SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010


KLMNO


K


S


The World N. Korea warns of nuclear response to U.S.-S. Korea exercises


Pyongyang calls military drills a threat to its sovereignty, security


by Karen DeYoung


hanoi — North Korea raised the stakes in its face-off with the United States and South Korea on Saturday, threatening to use nu- clear weapons if Washington and Seoul go ahead with military ex- ercises planned for regional wa- ters this summer. As a U.S. aircraft carrier ar- rived in South Korea for the air and sea maneuvers, the North told participants in an Asian re- gional security conference in Ha- noi that the move was a threat to its sovereignty and security. “This is not defensive training,”


North Korean spokesman Ri Tong Il told reporters. Hours later, North Korea’s


powerful National Defense Com- mission said that “the DPRK will legitimately counter [the drills] with their powerful nuclear de- terrence,” its state-run news agency reported. North Korea has conducted


two nuclear tests within the past four years and has repeatedly said it will not abandon its nu- clear weapons program, despite international efforts. The exercises were planned in response to the torpedo sinking in March of the South Korean na- val ship Cheonan, in which 46 sailors died. An international in- vestigation said North Korea was to blame. Pyongyang has denied responsibility. After Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told partici- pants in the forum here that “an isolated and belligerent North Korea has embarked on a cam- paign of provocative, dangerous


Mosul facing ethnic divides, insurgency


mosul from A1


Of particular concern are the Sunni insurgent groups that ex- ploit a Kurd-Arab dispute over land. As other bastions of the Sunni insurgency calmed in re- cent years, Nineveh never truly quieted. Odierno told reporters last week that although U.S. and Iraqi forces have had success kill- ing and detaining al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders within Mosul, the group remains active in the ad- jacent deserts. Over the first six months of the


year, 422 people in Nineveh died as a result of violence, according to provincial morgue statistics. More than 1,100 were wounded. The death toll in the province is more than three times that of An- bar province, once the heart of the Sunni insurgency. The security forces here are widely considered to be part of the problem. The police are be- lieved to be infiltrated by in- surgent groups, and one of the main Iraqi army commanders for the area, Nasser al-Hiti, is known for harsh tactics, Odierno said. Hiti was unpopular with U.S. commanders in Abu Ghraib, where he previously worked. But he has long been praised by the defense ministry and is seen as a favorite of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Calls to the de- fense ministry were not returned. Two Iraqi army divisions, a fed-


eral police division and local po- lice operate within the city be- cause no one force can control it alone. There is little communica- tion between the forces, Iraqi offi- cials said. “The problem is the citizens


don’t cooperate totally to give us information,” Nineveh Gov. Ath- eel al-Nujaifi said. “The trust is still weak between the security forces and the people. We have five to six intelligence groups op- erating here. Each agency is relat- ed to a specific party in Baghdad. There is no trust between these agencies. Sometimes that results in a struggle.” Kurds dislike Nujaifi, an Arab


nationalist, because he is seen as anti-Kurdish. But he said he thinks he should have more con- trol over security in the province. He cannot travel in Kurdish-con- trolled areas and has no authority over federal forces that report to Baghdad. He and his legal adviser say the Iraqi army arrests hun- dreds of people and does not al- low them access to lawyers. Col. Charles Sexton, a brigade commander in Mosul, character- ized the friction among Iraqi se- curity force units as a “healthy disagreement.” The U.S. military hopes the 23 checkpoints along the boundary line of the disputed territory claimed by both Arabs


eral diplomatic solution to the question — an approach Hanoi has been seeking for years. China, which claims most of the sea as its territory, has demanded all disputes be settled bilaterally. “We oppose the use or threat of force by any claimant,” Clinton said in prepared remarks. She lat- er called the conversation “very productive.” Vietnam and the United States were not alone in confronting China on this issue. At least 10 other participants in the meeting raised concerns about maritime security issues, including the sen- sitive territorial claims in the South China Sea. Beijing, meanwhile, opposed


any effort to “internationalize” the issue. Clinton has made four stops on her week-long Asian trip, all marking U.S. overseas conflicts. In South Korea, she and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates marked the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean conflict with a pledge of nearly unlimited support. She was warmly re- ceived in Vietnam, where her vis- it marked the 15th anniversary of the normalization of relations. The war in Afghanistan, where she stopped for a day after visit- ing Pakistan, has now become the longest in U.S. history. deyoungk@washpost.com


PAUL J. RICHARDS/ASSOCIATED PRESS Hillary Clinton attended a repatriation ceremony for three unidentified American servicemen recently discovered in Vietnam.


