http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/pentagon-450m-guantanamo-prison-19228553

Pentagon wants $450M for Guantanamo prison


New details on the administration's budget request emerged on Tuesday and underscored the contradiction of the president waging a political fight to shutter the facility while the military calculates the financial requirements to keep the installation operating.

The budget request for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 calls for $79 million for detention operations, the same as the current year, and $20.5 million for the office of military commissions, an increase over the current amount of $12.6 million. The request also includes $40 million for a fiber optic cable and $99 million for operation and maintenance.

The Pentagon also wants $200 million for military construction to upgrade temporary facilities. That work could take eight to 10 years as the military has to transport workers to the island, rely on limited housing and fly in building material.

The facility at the U.S. naval base in Cuba currently holds 166 prisoners, and hunger strikes by 100 of them over their indefinite detention and prison conditions prompted Obama to renew his effort to close Guantanamo. The president is expected to discuss the future of the facility in a speech on counterterrorism on Thursday.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/05/21/191854/delay-in-mine-project-shadows.html



Animal bones recovered from the ancient ruins on the Aynak mine site have been dyed green by copper leaching into them from the surrounding soil and rock. The Afghan copper mine is one of the richest in the world.

Delay in mine project shadows hopes for Afghan economy
By Jay Price | McClatchy Foreign Staff
Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2013



KABUL, Afghanistan — The giant copper mine that the Afghan government has made the centerpiece of its plans for building an economy nearly from scratch is at least five years behind schedule and the state-owned Chinese company that won the bidding has missed key deadlines in its still-secret contract with the Afghan government and is trying to renegotiate the deal, according to several officials and observers inside and outside the Mining Ministry.

The Mes Aynak mine in Logar province, about 25 miles south of Kabul, was celebrated as the biggest investment in Afghan history when it was announced in 2007. China Metallurgical Group Corp., a Beijing-based conglomerate, signed a deal valued at about $3 billion for 30-year rights to mine the site, which is thought to contain the second-richest unexploited copper deposit in the world, an amount equal to more than one-third of the copper reserves in all of China.

China Metallurgical Group was supposed to begin mining this year, but it’s done hardly any of the preliminary work required, including basic planning and a major feasibility study that’s now overdue, said several people familiar with the contract, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate politics surrounding the mine.

With the construction of required infrastructure awaiting the approval of those studies and other paperwork, mining is at least five years in the future, and probably much farther off, mining experts say.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/north_carolina/ap_north_carolina/US-Army-general-facing-sex-charges-back-in-court_83712175




US Army general facing sex charges back in court
Updated: Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 3:25 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 3:25 AM EDT

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Prosecutors have agreed to drop an alcohol-related charge against a U.S. Army general accused of sexual misconduct.

The alcohol possession charge against Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair was dropped during a hearing before a military judge on Tuesday. Sinclair and other staff had received bottles of scotch as gifts for Thanksgiving, and the charge stemmed from the unopened bottle of liquor found in his private quarters.

Defense attorneys also are trying to have a charge of pornography possession dismissed. They say others had access to the computer where the pornography was found, and that the charge violates Sinclair's First Amendment rights.

A court martial for Sinclair is scheduled to begin June 25 on charges that include forcible sodomy, indecent acts, violating orders and adultery. The married father of two faces life in prison. He has thus far deferred entering a plea

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/army-general-suspended-of-command-for-adultery-investigation/

Army General Suspended of Command for Adultery Investigation
Luis Martinez
May 21, 2013 7:01pm

WASHINGTON — The Army has suspended the one-star commanding general at Fort Jackson, S.C., for alleged misconduct involving adultery and an unspecified physical altercation.

~snip~

Another Army one-star general is currently on trial for adultery at Fort Bragg, N.C. Last year Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair was serving in Afghanistan as a deputy commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division when he was accused of engaging in adultery and sexual assault. Sinclair faces life in prison if convicted on the sexual assault charge.

Over the past two weeks, sexual assault in the military became a hot-button issue in Washington after two sexual assault prevention officers found themselves involved in incidents of sexual assault.

Two weeks ago the Air Force lieutenant colonel who ran the Air Force’s office of sexual assault and prevention was arrested for allegedly groping a woman, and last week an Army sergeant who served as a sexual assault prevention coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas, was removed from his post while he was investigated for alleged sexual assault.

http://www.juancole.com/2013/05/scandal-brothers-exposed.html

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130520/exxon-no-plans-yet-reopen-ruptured-pipeline-and-no-answers-why



The company has yet to release results of a sophisticated test of the 65-year-old pipeline's interior, conducted in February.

Exxon: No Plans Yet To Reopen Ruptured Pipeline, and No Answers Why
By David Hasemyer
May 20, 2013

Almost two months after a ruptured pipeline sent at least 210,000 gallons of oil flowing through a neighborhood in Mayflower, Ark., the line's owner—oil giant ExxonMobil—remains largely silent on the future of its failed pipeline.

