Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/596547
ByRobGillies The Associated Press TORONTO Theheadofthe Canadian company behind the proposed Keystone XL pipeline denied Tues- day that political motiva- tion drove its decision to ask the U.S. government to delay consideration of the project. TransCanada's request that the State Department suspend its review of the Alberta-to-Texas pipeline could delay any decision until the next U.S. presi- dent takes office in 2017, potentially leaving the fate of the controversial project in the hands of a more sup- portive Republican admin- istration. The request comes as many anticipate President Barack Obama will re- ject the project, which has been a flashpoint in the de- bate over climate change and source of friction be- tween the United States and Canada. Hillary Rod- ham Clinton, the front- runner for the 2016 Demo- cratic presidential nomina- tion, opposes the pipeline but the Republican candi- dates support it. White House spokes- man Josh Earnest said the State Department is con- sidering TransCanada's request, but added that Obama intends to make a decision about the pipeline before leaving office. Ear- nest said it was important to consider what could be motivating TransCanada's request. "It seems unusual to me that somehow it should be paused yet again," Earnest said. TransCanada chief exec- utive Russ Girling denied that the request has any- thing to do with an antici- pated rejection of the pipe- line. The company said a suspension of the review would be appropriate while it works to secure approval of its preferred route through Nebraska in the face of legal chal- lenges. TransCanada an- ticipated it would take seven to 12 months to get approval from Nebraska authorities. "We have worked very hard for seven years try to keep our head down and work our way through ev- ery twist and turn and ev- ery additional request to the regulatory process and we are intent on continu- ing to do that until you get the regulatory approval and we have solved peo- ple's issues through that process," Girling said on a conference call with ana- lysts and media. The Keystone XL proj- ect has undergone re- peated federal and state reviews since TransCan- ada announced the proj- ect in 2008. The 1,179- mile (1,900-kilometer) pipeline would run from Canada through Mon- tana, South Dakota and Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the Alberta oil sands to refin- eries along the Texas Gulf Coast. Opponents say the de- velopment of Alberta's oil sands require huge amounts of energy and water and increases green- house gas emissions. They warn pipeline leaks could potentially pollute under- ground aquifers that are a critical source of water for farmers in the Great Plains. Supporters main- tain it will create jobs and reduce U.S. reliance on Middle Eastern oil. They argue that pipelines are a safer method of transport- ing oil than trains, point- ing to recent derailments. CONTROVERSIAL PROJECT Tr an sC an ad a de ni es politics behind Ke ys to ne d el ay r eq ue st By Bassem Mroue The Associated Press KADIRLI, TURKEY The 4-year-old Syrian girl was ending her first trip to her grandparents' house. Posing for the last family photos be- forereturningtoTurkeywith her mother, Raghad dressed upinaprettyblue-and-white polka dot dress and put her hair up in ponytails with red barrettes. About an hour later, the family heard Russian war- planes overhead and the missiles struck. Raghad, her grandfatherandanotherrel- ative were killed. The girl is among dozens of civilians who activists say have been killed in the Rus- sian air campaign in Syria, which Moscow says is aimed at crushing the Islamic State group and other Islamic mil- itants. But the month-old Rus- sianbombardmenthaskilled more civilians than it has IS militants, according to the mainactivistgrouptracking the conflict, the Syrian Ob- servatoryforHumanRights. Despite Russian boasts to be going after the extrem- ists more ferociously than Americans have, the Obser- vatory's figures also suggest the air campaign waged by a U.S.-led coalition the past 13 months has killed IS mem- bers at a higher rate while harming civilians less. The Observatory said it hassofarconfirmed185civil- ianskilledinRussianstrikes the past month — including 46 women and 48 children — while the toll among IS fighters was 131. The heavi- est toll came among Syr- ian rebels not connected to IS, with 279 dead, the group said. In contrast, the U.S.-led aircampaignhaskilled3,726 IS members — an average of 252 a month, and 225 civil- ians — according to the Ob- servatory's statistics. The Russians have flatly dismissed all claims of ci- vilian casualties or damage, sayingtheyusevariousintel- ligence sources to plan each strike to make sure there is no collateral damage. Activists say most Rus- sian strikes have targeted Syrian rebels not connected to IS, including U.S.-backed factions, with the aim of tipping the civil war in fa- vor of Moscow's ally, Presi- dent Bashar Assad. For ex- ample, Raghad's grand- father, Col. Abdul-Razzaq Khanfoura, was a defec- tor from the Syrian mili- tary who until recently was a senior commander in the Western-backed Free Syr- ian Army, though it is not known if he was the tar- get of the Oct. 1 airstrike in the village of Habeet in the rebel-held province of Idlib. WhentheKhanfourafam- ily heard the Russian war- planesoverhead,Abdul-Raz- zaq's wife Zahra scooped up her granddaughter Raghad andrushedtoashelterinthe house's garden. Just as she handed the girl to a cousin intheshelter,themissileshit the house. "The explosion was above me," the 48-year-old Zahra told The Associated Press as she lay in a hospital bed in this southern Turkish city, where she is being treated for the extensive burns from the blast. "After that I have no idea what happened." Civilians in the areas that have borne the brunt of the air campaign, like the north- western and central prov- inces of Idlib, Hama and Homs, have taken a heavy toll, activists and rebel com- manders say. Assad's forces have launched ground offen- sives against rebels, trying to benefit from Russian air support. The combination of strikesandtheoffensiveshas fueledasurgeof120,000Syr- ians who fled their homes in October, according the U.N. figures. The Observatory gathers its figures through activ- ists on the ground who con- firm identities of the dead with relatives and officials. Witnesses can usually dis- tinguish Russian airstrikes from those by the Syrian air force because the latter's strikes are relatively crude and have lower technol- ogy. Russian warplanes of- ten move in large squadrons that people on the ground can see and strike from higher in the sky with more powerful ordnance. The ac- tivist groups also check re- ports against Russian daily announcements of the areas targeted. In the case of the strike that hit the Khanfoura fam- ilyhome,theObservatoryre- ported the attack in Habeet atthetime,sayingthreepeo- plewerekilled.Thenext day, the Russian Defense Minis- tryputoutastatementoftar- gets over the past 24 hours that included Habeet, say- ing it struck "a facility used by the rebels as a temporary base and ammunition de- pot." Russia has pushed back hard against reports of civil- ian deaths. Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, denied accusa- tions of civilian deaths, say- ing Russia "pays special at- tention to the fact that there will be no harm for the civil- ian population." Russia's De- fense Ministry has said that its forces only strike facili- ties away from populated ar- eas. On Tuesday, it released satellite pictures it said re- futed the claims of damage to civilian areas. CIVIL WAR Russian strikes take toll among Syrian civilians HUSSEINMALLA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A Syrian boy Abdulhamid Khanfoura, 16, background, helps his wounded mother Zahra Khanfoura, 48, who was burned by a Russian airstrike that hit her house in the central Syrian village of Habeet, as she lies on her hospital bed in the southern city of Kadirli, Turkey. This could be your lucky day by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... 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