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Suspected cop killer shot, killed

LAKEWOOD, Wash., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The suspect in the deaths of four Lakewood, Wash., police officers was killed Tuesday by a Seattle police officer checking on a stolen car, officials said.

Maurice Clemmons was shot and killed by the officer as Pierce County, Wash., sheriff's detectives took into custody a man suspected of being the getaway driver in Sunday's slayings, The Seattle Times reported.

Investigators also booked four people on suspicion of providing help to Clemmons, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. More arrests are expected.

Clemmons, armed with a handgun taken from one of the officers he is accused of killing in Sunday's coffee shop slayings, was shot during a confrontation on a street with a patrol officer, officials said.

Seattle police said the officer, a seven-year veteran, was on patrol when he saw a car with the hood up and the engine running. A check of the vehicle's plates showed the car was stolen, Seattle Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said.

While the officer sat in his patrol car completing paperwork on the stolen car, he saw a man approaching from behind, recognized him as matching Clemmons's description and got out of his vehicle, Pugel said.

"He ordered the person to stop. He ordered the person to show his hands; that person would not show his hands, and also began to run away counterclockwise around the vehicle," Pugel said.

The officer told the man to stop again but the man didn't comply, Pugel said. The officer then fired several shots at Clemmons, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Killed Sunday were Sgt. Mark Renninger, and officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards. Police have not offered a motive.

Obama to reveal revised Afghan strategy

WEST POINT, N.Y., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The American people learn of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan Tuesday when President Barack Obama lays out his military and civilian plans for the country.

Obama was to address the nation at 8 p.m., Eastern time, Tuesday from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Media reports conflict about the number of additional troops Obama will send to Afghanistan, but they generally range from 30,000 to 34,000. He gave the green light to military leaders Sunday to implement the plan.

The revised strategy for Afghanistan is expected to focus new resources on training Afghan security forces and bolstering the central government.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Monday Obama also would discuss how he intends to pay for the plan -- of concern to his Democratic base -- and would make plain he has a time frame for winding down U.S. involvement in the eight-year war, The New York Times reported.

"This is not an open-ended commitment," Gibbs said.

Before leaving the White House for the military academy, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were to meet with congressional leaders of both parties to discuss the administration's strategy in Afghanistan, the White House said. He spent Monday telephoning his foreign counterparts, including leaders of Britain, France and Russia, reviewing the policy and seeking commitments.

Richard Holbrooke, special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was dispatched to Brussels to begin briefing NATO and European allies about the policy. Joining him later this week will be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan who made the request for additional troops.

Pentagon studied personnel radicalization

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A 2005 report to the Pentagon dealt with spotting U.S. service members who may have been "radicalized" by outside influences, USA Today reported Tuesday.

The newspaper said it had obtained the report, written by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center in Monterey, Calif., which was meant to prevent the type of incident that may have happened last month at Foot Hood, Texas, where an Army psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people in a shooting spree.

Investigators are investigating e-mail links between Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is charged with the 13 slayings, and a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen to determine what, if any, influence the cleric may have had on him.

Defense officials wouldn't tell the newspaper if they had implemented any of the report's recommendations, which reportedly included using a combination of behavioral and psychological profiling to spot insiders who pose threats and to regulate how military personnel communicate online with extremist groups.

But Amotz Brandes, an official with a consulting firm that advises the Pentagon on internal security procedures, told USA Today such a program might have identified Hasan as a risk.

Iran threatens yachtsmen with punishment

TEHRAN, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Five British sailors held by Iran in the Persian Gulf could face harsh punishment if they're found to have acted with "evil intentions," officials said.

The men were detained by Iranian naval vessels last week after their racing yacht, the Kingdom of Bahrain, was boarded while traveling from Bahrain to United Arab Emirates to participate in a race, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

"These are five civilians. They are yachtsmen. They were going about their sport," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said. "It seems they may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters. We look forward to the Iranian government dealing with this promptly."

However, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie, chief of staff for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told Iran's semi-official Fars news agency the five sailors could face legal action.

"(The) judiciary will decide about the five," he said, "Naturally our measures will be hard and serious if we find out they had evil intentions."

The men's families said they were concerned that Iran may be using the detentions as a political bargaining chip in Iran's long-standing face-off with Western countries over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, The Times said.

The 60-foot yacht was sailing from Bahrain to Dubai when it was commandeered Wednesday by the Iranian patrol.

Int'l Court of Justice hears Kosovo case

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The International Court of Justice Tuesday began hearings in The Hague on the legality of Kosovo's February declaration of independence from Serbia.

The court is set to consider arguments from Serbia and its allies the Albanian-led provisional leadership of Kosovo broke international law by issuing a unilateral independence declaration in peacetime, Euronews.net reported.

Analysts told the Web site the ICJ's decision, which is not expected for months, could determine whether the broader international community recognizes Kosovo as an independent nation. Some 63 countries, including the United States and 22 out of the 27 EU member states, have so far recognized Kosovo's independence, but 120,000 ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, Serbia itself and its ally Russia have not.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic planned to attend the proceedings, the Serbian news Web site B92 reported. It said Argentine, British and German experts on international law would also speak on behalf of Belgrade's case.