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ByJoshLedermanand Connie Cass The Associated Press WASHINGTON Facing deep skepticism on multi- ple fronts, President Barack Obama ramped up lobbying Monday for a framework nuclear deal with Iran, one of the toughest sells of his presidency. Yet critics from Jerusalem to Washington warned they won't sit idly by while Obama and world leaders pursue a final ac- cord that would leave much of Iran's nuclear infrastruc- ture intact. The White House de- ployed Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz — a nuclear physicist — to offer a scien- tific defense of a deal that Moniz said would block all Iranian pathways to a nu- clear weapon. He described the emerging deal as a "for- ever agreement," disputing skeptics who contend it would merely delay Iran's progress toward a bomb. "This is not built upon trust,"Monizsaid,describing a set of intrusive inspections that would tip off the global community if Iran attempts to cheat. "This is built upon hardnosed requirements in terms of limitations on what theydo,atvarioustimescales, and on the access and trans- parency." Under the agreement, Moniz said, Iran would agree — in perpetuity — to a beefed-up level of inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Other ele- ments of the inspection reg- imen, such as those dealing with storage and mining of nuclear materials, would end sooner. And Moniz ac- knowledged that over time, some restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities might be eased if the world gains con- fidence that its program is being operated for purely peaceful purposes. Skeptics of Obama's dip- lomatic outreach to Iran were undeterred. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., just back from the Middle East, questioned why Iran would be allowed to retain more than 6,000 centrifuges — despite Obama's earlier sug- gestion that he was pursu- ing a deal that would end Iran's nuclear program, not simply shrink it. "The parameters of the interim deal, in essence, establish an internationally recognized, 10-year nuclear research and development program," McConnell said. The strongest interna- tional criticism has come from Israel, where leaders consider the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran a threat to their nation's survival. Is- rael's minister for strategic affairs, Yuval Steinitz, said military action against Iran's nuclear program re- mains an option. He said Is- rael would spend the com- ing months lobbying for stronger language in the fi- nal agreement. IRAN NUKE AGREEMENT Tough sell: Obama ramps up lobbying campaign on deal PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz, right, accompanied by White House Press secretary Josh Earnest, speaks to the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Monday. By Robert Burns The Associated Press WASHINGTON Islamic ex- tremists grab parts of Iraq and Syria. Yemen slides into civil war. Iran's nuclear pro- gram strains U.S. relations with Israel. Ukraine fights Russian-backed separatists. At a time of crisis across the Middle East and be- yond, the Obama adminis- tration is trying to keep its focus on a widely advertised shift to Asia. The administration has pursued the strategy since 2011, arguing that no re- gion is more important to the United States' long-term interests than Asia, partic- ularly as the rise of China jangles nerves in other Asian capitals. Yet the volatile Middle East keeps drawing back the attention of U.S. policy- makers, and the U.S. mili- tary. A year ago, it seemed un- likely the U.S. would have troops back in Iraq after completing its withdrawal in 2011. The rise of the Islamic State group has put frac- tious Iraq back on the U.S. front burner. Meanwhile, the White House is pumping the brakes on planned U.S. troop with- drawals from Afghanistan this year. To put a s p o t l i g h t ba c k on Asia, De- fense Secre- tary Ash Carter will visit Ja- pan and South Korea this week, part of a string of planned trips to the region during his first year as Pen- tagon chief. He will visit In- dia and attend an interna- tional security conference in Singapore in May, and he may visit China later in the year. Carter will stop first on Monday to speak about Asia at Arizona State Universi- ty's McCain Institute for International Leadership. Before he became de- fense secretary in February, Carter was a supporter of what the Obama adminis- tration calls its "rebalance" to Asia. That term meant to rebut the implication that by giving more attention to Asia, Washington is piv- oting away from its tradi- tional allies in Europe and its extensive commitments in the Mideast. While serving as the dep- uty secretary of defense, Carter said in May 2013 that international terror- ism, persistent Mideast tur- moil, nuclear proliferation and cyberthreats would continue to require Penta- gon attention. "We also see great op- portunities: Among them, to shift the great weight of the Department of Defense, both intellectual and phys- ical, that has been devoted to Iraq and Afghanistan, to the Asia-Pacific region, where America will con- tinue to play its seven-de- cade-old pivotal stabilizing role into the future," Carter said then. His Tokyo visit begin- ning Tuesday is meant in part to smooth the way for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Wash- ington in late April. That trip will coincide with a historic reworking of the guidelines that govern U.S.- Japan defense cooperation in a way intended to give Japan's self-defense forces a more active role in Asian security. Japan's post-World War II constitution limits the country's use of force, but Abe last summer approved a reinterpretation of the constitution, and his gov- ernment has proposed leg- islation to enable defense changes. A strategic goal shared by Tokyo and Washington is for Japan to participate in what is known as collective self-defense, meaning that it could come to the aid of an ally under attack even if that did not entail a direct attack on Japan or its own military. Carter plans to cap his week in Asia with meetings with South Korean govern- ment officials in Seoul and visit U.S. troops. GLOBAL SECURITY Pentagon chief Carter heads east as US tries to maintain Asia focus in foreign policy By Alan Suderman and Deepti Hajela The Associated Press CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. A fraternity at the Univer- sity of Virginia announced Monday that it will "pursue all available legal action" against Rolling Stone, say- ing a Columbia Journalism School review shows the magazine acted recklessly and defamed its members by publishing an article that falsely accused them of gang rape. "The Rolling Stone arti- cle viewed by millions fu- eled a court of public opin- ion that ostracized Phi Kappa Psi members and led to vandalism of the frater- nity house," the fraternity's statement said. "Clearly our fraternity and its members have been defamed, but more impor- tantly we fear this entire ep- isode may prompt some vic- tims to remain in the shad- ows, fearful to confront their attackers," said Ste- phen Scipione, president of the the University of Virgin- ia's Phi Kappa Psi chapter. "If Rolling Stone wants to play a real role in address- ing this problem, it's time to get serious." Rolling Stone's "shock narrative" about sex as- saults at the University of Virginia was rife with bad journalism, and the mag- azine has nobody but its own staff to blame, Colum- bia Journalism School Dean Steve Coll said Monday at a question and answer ses- sion about the review he led at the magazine's request. The magazine pledged to review its practices and removed "A Rape on Cam- pus" from its website, but publisher Jann S. Wenner said he won't fire any- one despite the blister- ing review. In a New York Times interview, Wenner described "Jackie," whose claims provided the arti- cle's narrative thread, as "a really expert fabulist sto- ryteller" who manipulated the magazine's journalism process. "Rolling Stone Maga- zine admits its staff en- gaged in reckless behavior while covering this story, yet the magazine refuses to take any action against those involved in reporting the story or address needed changes to its editorial pro- cess. The reporter in ques- tion not only failed to apol- ogize to members of Phi Kappa Psi, but doesn't even acknowledge the three wit- nesses she quoted in the ar- ticle but never interviewed. This is a clear and sad indi- cation that the magazine is not serious about its jour- nalistic obligations," the fraternity said. The story horrified read- ers, unleashed campus protests and sparked a national discussion about sex assaults. Charlottes- ville police launched a sep- arate investigation, which they suspended two weeks ago for lack of evidence. FRATERNITY RAPE ALLEGATIONS 'Legal action' against Rolling Stone announced Carter 20815DalbyLn. Red Bluff 527-5314 Where Excellence Meets Affordable No Appointment Necessary FREE Is Your Check Engine Light On? 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