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Obama, Clinton praise Karzai on runoff

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said he didn't know how the runoff presidential election in Afghanistan would affect his decision on U.S. troop strength there.

Obama said he called and congratulated Afghan President Hamid Karzai for accepting the country's election commission's call for a new election, saying it demonstrated Karzai and other candidates "have shown they have the interests of the Afghan people at heart."

Obama, speaking during a media opportunity Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said he didn't know what the runoff, scheduled for Nov. 7, would mean for his decision-making on U.S. military strength and strategy.

He only said, "(We) are pleased with the steps that are taken and we hope that we build on this progress."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also commended Karzai's decision to accept recommendations of the Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission and statements by the United Nations-sponsored Independent Election Commission about the Aug. 20 election. Despite complaints of fraud and criticism from allies and international organizations, Karzai originally said he had the election with a runoff-proof majority. In the runoff, Karzai will face off his nearest challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister.

"The bravery, patience, and resilience of the Afghan people has been on display since election day, when so many of them went to the polls in the face of threats and intimidation," Clinton said. "Afghan plans are in place to enable a second round of voting, and we pledge our support to the election authorities to help them achieve a conclusion to the elections process."

During a news conference Tuesday, Karzai said, "We welcome the decision made by the Independent Election Commission, we believe the session is legitimate, legal and according to the constitution of Afghanistan."

Obama seeks grassroots work on healthcare

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President appealed to grassroots activists to make calls about healthcare reform, using a medium he exploited during his presidential run: the Internet.

On the Internet social network Facebook, Obama posted the message: "Today is the day. Crucial negotiations on health reform are taking place in Congress -- and we've set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress made or committed in a single day. Can you take 3 minutes and call right now?"

A couple of hours later, Obama offered encouragement: "We're halfway there -- you've already made 50,000 calls to Congress today. Help us reach 100,000."

After months of complaints the White House was too standoffish, the Facebook appeal and other initiatives -- such as attending meetings of liberal interest groups and participating in congressional discussions on healthcare -- demonstrate that Obama and other members of his administration have become more visibly involved, the newspaper said.

"At first they were too hands-off," Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., told USA Today. "Now I think they're getting it about right."

Republicans in Congress maintained, however, that Obama hasn't specified what he wants, still leaves too much control to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and that the process of melding multiple bills in the House and Senate into one per chamber has moved behind closed doors.

"This bill is being written in the dark of night," House GOP leader John Boehner said last week. "The president ought to keep his promise to the American people and open this process up."

Support for legalizing pot keeps growing

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Levels of U.S. support for legalizing marijuana are continuing a growth pattern begun in 2000, a Gallup Poll indicated Tuesday.

After many years of hovering around 25 percent in favor of legalizing pot, support among U.S. residents jumped to 31 percent in 2000 and now has reached 44 percent in the most recent poll, while 54 percent are opposed, Gallup said.

The pollsters said that results were virtually the same on the question of whether marijuana should be legalized as way of raising revenue for state governments, with 42 percent saying they are in favor and 56 percent opposed.

On that question, support was markedly higher among residents of the U.S. West -- where an outright majority favor the proposal -- than in the South and Midwest, while the views of Eastern residents fell about in the middle.

Gallup said that if support levels for legalizing marijuana continue on the same trajectory, the majority of Americans could favor legalization of the drug in as little as four years.

The poll results were based on telephone interviews with 1,013 national adults conducted Oct. 1-4. Its margin of sampling error was set at 4 percentage points.

U.S.-Iraqi relations on different track

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. and Iraqi officials want to ensure Iraq has an election law completed so elections can be held in January, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

"We have seen in the last several months a consolidation of a commitment to democratic politics inside of Iraq," Obama said after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Washington. "We are very interested, both of us, in making sure that Iraq has an election law that is completed on time so that elections can take place on time in January."

Obama said he also reiterated his commitment to have "our combat troops out of Iraq by August of next year, and all of our troops out of Iraq by 2011."

Security and elections weren't the only discussion points, Obama said, noting Maliki's trip represented a transition in U.S.-Iraq relations.

"(We) are moving now to issues beyond security and we are beginning to talk about economy, trade, commerce," Obama said. "We've seen over the last several months progress being made on providing clarification about investment laws inside of Iraq. There are obviously enormous opportunities for our countries to do business together."

Maliki, through a translator, said bilateral relations "have moved along and (are) not only confined to the security cooperation, but (also) ... economic development and ... providing prosperity for the Iraqi people."

He said he and Obama discussed issues "of common interest to our bilateral relations ... that are ... important for broader relation of our two nations."

Odierno: Violence may alter Iraq pullout

BAGHDAD, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. top commander in Iraq says increased violence could prevent combat troops from withdrawing from Baghdad as planned in August.

U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno said he thinks militant groups are planning a bloody campaign in the coming months as Iraq prepares for a national election Jan. 16, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

"It's clear that al-Qaida and other groups do not want the elections to occur," Odierno said in an interview with The Times. "What I think they will try to do is discourage people from voting by undermining the authority of the government of Iraq with attacks, so that people lose faith in the democratic process."

The Iraqi parliament so far hasn't passed a new election law, in part because lawmakers can't agree on whether ballots should list the names of the candidates or just the parties.

A possible delay would violate Iraq's constitution, Odierno said.

"I worry that it calls into question the Iraqi commitment to this form of government," he said. "If the parliament doesn't pass the election law and they delay the elections, that violates their own constitution, which says they have to have elections in January."

Troop strength decisions in Iraq have a spillover effect in Afghanistan, the general told The Times.

"Our plan here will influence how they decide to implement what decision they make on Afghanistan," he said of a possible second surge being debated by the White House.

Should troop levels in Iraq remain higher than planned, freshly trained U.S. brigades would be needed to replace those finishing their tours of duty, and would not be available for deployment to Afghanistan, he said.

Federal probe opened into balloon flight

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- A Fort Collins, Colo., family whose son was thought to be aloft in an experimental balloon may have violated federal law, authorities said Tuesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, in which emergency officials scrambled Thursday to rescue 6-year-old Falcon Heene, who turned out to be hiding in his family's garage attic, CNN reported.

FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere confirmed the investigation Tuesday, CNN reported.

Richard and Mayumi Heene may have violated FAA rules banning the flight of balloons within five miles of an airport, an FAA official told CNN. The official declined to be named publicly because the case is under investigation.

The Heenes face local charges of conspiracy, filing a false police report, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempting to influence a public servant, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said Sunday.

Investigators have alleged the Heenes staged the incident for publicity. The Heenes, who have appeared on the reality television show "Wife Swap," have said they are innocent of any wrongdoing.