Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/601104
ByDebRiechmann The Associated Press WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidates agree that Islamic extrem- ists are running rampant, the Mideast is on fire and Russia, China and Iran are flexing their muscles, yet they are far from reaching consensus on how much is enough when it comes to spending on defense. It's a political divide that has dogged the GOP since 2010 — de- fense hawks versus defi- cit hawks born in the tea party movement. It also reflects a war-weary na- tion as conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on with no end in sight and President Barack Obama decides to deploy up to 50 Special Operations forces to Syria. The divisions were on stark display during Tues- day's night debate. In a heated exchange, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called for raising defense spend- ing significantly. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wants more robust spending, too, but he doesn't want to make the deficit larger. Ken- tucky Sen. Rand Paul's isolationist bent makes him less willing for the U.S. to get involved abroad and he wondered aloud how spending more money on defense quali- fies a candidate as a con- servative. "Defense spending has fallen dramatically on Pres- ident Obama's watch, and our forces have been re- duced and suffered read- iness challenges even as threats abroad increase," Rubio said. "Our military therefore needs a serious program of reinvestment and modernization." He failed to mention that the cuts to defense spend- ing as well as to domestic spending were largely the result of the 2011 budget pact between Obama and congressional Republicans, who were intent on reduc- ing the nation's deficit. Paul, who has proposed a budget in the past that would have cut spending across the board to curb deficits, said he wants a strong national defense, "but I don't want us to be bankrupt." Congress just approved spending $607 billion on defense next year, and the United States is still the world's largest military spender "at nearly three times the level of second- placed China," according to the Stockholm Interna- tional Peace Research Insti- tute. Russia and Saudi Ara- bia are third and fourth, re- spectively. However, the bipartisan National Defense Panel re- leased a report last year that strongly condemned the current state of the U.S. military. It said U.S. military strength has been weakened by deep bud- get cuts that started with the 2011 budget law. "Bud- get cuts have left the mili- tary in disrepair," the pan- el's report said. The Budget Control Act has created a "readiness crisis" and has caused shortfalls in pres- ent and future capabilities. That has prompted U.S. allies to question the United States' resolve on the world stage, the report said. If the budget cuts are not stopped, the U.S. mili- tary will become a hollow force, the report said. Sev- eral candidates have em- braced the panel's findings in their campaign rheto- ric, but few have provided their desired price tag for the Pentagon budget. POLITICS PentagonspendingdividesGOPdeficit,defensehawks By Bram Janssen and Susannah George The Associated Press SINJAR,IRAQ Supported by U.S.-led airstrikes, Kurd- ish Iraqi troops on Thurs- day seized part of a high- way that is used as a vital supply line for the Islamic State group, a key initial step in a major offensive to retake the strategic town of Sinjar from the militants. The town was overrun by the extremists as they rampaged across Iraq in August 2014, leading to the killing, enslavement and flight of thousands of people from the minor- ity Yazidi community. The U.S. later launched an air campaign against the Is- lamic State militants, also known as ISIL, ISIS and, in Arabic, Daesh. Hours into Thursday's operation, the Kurdish Re- gional Security Council said its forces controlled a section of Highway 47, which passes by Sinjar and indirectly links the mili- tants' two biggest strong- holds — Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in northern Iraq — as a route for goods, weap- ons and fighters. Coalition-backed Kurd- ish fighters on both sides of the border are trying to retake sections of that cor- ridor as part of Operation Free Sinjar. "By controlling High- way 47, which is used by Daesh to transport weap- ons, fighters, illicit oil, and other commodities that fund their operations, the coalition intends to in- crease pressure ... and iso- late their components from each other," a coalition statement said. The coalition said 24 air- strikes were carried out in the past day, striking nine militant tactical units, nine staging areas and destroy- ing 27 fighting positions, among other targets. Co- alition aircraft have con- ducted more than 250 air- strikes in the past month across northern Iraq. The Kurdish fighters also said they had secured the villages of Gabarra, on the western front, and Tel Shore, Fadhelya and Qen on the eastern front. About 7,500 peshmerga fighters closed in on Sinjar from three sides, the secu- rity council said. In addi- tion to taking the town and the highway, the operation aimed to establish "a signif- icant buffer zone to protect the city and its inhabitants from incoming artillery." Heavy gunfire broke out early Thursday as pesh- merga fighters began their approach amid aerial bom- bardment. U.S. special operations forces were operating from a hill above the fight- ing in Sinjar, said Col. Ste- ven Warren, the spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad. U.S. advisers were also positioned with Kurdish commanders, set back from the front line and behind Sinjar mountain, so to re- main away from the cross- fire, Warren said. The rule is for U.S. troops to remain away from the risk of enemy fire, he said, adding that because of the battlefield geography, the team is on a hill above the fight and not at risk. Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi expert in regional Is- lamic extremist groups, said Kurdish forces will also aim to cut eight un- paved roads used by the Is- lamic State for smuggling oil, exchanging weapons and ferrying militants be- tween Syria and Iraq. "Sinjar is not important for Daesh as an area. What is important is this road," al-Hashimi said. He added that the highway is about 75 miles long and the bat- tles are for control of about 10 percent of it. Clouds of smoke above Sinjar were making it dif- ficult for coalition war- planes to carry out air- strikes as thousands of peshmerga fighters moved toward the town from the east and west and massed at the outskirts, Kurdish officials said. Aircraft struck around Sinjar ahead of the long- awaited offensive, with bombardment growing more intense at dawn. The town, located at the foot of Mount Sinjar about 30 miles from the Syr- ian border, is not an easy target. An attempt by the Kurds to retake it stalled in December. The militants have been reinforcing their ranks in Sinjar recently in expectation of an assault, although the coalition was not able to give specifics on the size of the IS forces. "On the radio, we hear (IS) calling for reinforce- ments from Syria," said Rebwar Gharib, a deputy sergeant on the central front line. A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon said "any efforts to push back Daesh are to be welcomed." SINJAR Amid offensive, Iraqi Kurds cut IS supply line BRAMJANSSEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Smoke rises over Sinjar, northern Iraq from oil fires set by Islamic State militants as Kurdish Iraqi fighters, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, launch a major assault on Thursday. By Jennifer C. Kerr The Associated Press WASHINGTON Smoking could soon be banned in public housing nationwide — even inside people's apartments. The Department of Hous- ing and Urban Development proposed a rule Thursday that would require the more than 3,100 public housing agencies across the coun- try to make their proper- ties smoke-free. "We have a responsibil- ity to protect public housing residents from the harm- ful effects of secondhand smoke, especially the el- derly and children who suf- fer from asthma and other respiratory diseases," HUD Secretary Julian Castro said in a statement. Castro says the ban would protect the health of more than 760,000 children and save about $153 mil- lion a year in health care costs, repairs and prevent- able fires. The rule would ban lit tobacco products — ciga- rettes, cigars or pipes — in all residences, indoor com- mon areas and adminis- trative offices. Smoking also would be prohibited outdoors within 25 feet of housing and administra- tive buildings. Electronic cigarettes that emit vapor but not smoke would not be subject to the ban. In 2009, HUD began encouraging public hous- ing agencies nationwide to adopt smoke-free policies. Currently, there are more than 228,000 public hous- ing units that have gone smoke-free, including in Boston, Seattle, Minneap- olis, San Antonio and De- troit. The proposed rule would impact the more than 940,000 units where smok- ing is allowed. Anti-smoking advocates praised HUD's move, stress- ing the dangers of second- hand smoke. "This is a natural step to continue to spread the smoke-free protections that started with workplaces and then spread to restau- rants and bars," Michael Siegel, professor of Com- munity Health Sciences at Boston University's School of Public Health, said in an interview. PROPOSED RULE HU D se ek s smoking ban in public housing MARK BAKER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Aung San Suu Kyi visits a polling station on the outskirts Yangon, Myanmar. By Grant Peck and Esther Htusan The Associated Press YANGON,MYANMAR Myan- mar's official vote count inched closer Thursday to confirming a parliamentary majority for Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's opposi- tion party, as the military establishment that has been her nemesis for decades ap- peared ready to toss in the towel. While the army has not conceded defeat for the rul- ing pro-military Union Sol- idarity and Development Party, it has acknowledged the massive success of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in Sunday's election, and pledged it will respect the final re- sults. Those results seem virtually certain to allow the opposition to take over the government. The office of army com- mander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said the mil- itary will hold talks with Suu Kyi after the election results are complete. Results issued so far by the Union Election Com- mission support unofficial numbers from the NLD and local media pointing to a landslide win for the pro-democracy crusader and a resounding rejection of military rule. While the opposition may soon have enough confirmed seats for a parliamentary majority, it could still be another week or so until all votes are tallied. Attention is riveted on what has been called the "magic number" for Suu Kyi's party. The elec- tion commission's lat- est announcement Thurs- day night showed that the NLD needs just two more seats to reach the 329 it needs for a majority in the 664-member, two-house Parliament. Ar my e xt en ds h an d as Su u Kyi's party nears majority MYANMAR GaylaEckels: (530) 737-5044 geckels@redbluffdailynews.com Suzy Noble: (530) 737-5056 snoble@redbluffdailynews.com GoMultimediathisChristmasSeason! 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