Alarm Over North Korea Missile Prep

March 25, 2009 5:43 PM

ABC News' Luis Martinez reports: US officials tell ABCNews that North Korea has begun placing a Taepodong 2 missile at a launch facility in preparation for what it says will be the launch of a communications satellite sometime between April 4 and 8th.

The launch has drawn concern from the United States and Asian countries because the same technology used to launch a satellite can be used to launch ballistic missiles and would amount to a test of North Korea's ability to reach the United States with a ballistic missile.

One US official says that North Korea appears to have set up two stages of a three stage Taepodong 2 missile at the Musudan Ni launch facility located on the country's northeast coast.    

North Korea announced its intention to launch a communications satellite in February and since then US officials have confirmed activity has taken place at the launch site, though no missile had been spotted until now.

One US official said of the recent activity, "Yes, there is something out there and it's an additional step beyond what we've seen before. "   

Another US official tells ABC News that the placement of the rocket stages on the launch pad occurred within the last 24 to 48 hours. 

Once the stacking of the stages is completed, the next step would be the fueling of the launch vehicle.  This official says there are no indications that the fueling process has begun. 

The same official says all indications are that the North Koreans are on schedule for a launch date between April 4th and 8th, the date they identified as their target date.

The North Koreans could accelerate the fueling process to speed up a launch date, but this official says so far things "are progressing along" for the publicly stated launch date

Top US intelligence official Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, told Congress a few weeks ago that he has no reason to doubt the North Koreans' stated intent of launching a communications satellite.   

North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 from the same facility on July 4, 2006, but that missile blew up shortly after launch.

The State Department and regional partners have stated that the launch of any missile, even the launch of a satellite, is a violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution that North Korea from engaging in ballistic missile activity.

Asked about the report of new activity at the launch facility Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters today, "We continue to monitor the situation closely. We are very interested in it, following it very closely. And I think that's where I want to leave it at this point. "

Admiral Timothy Keating, who heads US Pacific Command, told a congressional panel yesterday that the US military is ready for a North Korean launch.

"We are up to task, I believe," the admiral said.  "We are ready to defend U.S. territory, our allies and our national interests if the President so directs."
   

 

March 25, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (51)

Anti-Terror Stimulus? US Offers Rewards for Top Terrorists

March 25, 2009 4:00 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The US State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced Wednesday major rewards for information leading to the location or capture of three top al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists.

The US is offering $5 million for anyone who can lead them to Beitullah Mehsud, the top Taliban leader in Pakistan who has expanded his reach in the country over the past several months. Mehsud has negotiated deals with the Pakistani government that have allowed him to consolidate power in regions under his control, where the Taliban has imposed strict Islamic law and exacted harsh punishments on those who disobey.

"Mehsud is regarded as a key al-Qa’ida facilitator in the tribal areas of South Waziristan in Pakistan," the State Department said in a statement.

Mehsud is believed to have orchestrated the January 2007 suicide attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and to have ordered the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

Another $5 million reward was offered today for any information leading to the capture of Sirajuddin Haqqani, a top Taliban leader with close ties to al Qaeda. Haqqani has claimed responsibility for the brazen daylight attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul on January 14, 2008 that left six people dead, including one American.

"Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior leader of the Haqqani terrorist network founded by his father Jalaladin Haqqani, maintains close ties to al-Qa’ida," the State Department said.

Haqqani has also admitted to attempting to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai last April, the State Department said today, and has coordinated cross-border attacks on US and Coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The State Departments says it believes Haqqani is located in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The US also announced today it would give up to $1 million to a tipster leading to the capture of Abu Yahya al-Libi, a key al Qaeda propaganda figure. The Libyan-born al-Libi was captured in Afghanistan and imprisoned at Bagram Air Force Base in 2002, but escaped in 2005 and has since been featured in a number of al Qaeda promotional videos.

"Al-Libi is a key motivator in the global jihadi movement and his messages convey a clear threat to U.S. persons or property worldwide," the State Department said.

The State Department says it believes al-Libi is hiding in either Afghanistan or Pakistan.

The Obama administration has continued the Bush administration's policy of using unmanned drones to attack Taliban and al Qaeda leaders inside Pakistan.

Wednesday a drone-launched missile slammed into a home believed to belong to Taliban leader Maulvi Noor Muhammad in Makin, South Waziristan where many of Mehsud's supporters are believed to be. At least eight people were killed.

March 25, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

Daily Photo: Pakistani Women in Refugee Camp

March 25, 2009 3:05 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia Reports: We'd like to try something new here at The Radar. Today we're introducing a new feature, the Daily Photo. If a picture is worth a thousand words, we hope this will bring you the story in a way words can't.

