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Congress members showing frustration

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Congressional members, battered by a still-swooning U.S. economy, have begun lashing out at the Obama administration, observers say.

Incidents this week on Capitol Hill point up the level of frustration some members of Congress are experiencing after being hit continually with reports of rising unemployment and economic difficulties in their home districts, The Washington Post reported Friday.

President Barack Obama's allies in the Congressional Black Caucus in the House used a parliamentary maneuver to postpone committee approval of financial reform legislation, one of Obama's key domestic initiatives. The caucus says it wants the administration to do more to help minority communities suffering during the economic decline.

At a session of the Joint Economic Committee Thursday, Republicans stepped up their attacks on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, with some calling for his resignation.

"Conservatives agree that as point person, you failed. Liberals are growing in that consensus as well," said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas. "For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?"

Even Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who is friendly with the administration, suggested Geithner was inconsistent in addressing China's keeping its currency low against the dollar, the Post said.

Senators signaled their disinclination to rush financial regulatory reform, with some Democrats voicing concern about parts of the bill and Republicans attacking bill sponsor and Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., for pushing ahead before the genesis of the crisis is understood.

A House committee approved Texas Republican Ron Paul's amendment that would to subject the Federal Reserve to unprecedented scrutiny, the Post said. The amendment, which enjoyed bipartisan support in the House Financial Services Committee, would allow the Government Accountability Office to audit all of the Fed's operations.

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Minister: War against Taliban winnable

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The war against the Taliban is winnable and the fight against corruption in Afghanistan's government will be waged, Afghan Interior Minister Hanif Atmar says.

While security in the country's provinces is uneven, Atmar told CNN Friday he was confident the Taliban and other insurgents could be defeated.

"We have to show the resolve, the determination and the ability to make decisions quickly," he said.

His remarks came as U.S. President Barack Obama neared announcing his decision on whether to send up to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The president has been discussing next steps in the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan, complicated by a disputed election and reports of a government rife with corruption.

Atmar said Karzai has made cleaning up his government a top priority during his second five-year presidential term. The minister said a major crimes task force, a general prosecutor and a special anti-corruption court will be named.

"The government has always been committed," Atmar told CNN. "The question has not been the deficit of willpower, the question has always been the resources and an agreed program and priorities."

Disputing Atmar's position was former presidential candidate and finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who said the government has become a "looting machine."

Ghani said the new government must appoint people of integrity and judgment.

"Without government positions they are nothing," Ghani said of corrupt officials. "As long as they are in control of the government, they will turn it into a force that is a threat to both the international security forces and to the Afghan people."

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U.S. troops in S. Korea may be redeployed

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Some U.S. troops stationed in South Korea likely will be re-deployed to Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said while in the Asian country.

Obama's comment was made Thursday when he spoke to U.S. troops at Osan Air Base at the end of his eight-day Asian trip, South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported. In October, U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Pentagon could deploy U.S. service members in South Korea temporarily to the Middle East.

"The story of your service goes beyond this peninsula," Obama told the troops, noting some had already served in Afghanistan and "(others) among you will deploy yet again."

Thousands of U.S. troops were sent from the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea to Iraq in 2004 to augment U.S. operations in the Middle Eastern country through rotation.

Observers said Obama's remarks could indicate the need for "strategic flexibility" for U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to rotate to hot spots elsewhere, The Korea Times reported. Strategic flexibility is aimed at changing the mission of U.S. forces abroad from defending host nations to rapid deployment so troops can be sent elsewhere quickly when needed.

"Such a rotation is normal in other countries where U.S. troops are stationed," a South Korea official the official told The Korea Times, "so South Korea should not be an exception as long as the tour normalization plan is settled in the coming years."

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Giuliani said interested in the Senate

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor rumored to be interested in running for governor, is considering a run for the U.S. Senate, a former aide says.

Giuliani, a Republican, has made no final decision but is "more interested" in the Senate, the source told the Wall Street Journal.

He said Giuliani may seek the New York seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to the succeed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last winter.

Giuliani's spokeswoman, Maria Comella, denied in a statement that anything had been decided.

"When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own," she said.

Giuliani ran for the Senate in 2000 against Democrat Clinton. But, Giuliani withdrew when he learned he had cancer and Clinton went on to win the race.

Giuliani also withdrew from the presidential race in 2008, when it was clear he did not have the support to win the Republican nomination.

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Palin returns to Indiana GOP heartland

NOBLESVILLE, Ind., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- More than 1,000 people braved rain in Indiana's die-hard Republican Hamilton County to catch up with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at a book-signing event.

Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and darling of the party's conservative core constituency, spent three hours Thursday at a Noblesville, Ind., bookstore signing copies of her memoir, "Going Rogue," and chatting with admirers, Politico reported Friday.

"It's good to be back in Hoosier territory," Palin said before entering the Borders bookstore in one of the most Republican counties in the United States. "I'm glad you all will get an opportunity to read my words, unvarnished and unfiltered."

Tony Downs, a local police officer who went to the book-signing with his wife, said he thought Palin's message connects with people because she is "not a politician."

"She's not from Washington," he said. "She hasn't been corrupted."

Asked if he'd support Palin for president in 2012, Downs told the Washington publication, "I just want a good Republican candidate."

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Torrential rains flood northwest Britain

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Ten of 11 people thought missing after heavy rains lifted rivers over their banks in Britain's Cumbria region were found and taken to safety, officials said.

Rain inundated Cumbria, where water forced more than 200 people to flee their homes, caused four bridges to collapse, blocked roads, closed schools and disrupted public transportation, Sky News reported Friday. Power was knocked out in about 1,145 homes and slowly was being restored.

Police said the only person still missing is a police officer who disappeared when a bridge collapsed in Workington.

Flooding also was reported in northwest Wales, and in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, Sky News reported, with the village of Seathwaite receiving 12.5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.

The towns of Cockermouth and Keswick in Cumbria sustained the most damage, officials said. Army personnel were conducting door-to-door searches of flooded property.

Royal Air Force helicopters airlifted more than 50 people from buildings in Cockermouth, where police said about 960 homes were at risk of flooding.

Parliament member Tony Cunningham of Workington said the flood was "of biblical proportions" and seen "once every 1,000 years."

"The scale and the force of the devastation in Cockermouth is huge," Cunningham told Sky News.

Flood warnings were posted Friday in the Cumbria area, as well the Midlands, Wales and other locations in northeast and northwest England and in Scotland.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown contacted the head of the Cumbria Police to offer government assistance, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"Our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by these floods and our thanks go out to the emergency services who continue in their extraordinary efforts to help the people affected," Brown said.