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Marines under more scrutiny over checkpoint laser

By Times Wires
Published February 28, 2008

WASHINGTON - An investigation into allegations the Marine Corps delayed sending blast-resistant trucks to Iraq also will examine whether the Marines were negligent in delaying delivery of a laser used to temporarily blind drivers to keep them from approaching checkpoints and convoys, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press.

Without the tool, the military opens fire on those who approach too close, a practice that has killed many who merely stumbled into danger.

The Marine Corps has stressed that the allegations made by Franz Gayl reflect his personal views. Gayl's conclusions stem from a series of case studies he was conducting for the Marine Corps Plans, Policies and Operations Department about the wartime acquisition system.

Election delayed

Iraq's three-member presidential council rejected a measure Wednesday setting up provincial elections, sending it back to Parliament in the latest setback to U.S.-backed national reconciliation efforts. The Bush administration had sought passage of a provincial powers law as one of 18 benchmarks to promote reconciliation among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

$3-trillion wars?

A new estimate from Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz puts the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at more than $3-trillion. That estimate also serves as the title of his new book, The Three Trillion Dollar War, to be released Friday.

Withdrawal pause

Adm. William J. Fallon, leader of the military's Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, says he will endorse a brief pause in troop reductions from Iraq this summer, but then will seek a resumption of withdrawals.

Fallon's comment adds to indications that American troop levels in Iraq would hold at about 140,000, at least temporarily, after the departure by July of five combat brigades ordered to Iraq last year by President Bush.

Information from the Associated Press, McClatchy Newspapers and the New York Times was used in this report.

[Last modified February 28, 2008, 01:25:42]