behavior,” according to prepared remarks, Ri left the meeting to read a statement. He said the North’s “position is clear: There will be a physical response to the threat imposed by the United States military.” U.S. officials said afterward


that North Korean acts of aggres- sion usually come in a series and that they expected further provo-


cation. The Obama administration also announced this week a toughening of its economic sanc- tions against the North. “Peaceful resolution of the is- sues on the Korean Peninsula will be possible only if North Korea fundamentally changes its behav- ior,” Clinton said. Clinton’s visit to Asia this week


was her fifth as secretary of state as the Obama administration seeks to improve its standing in the region. The U.S. and South Korean del-


egations urged the 27-nation Asian Regional Forum to adopt a strong statement condemning the North, but officials from sev- eral delegations said that was un- likely. An earlier U.N. Security


Council statement was watered down after China said it would withhold its vote. Clinton also used the confer- ence to buttress Vietnam’s posi- tion in a dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea, declaring a peaceful resolution of the issue to be in the “national interest” of the United States.


She also lobbied for a multilat- McChrystal’s wistful farewell to arms


General’s retirement ceremony marked by laughter and regret


by Greg Jaffe Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s


farewell to the Army began Fri- day evening with a confession. “This has the potential to be an


awkward, even sad, occasion,” he said.


WARRICK PAGE/GETTY IMAGES


An Iraqi soldier gives water to detainees after returning to his base in Mosul. Iraqi security forces face deep distrust from the populace.


TURKEY


NINEVEH SYRIA


JOR. 0 MILES IRAQ i T s


SAUDI ARABIA


150 KUWAIT


Persian Gulf


LARIS KARKLIS/THE WASHINGTON POST


and Kurds — 12 in Nineveh alone — will close the security gap that allows insurgent groups to oper- ate, said Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, who commands U.S. forces in the north. The checkpoints are manned by a combination of U.S., Iraqi and Kurdish forces. Both the province and Mosul are majority Sunni Arab, with a large Kurdish population as well as other minority communities. The United States has focused its efforts on defusing tensions as it draws down and on training the police to the point where they can take charge of Mosul’s security. The political uncertainty that


grips Iraq hasn’t helped. It has been four months since the na- tional election, but there is still no government in Iraq because rival factions are deadlocked. Whoever ultimately takes charge will in- herit the challenge of handling the disputed territories. Kurds want to annex what they see as Kurdish lands into their semi-autonomous region; Arabs want to keep the land under cen- tral government control. The area is often called the “trigger line” because of its potential to turn vi- olent quickly. Ghazi Mohammed sees the vio- lence regularly in the forensic medical center where he works. There are violent-death cases ev- ery day. He also examines court- referred allegations of torture by security forces, five to six a week. About 80 percent of those people have evidence of beatings and burn marks, he said. “There are checkpoints every- where, and the killings continue,” Mohammed said in his office. On the wall behind him, charts track the ebb and flow of death in the province. Before the elections, as- sassinations rose. They then


Mosul


Kurdistan Regional


Kurdi Government Baghdad IRAN


dropped off, and now he sees them rising again. “It’s a political issue,” he said.


“It’s more than just insurgents and resistance.” Mohammed has begged for a


transfer so he no longer has to en- dure threats from security forces and from the relatives of dead in- surgents, he said. He has applied for asylum in five Western coun- tries; every attempt has failed. “There is no trust, and the city is unstable,” he said. “The security forces create enemies from inside the city every day.” In Mosul’s western district of al-Borsa, police dodge grenades, gunfire from narrow alleyways and roadside bombs. Lt. Col. Sha- mel Ahmed Ugla patrolled the area with his men earlier this month. Police have become the biggest targets of Sunni insur- gents in the province, but it’s hard to tell who is a threat. “They try to attack us every minute, but we are always chas- ing them,” he said. “Mosul gave many sacrifices. It is tired now. It is sad.” He has arrested scores of peo- ple since he took over the area, but he complains that they often end up back in the streets. “The judicial system takes the side of the terrorists,” he said. “It’s a revolving door. Some police- man’s blood boils because he lost his cousin or brother or friend. He might hit [the detainee] in the face or with a stick, and the ter- rorist goes to the judge and says he was beaten.” That morning, his officers had arrested a man they thought was informing insurgent groups of po- lice movement. In the man’s store, the police said they found a clock with a list of insurgents’ names, a list of potential victims and a bag of bullets hidden inside. As Ugla patrolled the streets,


the detainee was beaten with a stick by police officers back at the base. The detainee admitted to the police that he had been paid about $100 a month to help al- Qaeda in Iraq. Later, Ugla denied that the man was beaten.


“If he was beaten, to hell with


him,” he yelled. “Stop asking these questions.”


fadell@washpost.com LINDA DAVIDSON/THE WASHINGTON POST


Col. David Anders, left, accompanies Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal on a review of the troops. A magazine article forced an unfortunate end to the general’s career.