Most of the visible oil has been removed from the neighborhood and the ruptured section of pipe has been replaced and reburied. Yet Exxon hasn't asked the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for permission to restart the 850-mile Pegasus line, which runs across four states from Patoka, Ill. to Nederland, Texas.

~snip~

"This pipeline will not be restarted until we are convinced it is safe to do so," said Aaron Stryk. "We need to identify the cause of the incident and the mitigation steps necessary to prevent an incident like this from occurring again."

Some industry analysts say there could also be other reasons for the delay. The 65-year-old Pegasus line could be riddled with defects and require extensive repairs. Or perhaps Exxon is considering other alternatives, including replacing the Pegasus with a larger line.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/21/us-usa-drones-idUSBRE94K03720130521

Pentagon to take over some CIA drone operations : sources
By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON | Mon May 20, 2013 9:35pm EDT

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration has decided to give the Pentagon control of some drone operations against terrorism suspects overseas that are currently run by the CIA, several U.S. government sources said on Monday.

Obama has pledged more transparency on controversial counterterrorism programs, and giving the Pentagon the responsibility for part of the drone program could open it to greater congressional oversight.

Obama will make a speech on Thursday at the National Defense University in Washington that will include discussion of the government's use of drones as a counterterrorism tool. It is unclear whether he will announce the drone program shift in that speech or separately.

Four U.S. government sources told Reuters that the decision had been made to shift the CIA's drone operations to the Pentagon, and some of them said it would occur in stages.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-peace-lost-in-transition-worries/2013/05/20/8af1780c-c09b-11e2-9aa6-fc21ae807a8a_story.html



An Afghan Army soldier is seen through the wreckage of a destroyed car after a suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 16, 2013.

Afghan peace lost in transition worries
By Pamela Constable, Published: May 20

KABUL — Amid the scattered but steadily mounting carnage of the Taliban’s annual spring offensive, including a suicide bombing Monday that killed a provincial council head, hopes of stirring life into peace talks with the Islamist insurgents seem to be dying here with each new suicide attack, kidnapping and roadside bombing.

Even as this fragile nation of about 30 million holds its breath, fearing catastrophe could follow the presidential election and NATO troop pullout next year, both the Afghan government and its armed opponents seem to think that time is on their side. A once-acute feeling of urgency to end the war seems to have been overtaken by uneasy, tenuous maneuvering in a vast political fog.

~snip~

Several other factors have contributed to deepening pessimism about prospects for peace. Most dramatic is a renewed surge in Taliban violence this spring, which has left hundreds of Afghan police officers, soldiers and civilians dead, along with 57 coalition troops, from March to May. The southern-based insurgents have staged small attacks and bombings across hundreds of miles and more than a dozen provinces.

In the latest attack, a suicide bombing killed 14 people Monday, including the provincial council head of Baghlan, a relatively peaceful and secure province in the northeast. The attacker approached the official, a known anti-Taliban figure, as he talked with a group outside his office in the city of Pul-i-Khumri. The Taliban swiftly asserted responsibility for the bombing.

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/05/21/1258164?sac=fo.military

VA numbers show staggering effects of sexual abuse in military
By Kevin Freking
The Associated Press
Published: 12:40 AM, Tue May 21, 2013

WASHINGTON - New government figures underscore the staggering long-term consequences of military sexual assaults: More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness linked to the abuse, and 4,000 sought disability benefits

The Department of Veterans Affairs' accounting, released in response to inquiries from The Associated Press, shows a heavy financial and emotional cost that affects several generations of veterans and lasts long after a victim leaves the service. Sexual assault or repeated sexual harassment can trigger a variety of health problems, primarily post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. While women are more likely to be victims, men made up nearly 40 percent of the patients the VA treated for conditions connected to what it calls "military sexual trauma."

~snip~

But not all those veterans seek health care or disability benefits related to the attacks. The 85,000 who sought outpatient care linked to military sexual trauma during the latest fiscal year are among nearly 22 million veterans around the country.

The VA statistics underscore that the problems for victims of sexual abuse do not end when someone leaves the service.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/05/18/Guantanamo-inmates-cost-US-900000-each-per-year/UPI-57481368920085/?spt=htr

Guantanamo inmates cost U.S. $900,000 each per year
Published: May 18, 2013 at 7:34 PM

WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- The 166 detainees remaining in Guantanamo cost U.S. taxpayers about $900,000 a year each, officials say.

The annual cost of the detention center at the naval base in Cuba is $150 million, CNN reported. That makes it far more expensive than the typical federal prison, where spending is about $25,000 a year per inmate, a figure that rises to $60,000 for the almost 500 inmates at the federal "supermax" prison in Florence, Colo.

More than half of the Guantanamo inmates are currently on hunger strike. There are also questions about the facility's future, since many of the inmates are on a list of those a presidential task force recommended in 2009 to be transferred to their home countries.

But the military is planning to spend millions of dollars for renovations at Guantanamo. Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly said the tab could run to $170 million because Guantanamo was created hastily in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.