US, NATO Not Changing Procedures for Protecting Afghan Civilians

By Al Pessin Pentagon 26 June 2007

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In the wake of a series of high-profile incidents in which U.S. and NATO attacks have killed Afghan civilians, a senior American officer with responsibility for both forces says allied procedures for avoiding civilian casualties are adequate. The officer blames the Taleban for putting the civilians in danger. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Speaking via satellite from Bagram Air Base near Kabul, Brigadier General Joseph Votel says the recent incidents involving large numbers of civilian casualties have not resulted in any new procedures.

"No, there's no particularly new procedures that we are using right now," he said. "We think the procedures we have in place are good. They work. They help us minimize the effects on this."

Canadian soldiers, part of the NATO forces, walk in front of a Chinook helicopter after recapturing Ghorak district from Taleban fighters in Kandahar province, south of Kabul, June 25, 2007

General Votel, the deputy commander for operations in both the U.S.-led coalition and the NATO force in eastern Afghanistan, says NATO and coalition officers use "accepted" procedures and take "extensive measures" to avoid civilian casualties, and succeed in hundreds of operations. He says his forces "absolutely regret" any civilian casualties they cause, but he says Taleban fighters expose civilians to danger by operating in, or fleeing to, populated areas.

"I won't say every instance, but in the large majority of these incidents where we unfortunately do have a civilian injury or death or we cause some damage, in most cases these are caused principally by insurgents who are initiating activities in the direct proximity of villages or where civilians are located," he said.

Hamid Karzai speaks at press conference at in Kabul, 23 Jun 2007

On Saturday, President Karzai accused NATO and U.S. forces of carelessness in their approach to protecting Afghan civilians. He said, "Afghan life is not cheap and should not be treated as such." He said NATO and U.S. forces had killed 90 Afghan civilians during the previous 10 days. He did not provide details, or present figures for Taliban attacks.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Defense Department could not provide figures for the number of Afghan civilians killed in fighting this year. A count by the Associated Press indicates that 203 Afghan civilians died as a result of NATO and coalition operations since January, while Taleban fighters killed 178.

The news agency quotes the United Nations office in Afghanistan as having slightly higher figures, attributing 207 civilian deaths to the foreign forces and 213 to the Taleban. AP also quotes an Afghan group (ABCAR) as counting 230 civilians killed by U.S. and NATO troops, with no figure reported for Taliban killings.

A senior researcher at Human Rights Watch in New York, John Sifton, says it is difficult to know whether civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased this year because the level of fighting changes from month to month. But he says the fact that Taleban forces put civilians at risk does not justify U.S. or NATO forces unnecessarily endangering those civilians. Still the human rights researcher says it is not reasonable to compare the civilian deaths caused by U.S. and NATO forces to those caused by the Taleban.

"The Taleban is committing violations of the Laws of War in almost everything they do," he said. "NATO and the United States, by contrast, is not setting out to violate the Laws of War across the board. However, they're failing to take precautions in a lot of cases, and may occasionally cross the line and violate the Laws of War themselves."

Sifton says Taleban fighters hide among civilians, and even when they attack military targets they do so in civilian areas and use high explosives that are bound to kill many people. He says NATO and U.S. forces are more careful, but he says they still rely too much on highly-destructive air strikes in populated areas.

"NATO, obviously, does take many precautions to avoid civilian casualties," Sifton said. "There's no doubt about it. The concern that we have, and that many human rights activists on the ground have, is that they're not doing enough."

In one of the most recent incidents, NATO troops tracking a Taleban force fleeing toward the Pakistan border Saturday fired a rocket that local reports say killed at least nine Pakistani civilians. Pakistan criticized the incident, and said all military activity on its side of the border should be done by its own forces. General Votel defended the rocket strike, saying the commander operated within the established Rules of Engagement.

"In this particular situation, the commander on the ground determined that he needed to continue to address that threat until it was eliminated," he said. "And that included firing into areas that were in Pakistan."

The general expressed regret for any civilian casualties in Pakistan and says the results of the attack are being investigated. But he says the Taleban force crossed from Pakistan, attacked a NATO unit and then fled back into Pakistan. General Votel says communications with Pakistani military units are good, and efforts are made to coordinate anti-Taliban operations on both sides of the border.

US Immigration Reform Bill Survives Test Vote in Senate

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 26 June 2007

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The U.S. Senate has voted to revive broad legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration system, after the measure was blocked by opponents earlier this month. But the fate of the measure remains uncertain, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The Senate Tuesday voted 64 to 35 to revive the bill.

Under Senate rules, at least 60 votes were necessary in the 100-seat chamber to move the bill forward.

The Senate action came shortly after President Bush urged lawmakers to support the legislation.

