ABCDE Mostly sunny 88/66 • Sunny 90/68 • details, b6 SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010


SAYS SITUATION NOT DIRE YET


Seeks to give clarity after mixed signals


BY NEIL IRWIN PHOTOS BY MAX BECHERER 1st Lt.MikeMakrucki briefs members of Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment before an escort mission. Left to ‘follow through’ in Iraq


Operation New Dawn, no relief from danger


For soldiers in BY LEILA FADEL


forward operating base warhorse, iraq — Col. Mal- colm Frost knew there would be questions. The official end to the U.S. combat mission in Iraq was approaching, but his soldiers, operating in two of Iraq’s most dangerous provinces, would still be here. He sat down and penned a


letter to the soldiers’ families. “01 Sept. 2010 does not mean a light switched on or off in Iraq,” the brigade commander wrote. “. . .


troops leave base less often. But Americans still die in Iraq, and the fight for stability is far from over. Iraq remains a battleground,


American soldiers say, even if they are no longer kicking down Iraqi doors. Instead of carrying out com-


Spec. Joshua Johnson, left, and Pfc. Jose Gamboa prepare for the day’s escort mission. “Pray for the best,” Johnson says.


The weight of responsibility upon our shoulders is great, be- cause we must follow through to the very finish.” For the soldiers in Frost’s bri-


gade, Sept. 1 will mark an arbi- trary milestone. There are fewer troops here, just under 50,000 now, consistent with an Obama administration pledge, and the


A painful end to Strasburg’s debut


Nationals rookie pitcher couldmiss 12-18months with a torn ligament


BY DAVE SHEININ For months, anyone who


would peer into Stephen Stras- burg’s future, wondering aloud what heights theWashingtonNa- tionals’ phenom might reach, what pitching records he might break, would use the same cau- tious qualifier: Strasburg, they would say, could be one of the


all-time greats . . . could be a Hall-of-Famer . . . could win 300 games . . . if he stays healthy. But he did not stay healthy.


Strasburg, the same pitcher who was a vision of youthful vitality andathletic genius in the first few glimpses of him on the Nationals Park mound this summer, will have his right elbow sliced open by a surgeon’s knife in the next few days. He won’t pitch again in 2010. He is unlikely to pitch in


l MikeWise and Thomas Boswell react


2011. He may still do all the things


that were predicted for him. He may still be the one who fills the stadium, lifts the woeful Nation- als franchise to prominence, puts Washington in the World Series. But that vision just got a little fainter. Strasburg, 22, has had a torn


ulnar collateral ligament diag- nosed. He will leave Saturday for Southern California, where he will be seen a day or two later by noted orthopedist Lewis Yocum, who is expected to perform the


to Strasburg’s injury. D1 strasburg continued on A5


Cannabis capitalists speak with conviction Despite some shady pasts, they’re still eyeing D.C. medical marijuana licenses


BY DEREK KRAVITZ T


he District is writing strict new rules to regulate its nascent medical marijuana


industry, but some of the entre- preneurs best positioned to lead the way have blemished back- grounds—including drugconvic- tionsatoddswith the city’s vision. Among the District’s 300 pro-


posed rules is a requirement that operators would need to be “of


good character”: No felony con- victions or misdemeanor drug convictions allowed. “Historically, the people who


have dealt with marijuana have, unsurprisingly, come from a non- compliant background, you might say,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the Wash- ington-based National Organiza- tion for the Reform ofMarijuana Laws. “They have a compulsion to not follow the law. So these rules might be viewed as just another


bump in the road or a minor impediment for these guys.” Businessmen such as Stephen


DeAngelo, a ponytailedWashing- ton native who runs one of the largest legal pot dispensaries in the world, say they just want to use their expertise “to help any waywecan.” DeAngelo has a drug conviction in Virginia from the 1970s and was arrested on drug charges in Montgomery County


pot continued on A9 JACQUELYN MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS


Glenn Beck, right, waves to supporters at the LincolnMemorial, site of Saturday’s rally.


MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES


Walter Fauntroy, left, and Al Sharpton discuss an event to commemorate the 1963 march.


Grappling overmeaning of the dream 6


Beck’s rally rekindles debate over legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.


BY KRISSAH THOMPSON In the collective memory of


many Americans, the Rev.Martin Luther King Jr.’s life is frozen in time in a single moment 47 years ago on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. People of all political ideolo-


gies say they draw inspiration from the “dream” he described that day—that children might be judged not “by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The rally that conservative


INSIDE


REALESTATE 1 Do vacation homes pay?


