Medvedev sends envoy to Libyan rebels
MOSCOW, May 27 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Friday dispatched an envoy to Libya who said his goal is to persuade Col. Moammar Gadhafi to relinquish power.
Mikhail V. Margelov, the special envoy to the Middle East and Africa, said his destination is Benghazi, the de facto capital of the Libyan rebels, The New York Times reported. He said he wants to explore the rebels' vision for Libya, post-Gadhafi, and which countries would be willing to give Gadhafi sanctuary.
"We have preserved our embassy in Tripoli, and have preserved contacts with people in Gadhafi's circle, and we are developing our contacts with the Libyan rebels," Margelov said. "This is why I am going there."
The move came a day after the Group of Eight released a communique from its summit in Deauville, France, calling on Gadhafi to step down. Russia had previously opposed the NATO air war in Libya, but Medvedev backed the G8 statement.
Margelov said Russia can play a unique role in North Africa and the Middle East because it has not used military force against any of the governments there.
Obama in Warsaw for more meetings
WARSAW, Poland, May 27 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama touched down in Warsaw, Poland, in Air Force One Friday for more meetings after the Group of Eight summit in France.
Obama was scheduled to have dinner with Central European leaders Friday and meet with those leaders Saturday to discuss Europe in the post-Cold War era, the White House said.
Obama played the leadership role at the G8 summit in Deauville, France, on the "Arab Spring," a senior administration official said Friday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama, in his participation in the summit at Deauville, "set the groundwork for this meeting [that] was really quite substantial."
"The speech that he gave on the Middle East and North Africa, on the Arab Spring, last week, which laid out our approach to democratic and economic reform in the region, as you probably have seen, has been largely echoed in what the G8 is coming out with or will be coming out with in terms of the economic strategy towards the region."
"Arab Spring" refers to widespread protests in the Middle East and North Africa.
Obama's ideas on peace for North Africa and "the issues that he talked about regarding the Middle East peace process were warmly welcomed in this group, often cited by other leaders, and helped give context to the discussion here around those issues," the official said.
Tunisian leaders told the G8 they will need $5 billion a year in aid, part of a five-year plan, the official said. Egyptian leaders said they would need $9 billion to $12 billion over one year, he said.
The U.S. official said French President Nicolas Sarkozy was "impressive" in managing the summit. "He's ... actively managed the discussion in terms of pulling things out of people, pointing out differences where they exist and managing the discussion."
Robert Gates calls Army spending 'vexing'
WASHINGTON, May 27 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the U.S. Army's expenditure of $32 billion on failed weapons programs since 1995 "vexing and disturbing."
The Washington Post reported an Army study not released to the public indicated 22 Army weapons programs were shut down and never built -- some after 20 years of research and development -- building to a cost of $32 billion.
The Army called the efforts "unacceptable;" Defense Secretary Robert Gates went further.
"Since 9/11, a near doubling of the Pentagon's modernization accounts -- more than $700 billion over 10 years in new spending on procurement, research and development -- has resulted in relatively modest gains in actual military capability." That outcome is both "vexing and disturbing," Gates said in an address last week.
Gates said there would be no more "no-questions-asked funding requests," and the services would have to fix up the equipment they have while taking a more deliberate approach to weapon development.
Instead of going with old Cold War muscle and might strategy, the Defense Department and Pentagon leaders are finally questioning whether advanced weapon systems are effective in wars of hearts and minds as in Vietnam and Iraq in which the enemy fought amid a civilian population with basic but deadly weapons, the Post reported.
"It's just time now, with at least one war winding down and another we hope will be winding down and funding definitely coming down, to take a pause, relook where we are and go forward from there in a thoughtful way," said Thomas Hawley, deputy undersecretary of the Army.
U.S. gives Pakistan a 'most wanted' list
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 27 (UPI) -- As Hillary Clinton visited Islamabad Friday, the United States gave Pakistan a list of terrorist leaders it wants captured, officials said.
At the top is Osama bin Laden's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, along with Siraj Haqqani of the Haqqani network, Ilyas Kashmiri, the head of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and suspected al-Qaida leader, and Atiya Abdel Rahman, al-Qaida operations chief, ABC News reported, citing unnamed officials from both governments.
Secretary of State Clinton said she expects Pakistan to authorize "joint action against al-Qaida and its affiliates, There is still much more work required, and it is urgent."
Clinton, joined by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in a conspicuously chilly session, The New York Times reported. No joint statement followed.
Clinton later addressed the staff of the U.S. Embassy, with no Pakistanis present, and said, "We spoke very honestly and openly."
She said the Pakistanis had agreed on "some very specific actions" but did not elaborate. She also repeated that there was no evidence the Pakistani leadership knew bin Laden was hiding for years in Abbottobad, near the capital.
Pakistan has been hit by violence since the U.S. killing of bin Laden May 2. The Pakistani Taliban, linked to al-Qaida, have vowed to avenge bin Laden's death.
Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported the Pakistanis, troubled by unilateral U.S. strikes against militant hideouts inside their country, would urge Washington not to undertake missions they see as a humiliation.
Pakistan returned the U.S. helicopter wrecked in the May 2 raid to the United States.
The United States has begun withdrawing some of its troops involved in training the Pakistan military.