President Bush makes remarks on comprehensive immigration reform, 26 June 2007

"I view this as an historic opportunity for Congress to act, for Congress to replace a system that is not working with one that we believe will work a lot better," said Mr. Bush.

The measure would tighten border security, create a temporary guest worker program and grant immediate legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States.

The bill was crafted by a group of Republican and Democratic senators and the White House after months of negotiations.

President Bush has made immigration reform a top domestic priority. He and his aides have been intensely lobbying fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill to support the bill after Senate opponents blocked it from coming to a vote earlier this month.

The Senate's top Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, says Republican support will be crucial to getting the bill passed in the chamber, where Democrats hold a slim majority.

Rep. Harry Reid (16 Feb 2007)

"We have an immigration system that is broken and needs to be fixed," he said. "That is what we are trying to do, is fix this. We would be derelict in our duties if we did not make every effort to get the legislation passed."

But many Republicans question whether the bill will go far enough in securing U.S. borders and they argue it will reward immigrants who came to the United States illegally with the possibility of U.S. citizenship.

Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, is a leading opponent of the legislation. "The bill is flawed," he said. "It will not work."

Sessions and other opponents say their efforts to scuttle the legislation are gaining momentum.

Prospects for the bill's passage remain unclear, with another test vote scheduled Thursday.

In addition, several proposed amendments, if passed, could alter key parts of the legislation, potentially threatening the fragile coalition supporting the bill.

Among those amendments are Republican-backed measures to toughen certain penalties against illegal immigrants and Democratic-sponsored measures that would emphasize family ties in the new merit-based system proposed for future immigrants.

US First Lady Begins Africa Tour in Senegal

By Kari Barber Dakar 26 June 2007

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United States First Lady Laura Bush started a five-day, four-country tour of Africa with a stop in Dakar, Senegal. Kari Barber reports for VOA from Dakar that Mrs. Bush toured a hospital HIV/AIDS center and met with young women who received a U.S.-government backed scholarship to continue their education.

Mrs. Bush picked vegetables and placed them in a basket as she greeted Steve Bolinger, creator of a garden designed to provide food and income for patients living with HIV/AIDS.

At the Fann Hospital, Mrs. Bush also distributed mosquito nets treated with repellent to HIV/AIDS patients who are highly susceptible to malaria.

"We just eradicated malaria in the United States in about 1950," said Mrs. Bush. "We know malaria can be eradicated, so we stand with you as you try to eradicate malaria in Senegal."

Through her visit, Mrs. Bush is looking at how U.S. aid is being used to fight malaria and HIV/AIDS in Africa and to improve education.

U.S. First Lady Laura Bush (l) is seen with Senegal counterpart Viviane Wade in Dakar, 26 Jun 2007

The first lady met with President Abdoulaye Wade and first lady Viviane Wade at the presidential palace.

She also held audience at Grande Medine grade school where she recognized five female students who won scholarships through the U.S. Africa Education Initiative.

Mrs. Bush talked with one of the winners, named Nango.

"Nango says her scholarship gives her an opportunity few girls in her rural village have ever had. The chance to be educated past primary school." she said. "Now Nango plans to become the first girl in her village to attend a university."

Laura Bush speaks at Grande Medine school in Dakar, 26 Jun 2007

Before a crowd at the school, Mrs. Bush announced the United States will send 800,000 textbooks to Senegal schools before the end of the summer. She also promised more training for teachers and scholarships for young women.

"An investment in education, no matter how significant, is always worth it," said Mrs. Bush. "By investing in education, governments meet their other fundamental obligations to improve opportunities for family's and children, to strengthen their economy and to keep their citizens in good health."

President and Mrs. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush is accompanying her mother on the tour. Mrs. Bush's trip will continue through Friday with stops in Mozambique, Zambia and Mali.

Key Republican Senator Says US Iraq Strategy Not Working

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 26 June 2007

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An influential U.S. Senate Republican says President Bush's Iraq policy is not working, and he is calling for a downsizing of U.S. forces in Iraq. The comments by Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana has sparked renewed debate about the war, and prompted a second Senate Republican to back the call for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Senator Richard Lugar is shown in this 2005 file photo

Senator Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took aim at President Bush's so-called troop surge strategy in a speech on the Senate floor.

"In my judgment, the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved. Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term."

Lugar said current policy is limiting U.S. diplomatic effectiveness around the world and straining U.S. military resources. He urged a draw-down of U.S. troops in Iraq and a redeployment of some of those forces in the region before next year's presidential campaign formally gets under way, when, he says, partisan confrontation would make cooperation on national security nearly impossible.

In making his comments late Monday, Lugar broke with most other congressional Republicans, who have said they would wait to make assessments about Iraq until September, when the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, delivers a report to Congress.