A month earlier, McChrystal resigned from his command in Afghanistan after a Rolling Stone magazine article quoted him and his aides making derogatory re- marks about senior Obama ad- ministration officials. The sunset ceremony, held at Fort McNair on the Anacostia River, marked McChrystal’s retirement from the military after 34 years. “With my resignation, I . . . left


unfulfilled commitments I made to many comrades in the fight, commitments I hold sacred,” McChrystal said. “My service did not end as I would have wished.” The general used his goodbye to thank Defense Secretary Rob- ert M. Gates and President Oba- ma, who forced him to leave the military and his command in Af- ghanistan. With those brief re- marks, McChrystal seemed to go out of his way to reaffirm the principle of civilian control over the military. Mostly, though, McChrystal’s speech — which was disarmingly funny, personal and often wistful — poked fun at himself, paid homage to the troops who fought for him and offered thanks to his wife. He began with a warning to the audience not to contradict his ro- manticized memories. “I have stories on all of you, photos on many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter,” he said, drawing guf- faws from the audience of about 300.


In the past, McChrystal has of-


ten expressed unease with the pomp and circumstance of the in- stitutional Army, and he tried to avoid a big parade-ground send- off in favor of something quieter and low-key.


Since his forced resignation, he has spent little time in Washing- ton. Instead he visited his ailing father in Tennessee and helped his son move. On the morning of his retirement, in one of his last acts as a general, he oversaw the promotion of an officer who had served under him in the Ranger regiment. In recent weeks, several of


McChrystal’s fellow officers and close aides pressed him to recon- sider his objections to a big mili- tary ceremony. Somewhat grudg- ingly, McChrystal relented. On the Fort McNair parade ground, the general, who often seems most comfortable on aus- tere battlefields, was surrounded by drum majors, ceremonial can- nons, battle streamers, a march- ing band and a platoon’s worth of generals, admirals and Washing- ton dignitaries. The general was able to extract one concession from the Army. In a departure from tradition, the troops in attendance wore battle- field camouflage instead of more formal uniforms. Gates, who pre- sided over the ceremony, praised McChrystal as “one of America’s greatest warriors.” “We say goodbye to Stan


McChrystal with pride and sad- ness,” the defense secretary said. “No single American has inflicted more fear or more loss of life on our country’s most vicious and vi- olent enemies.” McChrystal will be remem- bered inside the military for the secret effort he led in Iraq to de- stroy the network of al-Qaeda- affiliated Islamic extremists, which were driving the insurgen- cy in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. “Stan has done more to carry the fight to al-Qaeda than anyone else in


the Defense Department and probably the nation,” said Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff. The evening, however, was


dominated by McChrystal’s ad- dress, which closed a career that began when his father commis- sioned him as an infantry second lieutenant. McChrystal made fun of his


legendary work ethic, noting that he had exercised his prerogative as a general to issue guidance to his family after his return from Afghanistan. “It is reasonable guidance: one meal a day and early morning PT [physical train- ing],” he said. “The basics of a good family life.” He joked that his wife was fomenting her own, one-woman insurgency. Much of McChrystal’s address was wistful. McChrystal, speaking to an au- dience full of Special Forces sol- diers, Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, offered thanks to the war- riors who had served under him. “Some of you are deployed and in the fight,” he said. “Others rest across the river in Arlington. Most of the credit I have received actually belongs to you.” Under McChrystal’s leadership in Afghanistan, U.S. and NATO forces dramatically cut the num- ber of civilian casualties. His command in Afghanistan also drew praise from embattled Af- ghan President Hamid Karzai. But McChrystal left Afghani- stan as fatalities among U.S. and NATO troops, who were execut- ing his new counterinsurgency strategy, were rising to record highs. He also struggled with the demands of running a huge mili- tary organization that had to fo- cus on reconstruction, diplomacy and Afghan tribal politics. The success of the U.S. campaign re- mains very much in doubt, ahead of a review of the Obama admin- istration’s strategy that will begin in December. Accustomed to working with little public scrutiny, McChrystal often had a difficult time ex- plaining his strategy in Afghanistan to an increasingly skeptical public back home. He closed by urging his fellow officers to be- lieve that success in today’s wars is pos- sible.


“Caution and cyn- icism are safe, but sol- diers don’t want to follow cautious cyn- ics,” he said, his voice catching briefly. “They follow leaders who believe enough to risk failure and dis- appointment for a worthy cause.” jaffeg@washpost.com


Correspondent Chico Harlan in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and staff writer John Pomfret in Washington contributed to this report.


on washingtonpost.com N. Korea protests drill


A North Korean diplomat responds strongly to the


perceived threats. washingtonpost.com/world


A7


E


u


p


h


r


a


t


e


r g i s


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76