We hope you'll use the comments section below to discuss.


(Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

Pakistani women from the Bajur tribal region wait for their children at a school run by UNICEF at the Katcha Garhi refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, March 25, 2009. On the same day, Pakistani police fired assault rifles and tear gas to end a protest not far from the camp by people displaced by a military operation against Taliban militants. At least one person was shot dead, though police denied responsibility. More than 500,000 people have fled the fighting in the Bajur and Mohmand tribal area to camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. (AP)

In recent months the Taliban have expanded their reach inside Pakistan, imposing strict Islamic law there and exacting harsh punishment on those who disobey.

On Friday the Obama administration is expected to roll out its new strategy for combating the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is expected to place a greater emphasis on dealing with problems in the two countries collectively.

Today the State Department's Rewards for Justice program offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the location or capture of Abu Yahya al-Libi, a key al Qaeda propaganda figure from Libya who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

March 25, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Condoleezza Rice Appears on "The Tonight Show"

March 24, 2009 11:53 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: In her first television appearance since leaving Foggy Bottom, Condoleezza Rice appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno this evening.

The former secretary of state chose to withhold judgment on the job her successor has done, siding with former President Bush who has said he would not judge the Obama administration in public.

"These are difficult questions and difficult issues.  My view is, we got to do it our way; we did our best.  We did some things well, some things not so well.  Now, they get their chance," Rice said.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney appears to be of a different mind, having recently blasted the Obama administration for making decisions he says have made America less safe.

"We owe them our loyalty and our silence while they do it," Rice told Leno. "Because I know what it’s like to have people chirping at you when they perhaps don’t know what’s going on inside.  These are quality people.  I know them.  They love the country.  And they won’t make the same decisions, perhaps, that we did.  But I believe they’ll do what they think is best for the country and I’ll give my advice privately and keep it to myself."

Rice did, however, make one thing clear. She does not miss her old job.

"I am so happy to get up in the morning, read the newspaper and not think I have to do anything about what’s in it," she said.

Rice also defended her former boss from some of the criticism levied against him.

In an apparent rebuttal of statement from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the only cabinet member who also served under President Bush. Gates said on NBC's Meet the Press that Obama "is somewhat more analytical" and "makes sure he hears from everybody in the room on an issue."

"I saw many a cabinet secretary go in and have the president be the best questioner in the room.  This was a president who was compassionate; he knew the issues," Rice said.

However, Gates said Bush was "interested in hearing different points of views, but didn't go out of his way to make sure that everybody spoke if they hadn't spoken up before."

Rice said history will judge President Bush's tenure more favorably than would recent polls.

"I’m also a firm believer that history has a long arc, and what is popular today and today’s headlines are rarely the same as history’s judgments.  So I think we’ll let history judge and I think he’ll be judged well by history," Rice said of Bush's legacy.

She declined to opine on the decision by her predecessor, Colin Powell, to endorse President Obama during last year's campaign.

"Colin’s a good friend and I think he felt strongly that Barack Obama was the right person for the presidency at this time and I’m glad he did what he thought best," she said.

As she has in the past Rice declined to reveal whether she voted for President Obama.

"That’s why they have a secret ballot, Jay," she said.

March 24, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (12)

Diplomat and Aid Group Sound the Alarm on Darfur Camp Situation

March 24, 2009 3:35 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: A top U.S. diplomat who traveled to Darfur last week is warning of a critical shortage of aid in refugee camps there.

Alberto Fernandez, the top U.S. diplomat in Khartoum, traveled to El Fasher in North Darfur and to the Zam Zam Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camp to assess the impact of Sudan's expulsion of 13 major aid groups that operated in the region.

What he found was an aid gap that threatens the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

"While the United Nations and remaining NGOs are exploring ways to provide certain life-saving assistance, they would be unable to fill the gap created by this emergency," the State Department said last night in a written readout of Fernandez's trip.

Coupled with a recent arrival of 36,000 refugees fleeing recent fighting, the camps are overflowing with needy people that lack food and health care that were once provided by the aid groups.

The State Department said the influx "has severely strained Zam Zam camp's limited resources" and that the situation has been "exacerbated" by the aid groups' expulsion.

"There is a growing water shortage due to demand created by the recent IDP arrivals and the lack of available water resources at the camp. In addition, the influx of new IDPs has created a need for more land to accommodate the overflow," the State Department said.

Similarly, some of the groups that were kicked out of the country earlier this month are warning of an impending humanitarian crisis.