But Tuesday, another Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator George Voinovich of Ohio, joined Lugar in calling for a troop withdrawal. Voinovich sent President Bush a letter expressing his belief that the United States must begin to develop a comprehensive plan for gradual military disengagement from Iraq.

Even before word of Voinovich's letter became public, the Senate's top Democrat, Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Lugar's comments could provide political cover for more Republicans who want to challenge President Bush's Iraq policy.

"When this war comes to an end, and it will come to an end, when the history books are written, and they will be written, I believe that Senator Lugar's words could be remembered as the turning point in this intractable civil war in Iraq," he said.

Next month Reid plans to hold votes on several anti-war related amendments to a defense policy bill, including proposals to cut off money for combat operations, withdraw troops, and revoke the 2002 congressional authorization for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

At the White House, spokesman Tony Snow said Lugar's comments are nothing new, and noted that the senator has had reservations about the surge for some time.

But Lugar told reporters administration officials telephoned him to arrange a meeting with him soon.

VOASE0626_Health Report

26 June 2007

Staying Healthy by Washing Your Hands
Experts have found that greater use of soap and water could save a million lives a year by reducing the spread of infections.

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Hand washing is a powerful way to prevent the spread of disease.

The World Bank, the United Nations and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical

Medicine did a study to urge hand washing around the world. They found that one million lives could be saved each year if people washed their hands with soap often. They said that programs to increase hand washing with soap could be among the most effective ways to reduce infectious disease.

Doctors say many diseases can be prevented from spreading by hand washing. These include pinworms, influenza, the common cold, hepatitis A, meningitis and infectious diarrhea.

Hand washing destroys germs from other people, animals or objects a person has touched. When people get bacteria on their hands, they can infect themselves by touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Then these people can infect other people.

The experts say the easiest way to catch a cold is to touch your nose or eyes after someone nearby has sneezed or coughed. Another way to become sick is to eat food prepared by someone whose hands were not clean.

The experts say that hand washing is especially important before and after preparing food, before eating and after using the toilet. People should wash their hands after handling animals or animal waste, and after cleaning a baby. The experts say it is also a good idea to wash your hands after handling money and after sneezing or coughing. And it is important to wash your hands often when someone in your home is sick.

The experts say the most effective way to wash your hands is to rub them together while using soap and warm water. They say you do not have to use special antibacterial soap. Be sure to rub all areas of the hands for about ten to fifteen seconds. The rubbing action helps remove germs. Then rinse the hands with water and dry them.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are rubbed into the hands and do not require soap and water. Experts say these products must contain at least sixty percent alcohol to be effective in killing most bacteria and viruses.

Experts also say that people who use public bathrooms and dry their hands with a paper towel should use the towel to turn off the water. Then, before throwing it away, use the same paper to open the bathroom door.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. For more news and information about health, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0626_Explorations

26 June 2007

'Mercury 13' Women Followed a Dream but Could Never Live It
The story of a group of female pilots who passed tests to train as astronauts in the 1960s, until NASA decided to keep them grounded.

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about a program in the nineteen sixties to train women as astronauts. Today they are known as the Mercury Thirteen. They never reached their goal of spaceflight. But they led the way for other American women to travel into space.

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VOICE ONE:

In nineteen fifty-nine the United States was involved in a space race with the former Soviet Union. The Soviets had surprised the world by launching the first satellite. Sputnik One was launched into orbit on October fourth, nineteen fifty-seven. Suddenly, the United States appeared to be behind in an important area of technology.

As a result, President Dwight Eisenhower formed the National Aeronautics

The Mercury 7 astronauts

and Space Administration in nineteen fifty-eight.

By April seventh, nineteen fifty-nine NASA introduced the first American astronauts. They were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Walter Shirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. They were known as the Mercury Seven.

VOICE TWO:

In the fall of that year, William Randolph Lovelace was attending a meeting of the Air Force Association in Miami, Florida. Doctor Lovelace was deeply involved in the effort to put Americans into space. He served on NASA's Special Committee on Life Sciences. Astronaut candidates had been put through tests at his medical center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Doctor Lovelace and Air Force Brigadier General Donald Flickinger wondered if women could be trained as astronauts. General Flickinger had designed the space flight tests for the astronaut candidates. He also knew that the Russians had plans to launch a woman into space.

The two men met with Jerrie Cobb, a twenty-eight year-old pilot. They thought Miz Cobb would make a good female astronaut candidate. They invited her to Doctor Lovelace's medical research center in Albuquerque for tests.

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VOICE ONE:

Jerrie Cobb went to Doctor Lovelace's medical center in February of nineteen sixty. She spent one week receiving the same series of tests that the Mercury Seven astronauts faced.

