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Letter to the editor

Gates criticized NATO on lack of Afghan support

By Times Wires
Published December 12, 2007

WASHINGTON

Defense Secretary Robert Gates sharply criticized NATO countries Tuesday for failing to supply urgently needed trainers, helicopters and infantry for Afghanistan as violence escalates there, vowing not to let the alliance "off the hook." Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Gates called for overhauling the alliance's Afghan strategy over the next three to five years, shifting NATO's focus from primarily one of rebuilding to one of waging "a classic counterinsurgency" against a resurgent Taliban and growing influx of al-Qaida fighters. The Bush administration over the last year has increasingly bristled at what it sees as NATO's overly passive response to the Taliban, but European leaders have repeatedly rebuffed entreaties by Gates and President Bush to do more.

GAZA strip

Israeli attacks kill six Palestinians

Israeli armored forces backed by aircraft thrust into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing five Palestinians a day before Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were to begin laying the groundwork for peace talks. Another Palestinian was killed in an airstrike. Israeli army officials described the operation as a routine action against Gaza-based militants who fire rockets across the border into southern Israel. Palestinian officials said the incursion could undermine the talks before they start.

MEXICO

Cannibal suspect found dead in cell

A murder suspect dubbed "the cannibal" was found dead in his prison cell of an apparent suicide Tuesday, two months after police found cooked and seasoned bits of his girlfriend's corpse on a fork and plate in his apartment. Jose Luis Calva, a self-proclaimed poet and dramatist suspected in at least three murders, was found hanging from his belt in his Mexico City jail cell Tuesday morning, the city department of corrections said in a statement.

Elsewhere

Guatemala: Legislators approved a law Tuesday that tightens adoptions while allowing pending cases - mostly involving U.S. couples - to go through without meeting stricter requirements. The law complies with an international agreement designed to protect adopted children from human trafficking.

Netherlands: The special court trying former Liberian President Charles Taylor on war crimes charges cleared the way Tuesday for his trial to resume next month, more than six months after its chaotic adjournment.

Pakistan: The military said Tuesday it successfully test-fired a medium-range cruise missile capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

[Last modified December 12, 2007, 01:22:34]