Oxfam, whose British team was asked to leave the country, said in a statement today that, "Already, some of the locations in Darfur where we used to work – such as Kalma camp home of over 88,000 people in South Darfur – are facing severe shortages of clean water. Only hand pumps are functioning and thousands of women are queuing for hours to get their tiny ration of water. There is also a critical lack of sanitation which increases risks by the day of serious outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and diarrhea."

"Current stop-gap measures will only be effective for a short time," Oxfam warns. "As the rainy season arrives within the next two months, people living in weak temporary shelters, in flood-prone locations where latrines can fill and overflow, will become at extreme risk of disease and death. With the humanitarian capacity reduced by nearly 50%, responding to such emergency scenarios will be an enormous challenge for others to tackle."

The heated rhetoric between Washington and Khartoum has intensified since Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir announced he would expel the foreign aid groups, in apparent retaliation of a warrant issued for his arrest by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Bashir would be personally responsible for every single death that resulted from his decisions. The State Department says it is engaged in intense diplomacy to try and convince Bashir to reverse his decision.

Bashir later threatened to expel foreign ambassadors who he felt were overstepping their bounds.

March 24, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

North Korea Tells U.S.: Detained Americans Will Be 'Well Treated'

March 24, 2009 1:40 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The United States has released few details about its sensitive diplomatic efforts to gain the release of two American journalists detained by North Korea last week after they approached the border from China. But today, the State Department said it has received some assurance from Pyongyang that it will look after the Americans in custody.

"We have formally requested through our protecting power in Pyongyang, the Swedish Embassy, that the Swedish government be provided with consular access to these two Americans. The North has assured us that the detainees will be well treated," acting spokesman Robert Wood said.

Wood said that the US is aware of the espionage charges being levied against the Americans, but declined to say if the North Koreans conveyed that directly.

Last week Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists working for Current TV, were detained by North Korean border guards as they walked along the frozen Tumen River that acts as the border between China and North Korea. The two were on a reporting trip to interview North Korean refugees in China.

The State Department remains very tight lipped about the case citing the delicate diplomacy and, US officials concede in private, the unpredictability of the North Koreans.

"I really don't want to go into much more detail, because we're trying to work this issue diplomatically and the less said from here, the better," Wood said today.

The US has passed on messages to the North Koreans via the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, as well as through the Chinese government and directly to the North Koreans via their mission to the United Nations in New York.

Part of the problem, officials said, is that the US has been unable to confirm where the Americans are being held. Reports say they are being held in a government guest house in Pyongyang run by the military intelligence agency.

March 24, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

Russian Planes Overfly US Carrier

March 19, 2009 6:33 PM

ABC News' Luis Martinez reports: A Defense official confirms that twice this week several Russian aircraft overflew the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and another US Navy vessel that were participating in military exercises in international waters off the coast of South Korea. 

The fly-over incidents occurred earlier this week in the Sea of Japan about 80 nautical miles off the coast of Pohan, South Korea.

On Monday, March 16 two Russian Ilyushin IL-38 "May" maritime patrol aircraft overflew the USS Stennis by an altitude of 500 feet.

On Tuesday, March 17, two Russian "Bear" long range bombers overflew the USS Stennis and the flagship USS Blue Ridge multiple times at an altitude of 2,000 feet.

Both times the approaching aircrafts were intercepted by Navy F/A-18 fighters at a range of 70 nautical miles.  The fighters then escorted the planes until they departed the area. 

The Stennis and the other ships that make up its carrier strike group are participating in the joint US -South Korean military exercise called "Foal Eagle" that has drawn the ire of North Korea. 

March 19, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (34)

Gates Emotional Description of Dover Visit

March 18, 2009 5:55 PM

ABC News' Luis Martinez reports:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates grew emotional this afternoon as he recounted a visit Monday night to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend the return of the remains of four servicemen killed this weekend in Afghanistan. He grew misty eyed as he described what was obviously an emotional moment for him, before pausing to end his brief description and moving on to another question.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell had told Pentagon reporters yesterday that Gates had intended on visiting Dover for months, but had been difficult to schedule. Morrell described it as such a personal visit that an official photographer did not accompany the Secretary. Morrell said Gates had "been pushing his staff to find the time and the means to do it, and they were able to do so last night. And it was a very moving experience for him."

At today's Pentagon briefing we got a sense of how moving it must have been. He initially declined a reporter's question to describe what the experience was like and what his feelings were like during that visit. With a smile he said, "Actually no. I will tell you that it was very difficult. "

But when another reporter asked him later to expand on his earlier answer Gates's description was more emotional.