The tests included a general physical examination and X-rays. Some tests involved electric shock. Other tests pushed the body to its physical limits. Yet another test required freezing the inner ear with ice water to test for the condition of vertigo. The doctors also measured brain waves. They performed a total of seventy-five tests on Jerrie Cobb.

VOICE TWO:

Jerrie Cobb in the MASTIF

Jerrie Cobb had one unusual test on a machine called the Multi-Axis Space Test Inertia Facility, or MASTIF. The MASTIF was in NASA's Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. This special machine could move a person in three different directions almost at the same time. It was designed to test a pilot's ability to control a spacecraft under severe conditions. Jerrie Cobb passed the test.

VOICE ONE:

During her tests, Jerrie Cobb knew that if she failed the first level of astronaut training no other women would be tested. By August, the results of the tests were complete. Doctor Lovelace was fully satisfied that Jerrie Cobb had scored similarly to the Mercury Seven astronauts. He even noted that Miz Cobb required less oxygen than the average male astronaut. Jerrie Cobb's success meant that more female candidates were needed for more tests.

VOICE TWO:

Jerrie Cobb helped Doctor Lovelace and General Flickinger chose female astronaut candidates. She searched among members of the international woman's aviation group, the Ninety-Nines, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Cobb with a Mercury capsule

Miz Cobb worked hard to develop a list of good candidates by August, nineteen sixty-one. Twenty-five other women pilots were chosen and tested at Doctor Lovelace's research center. Candidates had to have flown an airplane for more than one thousand hours. Generally, they were required to be in their early thirties. And they had to be in good physical health.

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VOICE ONE:

Not all the women invited to Albuquerque passed Doctor Lovelace's tests. After the first level of testing only thirteen remained, including Jerrie Cobb. The youngest among them was twenty-one-year-old Wally Funk who was also a competitive skier. Forty-year-old Jane Hart was the oldest. She was married to Senator Philip Hart of Michigan. She also flew helicopters.

Other members of the group were Myrtle Cagle, twin sisters Jan and Marion Dietrich, Jean Hixson and Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen. Also included were Irene Leverton, Bernice Steadman, Sara Gorelick Ratley, Jerri Sloan Truhill and Rhea Hurrle Woltman.

These women would be known as the Mercury Thirteen. They had passed the first level of tests that the Mercury Seven astronauts faced. They now wanted to progress to the next level.

VOICE TWO:

Not all the Mercury Thirteen women took the next level of testing. For the Mercury Seven male astronauts, psychological and space flight testing took place at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. However, NASA would not permit testing to be done on the women at that base.

Only Jerrie Cobb, Wally Funk and Rhea Woltman would receive special psychiatric testing for space fitness in Oklahoma City.

At the same time, Doctor Lovelace began plans for flight training the candidates. The United States Naval School of Aviation Medicine agreed to test Jerrie Cobb for ten days in Pensacola, Florida.

Jerrie Cobb passed a series of tests meant for Navy pilots and astronauts. She would be the only one of the Mercury Thirteen to successfully complete all the tests that Mercury Seven astronauts took. She would also be the only one who had the chance to do so.

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VOICE ONE:

Doctor Lovelace had made plans to test the other women in the group at Pensacola. After a delay, September eighteenth was chosen as the day for flight-testing to begin. But it never took place. The women received telegram messages saying the tests had been cancelled four days before they were to begin.

The Navy wanted NASA to approve the training. NASA resisted the idea. Jerrie Cobb and Jane Hart immediately tried to get the testing restarted. Their efforts led to a committee hearing in Congress. But the women found little support.

Astronaut John Glenn spoke to the committee. He said: "The fact that women are not in this field is a fact of our social order." Glenn later said that he would not oppose a female astronaut program. But he saw no requirement for one.

VOICE TWO:

After two days of hearings, members of Congress had heard enough. They would do nothing to change NASA's decision not to train women for spaceflight.

But the answer about women in space came less than one year after those congressional hearings. On June sixteenth, nineteen sixty-three, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She orbited the Earth forty-eight times and spent almost three days in space.

VOICE ONE:

The Mercury Thirteen women were never officially part of the NASA space program. But their willingness to undergo testing to be astronauts and their performance in those tests showed that women could go into space.

It was not until nineteen eighty-three that Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Sixteen years later, Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a Space Shuttle mission. She invited the surviving members of the Mercury Thirteen to attend the launch. Seven women were able to attend.

Mercury 13 members, from left, Gene Nora Jessen, Wally Funk, Jerrie Cobb, Jerri Truhill, Sarah Ratley, Myrtle Cagle and Bernice Steadman

On May twelfth, two thousand seven, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh also honored these women. The university gave honorary Doctor of Science degrees to the eight surviving members of the Mercury thirteen. The university said it was honoring the spirit and efforts of this special group of women.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.