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Four police officers killed in ambush

LAKEWOOD, Wash., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Four off-duty police officers were fatally shot in a Sunday ambush near Tacoma, Wash., officials said.

The three male officers and one female officer were in a coffee shop discussing cases and checking their laptops when a gunman entered and shot all four, CNN reported.

"This was a targeted, selected ambush," Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Two employees and other customers were unharmed, Troyer said. "Just the law enforcement officers were targeted."

Police are searching for a suspect in the 8 a.m. shooting, described as an African-American male wearing a black coat and blue jeans. He is believed to have fled the scene on foot, police said.

A $10,000 reward has been offered for information resulting in an arrest, they announced.

The shooting happened in Lakewood, Washington, 40 miles south of Seattle and about 10 miles from Tacoma, CNN reported.

The identities of the officers, all from the Lakewood police department, have not been released, CNN said.

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Sen. Lugar says Obama in need of support

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., said Sunday President Barack Obama is in need of public support ahead of his announcement on the war in Afghanistan.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Lugar said Obama's scheduled announcement regarding his approach to the war in Afghanistan comes at a point when the president is in need of improving his support at home and abroad.

"The president is in a moment in which he really has to regain the approval of the American people, as well as people around the world, that we are on the right course," Lugar said regarding Tuesday's speech. "This is why this speech and the plan is so important."

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., told "State" host John King that Obama needs to use Tuesday's speech to clarify the importance of the U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan.

"I think he has to make a speech that shows that all of our efforts are pointed to our reduced presence in Afghanistan. But I think he has to also indicate again and again how critical this is to our national security," Reed said.

"The elements, the al-Qaida elements that attacked us on 9/11 are still on the Afghan/Pakistan border," he added. "We still have to keep up the pressure."

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Report: Blair warned invasion was illegal

LONDON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- A 2002 memo written to then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned him that plans to depose Iraq's Saddam Hussein were illegal, sources say.

Citing unnamed sources, The Mail on Sunday reported that the "smoking gun" memo -- which the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War's beginnings now possesses -- was sent from Attorney General Peter Goldsmith to Blair eight months before the March 2003 invasion and warns him in stark terms the planned move would break international law.

The newspaper said the inquiry members will use the Goldsmith memo to interrogate Blair over his claims at the time that the invasion was legal because Saddam posed an imminent threat to Britain and its allies.

The Sunday Mail said Goldsmith's memo was meant to persuade Blair to call off the invasion, but the prime minister allegedly ignored it. Instead, he issued orders banning the attorney general from attending Cabinet meetings and launched a campaign to cover up its contents, fearing it would spark an anti-war revolt, the newspaper said.

Sources told the newspaper that Goldsmith wanted to resign over the incident but was heavily pressured not to by Blair's allies.

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Little pushback seen on 'don't ask' change

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Greater acceptance of gays and lesbians is blunting opposition to President Barack Obama's efforts to reform U.S. military policy, analysts say.

Surprisingly little pushback from either the top brass or the rank-and-file has emerged against Obama's moves to scrap the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays and lesbians and allow them to serve openly, experts told Sunday's New York Daily News.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told the newspaper that opposition among the service chiefs has been muted.

"They've got their own opinions on this matter, yeah," he said. "But there is no doubt among any of them what the president's marching orders are on this subject."

The Military Times quoted Army Capt. Steven Lacy as saying that letting gays serve openly "could exacerbate stress on teams and small units when you're already at a high stress level," but Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Pfau told the publication that a change "does not bother me whatsoever. As long as they do their job, it does not bother me."

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Accused Smart kidnapper faces hearing

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Lawyers are preparing for a key court hearing for the Utah man accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, legal analysts say.

The Monday hearing in federal court is meant to determine the competency of Brian David Mitchell to stand trial, and comes after his wife, Wanda Barzee, pleaded guilty to helping Mitchell kidnap and sexually assault the 14-year-old Smart in 2002, The Deseret News of Salt Lake City reported.

Elizabeth's father Ed Smart told the newspaper the mental competency hearing -- Mitchell's third since his 2003 arrest but his first in federal court -- is the most important court action so far in his daughter's case.

"I think this is the most important thing," he said. "Wanda (Barzee's plea bargain) was very significant and important. But Mitchell was absolutely at the very center of everything."

"I believe, to date, this is the most important crossroad in the case; I do," U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman told the Deseret News. "Everyone knows what our theory on the case is and our theory on competency. We have to now (convince) the judge our theory is accurate."

Prosecutors contend Mitchell has faked mental illness to avoid a lengthy prison sentence for Smart's abduction.