Here is the exchange:

Q Sir, can we clarify one thing? And we don't mean to cause you any problem. But your answer on Dover was rather abrupt. And military families could be watching and wondering. Is it -- with all due respect, is it simply just too -- was it too emotional to talk about, or can you help us understand, since now it will be open to the news media and the public will be able to see it?

Gates: If the families agree.

Q If the families agree. Certainly, sir. But people might wonder -- is this just too hard to talk about?

Gates:: I -- well, I will add a sentence or two. I went to the back of the plane by myself and spent time with each of the transfer cases. (Pause.) I think I'll stop there.

It was during the pause that Gates' eyes grew misty as he recounted his visit. Choosing not to continue with his description he moved on to another question.

It is not the first time the Secretary has gotten emotional when describing those who have fallen in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In July, 2007 speaking at the Marine Corps Association's annual dinner, Gates grew emotional in recalling the bravery of Marine Major Doug Zembiec who had been killed earlier that year. During the April, 2004 battle for Fallujah Zembiec had earned the nickname, "the Lion of Fallujah" for his valor. Gates said a framed picture of Zembiec taken during that battle hangs on the wall of one of his conference rooms.

"On one wall of my conference room there is a large, framed photo of a Marine company commander taken during the first battle of Fallujah, in April 2004. He’s speaking into a radio handset while giving directions to his men as combat rages just blocks away. It’s a shot that could have been taken of any number of Marines in any number of places over the last century – at Tarawa, at Inchon, or of Lieutenant Peter Pace at Hue, in 1968."

Gates' voice cracked and was near tears as he described how Zembiec was killed in May 2007 during a combat operation in Baghdad, after asking to be sent back to Iraq.

"Every evening I write notes to the families of young Americans like Doug Zembiec. For you and for me they are not names on a press release or numbers updated on a website. They are our country's sons and daughters. They are in a tradition of service that includes you and your forbears back to the earliest days of the republic. God bless you, the Marine Corps, the men and women of our armed services and the country we have all sworn to defend," he said. "

March 18, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

Top Israeli Security Official Says He Can't Get a U.S. Visa

March 18, 2009 5:29 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The man expected to be Israel's national security adviser, Uzi Arad, says he can't get a U.S. visa because he's been erroneously tied to a Pentagon spy case involving former official Lawrence Franklin and two pro-Israel lobbyists. Franklin was sentenced to 12 years in prison for leaking classified documents.

Today State Department acting spox Robert Wood refused to comment on the case, saying that visa records are "confidential under U.S. law, so I'm not able to discuss any particular case."

Wood did not know if, as reported, Arad attended a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she met with Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Jerusalem earlier this month.

In an interview with the Associated Press today, Arad admitted that he spoke to Franklin in 2004 but said it was a "superficial" discussion.

"We had coffee and we talked about the agenda of the day -- nothing classified, nothing secret, nothing related to espionage," Arad told The Associated Press. "If I was not a Mossad [Israeli intelligence] employee in the past, they would not have noticed me. My sin was that I was in the past in the Mossad. It's not a big deal, and I believe that this issue will be resolved."

He told the AP he was denied a U.S. visa two years ago but has not tried to get one since.

There's already been a flap over Netanyahu's expected Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, whose ultra-nationalist party holds views on Middle East peace very much opposed to that of the Obama administration.

March 18, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Obama: Decriminalize Homosexuality Worldwide

March 18, 2009 3:41 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The Obama administration said today it will sign on to a United Nations declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality around the world.

The move is a reversal of the position taken by the Bush administration, which refused to sign onto the document when it was first circulated late last year. It has already been endorsed by 66 other countries, including the entire European Union, Japan, Australia, and Mexico.

"The United States supports the UN Statement on 'Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity,' and is pleased to join the other 66 UN member states who have declared their support of this Statement that condemns human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity wherever they occur," State Department acting spokesman Robert Wood said in a statement.

"The United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of human rights abuses around the world. As such, we join with the other supporters of this Statement and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora," Wood added.

The Bush administration had argued that endorsing the declaration might force the federal government to take positions on issues left up to states, like gay marriage.

The Obama administration appears to have a different legal interpretation. The State Department said today that signing onto the declaration "commits us to no legal obligations." A State Department official points out that only six of the 66 signatories to the declaration have legalized gay marriage, an illustration that the endorsement does not commit anyone to do so.

“The Administration’s leadership on this issue will be a powerful rebuke of an earlier Bush Administration position that sought to deny the universal application of human rights protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals,” said Mark Bromley, who chairs the Council for Global Equality, which advocates an American foreign policy that is inclusive of gay rights.

The United States notified the French, who sponsored the declaration, yesterday and informed lawmakers on Capitol Hill of the decision last night.

March 18, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (60)