CHILE Worldwide rescue effort


Attempt to save 33 miners enters its fourth week, and even NASA is trying to help. A6


BUSINESS NEWS..............A10 STOCKS............................A12 CLASSIFIEDS......................F1


That condo on the beach may be a lot of fun, but the days of paying off your mortgage with rental income may be gone for good. Section E


EDITORIALS/LETTERS......A11 COMICS.............................C6 CELEBRITOLOGY................C3


LOTTERIES.........................B4 OBITUARIES.......................B5 MOVIES..............................C5


SPORTS.............................D1 TELEVISION.......................C8 WORLD NEWS....................A6


NFLPRESEASON 1 Redskins


find their focus Playing without their star quarterback, Donovan McNabb, Washington rallies late in the game behind running back Larry Johnson, right, and third-string quarterback Richard Bartel to beat New York, 16-11. They are now 2-1 in preseason play. D1


Printed using recycled fiber


DAILY CODE Details, B2


8 7 6 5


SPORTS Mystics go home early


Washington’s record-breaking regular season ends with a whimper again in the postseason after Atlanta ousts them in two straight games. D1


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The Washington Post Year 133, No. 266


CONTENT © 2010 on washingtonpost.com


Stay updated throughout the day on both rallies


happening on the Mall. Photos: See the events from all angles, and upload your own images from the events. Video: View live streaming video of both rallies as well as wrap-up of the day’s events. Traffic: Figure out how to get there or get around the rallies at washingtonpost.com/drgridlock Inside: Map of the closings. A4


commentator Glenn Beck is hold- ing on those same steps Saturday, the anniversary of the speech, has reignited long-simmering de- bates over what King stood for and who the rightful heirs to his


legacy are. Beck, who says King’s message


has been distorted, has described the rally, in part, as an opportuni- ty to “pick up Martin Luther King’s dream” and to “restore it and to finish it.” Beck’s critics accuse him of hijacking the “dream” for partisan political gain.


According to historians, the


invocation of King by admirers across the political spectrum—in good faith and sometimes not — began almost as soon as he died five years after the 1963March on Washington for Jobs and Free- dom. His funeral in Atlanta was at-


tended by people who had not supported his cause but wanted


rallies continued on A4


bat missions, Frost’s unit has been designated an “advise and assist” brigade, like five other American brigades left behind in Iraq. Its task is to train Iraqi security forces, gather intelli- gence, assist Iraq’s fledgling air force, and, ultimately, close up shop and go home. The lower- profile approach under Opera- tion New Dawn is the latest step in a transition that began more


iraq continued on A7


jackson, wyo.—With the econ- omy faltering, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Friday he was prepared to take dramatic steps to boost the recov- ery but only if conditions get worse than he now expects. In much-anticipated remarks, Bernanke sought to clarify the actions the Fed might take and whatwouldtriggerthem—andto dispel the confusion that has re- sulted during his recent public silence, as other top Fed policy- makers have aired dissonant views amid conflicting economic signs. Newgovernment data released


just before his speech at an eco- nomic symposium in Jackson Hole underscored how much eco- nomic momentum the nation has lost. Gross domestic product rose at only a 1.6 percent pace in the April-through-June quarter, the Commerce Department said, down from an preliminary esti- mate of 2.4 percent. The reaction to Bernanke’s re-


marks, both in financial markets and among economists who fol- low the Fed, was largely positive. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 1.66 percent for the day. Analysts said theynowhave a clearer sense of the direction of Fed policy, even though Bernanke stopped short of making any de- finitive promises of what is to come. “He was completely clear and his body language emphatic, that


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Bernanke pledges dramatic steps if economy worsens


Panel’s message: Make tax time easier


Report by Obama economic advisers urges lawmakers to simplify the U.S. tax code. A8


Runway cleared for world’s biggest airline


Justice Department approves planned merger of United and Continental. A8


they are willing to take more steps if the economic data justify it,” said Allen Sinai, chief econo- mist of Decision Economics, who attended the annual economic symposium sponsored by the Kansas City Fed. Instead of pledging any partic-


ular policy course, Bernanke spelled out the options the Fed has should it look as if the recov- ery is petering out or a dangerous cycle of falling prices is taking hold. He said he does not expect either scenario. With its target for short-term


interest rates near zero, the Fed can no longer use its favorite tool to stimulate the recovery. That leaves policy in the realm of un- conventional and untested alter- natives. For example, the Fed could buy hundreds of billions of dollars in Treasury bonds and other securi- ties, aiming to lower long-term interest rates and keep a cycle of falling prices known as deflation from taking hold. Other options include cutting


the interest rate the Fed pays on reserves banks hold there and pledging to keep short-term rates very low for even longer than the Fed has already signaled. But the exact impact of that


andother remaining tools theFed economy continued on A10


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