Pakistan to receive spy drones
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U.S. grants ally’s request, will send unarmed aircraft
ISLAMABAD — The Obama administration has agreed to provide Pakistan with unmanned spy drones, granting a longstanding request as it seeks new ways to persuade a key ally to do more to fight militant groups within its borders.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a visit to Pakistan, stopped short Thursday of providing Islamabad with U.S. Predators, the armed drones used to carry out air strikes inside Pakistan that have been by the government, even as it has requested the technology for its own use.
Instead, Defense Department officials said Washington would provide Pakistan with 12 unarmed Shadow aircraft. While the Shadow drones do not have missile capabilities to strike the targets they observe, they nonetheless represent an advancement in the growing U.S. military relationship with Pakistan.
The step follows efforts by U.S. military officials last year to give Pakistan a feel for the surveillance capabilities of unmanned drones under American supervision.
The question of providing U.S. drone technology is a delicate one for American officials, involving their most successful new military capability in years. While they have shared drone technology with close allies, they have tightly controlled its spread in volatile parts of the world, and had ruled out the possibility of providing Predators to Pakistan in the past.
Gates extended the offer as the Obama administration tries to convince Islamabad to expand a military offensive to extremist groups that most concern U.S. officials.
A top Pakistani military official said it would be six months to a year before the country’s military is able to expand its campaign. But senior Defense officials said Thursday it was clear that Pakistani officials “have the will” to take on the country’s militants, and did not quarrel with the suggested timelines.
— Julian E. Barnes, Tribune Newspapers
Missing: One head of state
LAGOS, Nigeria — Demonstrators demand that President Umaru Yar’Adua hand over power to his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, during a rally Thursday to protest his long absence. Yar’Adua traveled to Saudi Arabia in late November for a medical examination for a heart condition and has yet to return, creating a power vacuum in the nation.
NATION
Kansas abortion doctor slaying trial set to begin
WICHITA, Kan. — Scott Roeder, the man charged with killing a Kansas abortion doctor, will have his fate decided by jurors picked mostly in secret for a trial that has already inflamed both sides of the nation’s abortion debate.
The selection process that ultimately whittled the jury down to eight men and six women took six days and occurred for the most part behind closed doors. Which two jurors are alternates will be decided later.
Opening statements are expected Friday, which is also the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide.
Roeder is accused of fatally shooting Dr. George Tiller on May 31 at a Wichita church. Tiller was one of the few doctors in the U.S. who performed late-term abortions.
Rifles to be modified
WASHINGTON — A Michigan defense contractor will voluntarily stop stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights made for the U.S. military, a major buyer of the company’s gear.
In a statement released Thursday, Trijicon of Wixom, Mich., said it is also providing to the armed forces free of charge modification kits to remove the Scripture citations from telescoping sights already in use. Through multimillion-dollar contracts, the Marine Corps and Army have bought more than 300,000 Trijicon sights.
The references to Bible passages raised concerns that the citations break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are predominantly Muslim countries.
Flight is diverted over object teen used in prayer
PHILADELPHIA — A teenage airplane passenger using a Jewish prayer object caused a misunderstanding that led the captain to divert a Kentucky-bound plane to Philadelphia and prompted a visit from a bomb squad.
A 17-year-old boy on US Airways Express Flight 3079 from New York to Louisville was using tefillin, a set of small boxes containing biblical passages that are attached to leather straps, said Philadelphia police Lt. Frank Vanore.
The teen explained the ritual after being questioned by crew members of the flight, which had left LaGuardia Airport around 7:30 a.m. EST and was operated by Chautauqua Airlines, authorities said.
Officials with the airline, however, said crew members “did not receive a clear response” when they talked with the teen, said a statement issued by the airline.
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“Therefore, in the interest of everyone’s safety, the crew decided to land in Philadelphia, where a more complete investigation and follow-up with authorities would be possible,” the statement said.
Storms trigger warning
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. — Steady rain fell Thursday on saturated Southern California as the fourth Pacific storm in a week triggered dire warnings by authorities that mud flows were likely in foothill communities and residents of endangered homes should leave.
“It’s time to roll, it’s time to evacuate,” said Los Angeles County Public Works Director Gail Farber.
Travel snarls mounted as a major highway was closed by snow and strong winds forced cancellation of dozens of flights.
The siege of storms has led to several deaths statewide.
WORLD
Clinton chides China
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday urged China to investigate cyber intrusions that led Google to threaten to pull out of that country — and challenged Beijing to openly publish its findings.
“Countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of Internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century,” she said. Clinton said the U.S. and China “have different views on this issue, and we intend to address those differences” as part of a cooperative relationship.
She listed China among countries where there has been “a spike in threats to the free flow of information” over the past year.