh, officials said.
"We realized that 80 percent of the victims of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries are women and children. We thought that our groups were the best to raise public awareness about a global refugee crisis," said Francine Porter, director of Pittsburgh's Code Pink peace chapter.
As of Sunday, the tent city in Point State Park had about 50 supporters from Black Voices for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Reviews reported Monday.
Banners reading "peace" in all languages of the Group of 20 nations were strung together with a white cotton peace dove and stretched over the tent city.
The G20, which is to convene Thursday, comprises finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 of the world's largest national economies plus the European Union.
Officials blame rains, floods for 3 deaths
ATLANTA, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Heavy rainfall hampered search efforts Monday for a man presumed dead after he was swept away by storm water in a culvert, Chattanooga, Tenn., officials said.
In Georgia, officials blamed heavy rains and flooded conditions for two deaths in the northern part of the state, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
In Tennessee, emergency crews rescued one of two men who were clinging to a chain link fence to keep from being swept into the culvert after wading into high water near a storm drain, but the other man disappeared, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
Heavy rainfall in the Chattanooga area resulted in multiple reports of flooded vehicles and stranded motorists. The rain also closed several roads and prompted a few evacuations, police said.
Officials in Georgia said the two deaths occurred when cars were swept away by rapidly moving waters.
Rains also forced several schools to close, flooded highways and washed away a main line of the Norfolk Southern railroad, the Journal-Constitution said.
The National Weather Service said up to 15 inches of rain had fallen in parts of Georgia since Friday. Forecasters issued flood watches and warnings through Tuesday for north and central Georgia.
The Interstate 285-Interstate 85 interchange near Atlanta was closed for about 45 minutes during the Monday morning rush hour, the Journal-Constitution said. A mud slide blocked two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane on U.S. 78.
Flash flooding and stranded motorists were reported in Indiana and Kentucky as thunderstorms dumped 4 inches of rain in parts of Louisville and nearly 6 inches in parts of southern Indiana, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported.
