US Ambassador to Iraq Faces Tough Questions in Congress

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 19 July 2007

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U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker Thursday offered a mixed picture of the political progress being made by Iraqi leaders in a briefing to U.S. lawmakers by video link from Baghdad. Lawmakers, in turn, expressed impatience that the Iraqi government has not done more and reiterated calls for a drawdown in the U.S. military presence in that country. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Amb. Ryan Crocker, Feb 2007

Ambassador Crocker told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Iraqi government has made some progress, but that much more needs to be done.

"I certainly will not try to present to you the Iraqi government as a model of smoothly functioning efficiency, because it is not," he said. "It faces considerable difficulties. The stresses, the strains, the tensions of society are reflected in the government, and if there is one word I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq on the street, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods, and at the national level, that word would be 'fear'".

In a report to Congress last week, the administration found that Iraq made progress on less than half of 18 political, economic and military benchmarks.

Lawmakers expressed their frustration with the Iraqi government over the pace of progress. Some of the most critical comments came from members of President Bush's Republican Party.

"How long is enough time? We are in our fifth year, and we still see no political reconciliation occurring. Actually, I think we are going 'backward.," said Republican Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska.

Hagel is one of a growing number of Republicans who have called for a new U.S. strategy toward Iraq, one that reduces the U.S. military presence in that country and emphasizes diplomatic efforts.

Senator Richard Lugar (file photo)

The top Republican on the committee, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, has proposed legislation calling on President Bush to develop contingency plans for Iraq, including a drawdown in U.S. combat forces.

"We must now prepare for what comes next," he said.

Lugar asked Crocker if the U.S. government is developing any such contingency plans. The ambassador responded that he was not aware of such planning, and said he was focusing on implementing President Bush's troop surge strategy.

Lugar cited media reports which he said suggested that inter-agency planning for a potentially difficult redeployment from Iraq had been halted by what he called "high-level political pressures" in Washington.

Crocker's testimony comes a day after Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic-sponsored proposal for a withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of next April.

Traveling in Tennessee, President Bush - in an apparent reference to the congressional debate over the troop pullout - said current U.S. strategy is on the right track.

"We will succeed unless we lose our nerve," he said. "We will succeed. Liberty has the capacity to conquer tyranny every time."

Lawmakers are expected to return to the Iraq debate in September, when Ambassador Crocker and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, brief Congress about the success of the surge strategy.

Turkey Holds Crucial Election Sunday

By Sonja Pace Istanbul 19 July 2007

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Historic Galata Tower with flags of political parties, in Istanbul, 19 Jul 2007

Voters in Turkey go to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament, which in turn will form the new government. More than a dozen political parties and a slate of independent candidates are vying for the 550 seats, but as VOA's Sonja Pace reports from Istanbul, there is a widespread belief that the country's future direction is at stake.

It is election time in Turkey and voters are ready to have their say.

The ruling Justice and Development Party, the AKP, is out in force. Its banners are hard to miss and its leader, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, makes his pitch to voters.

The party takes credit for a burgeoning economy, growing foreign investment and for launching talks to join the European Union.

Sheyma Dueje

AKP activist Sheyma Devueje says the party's last 4.5 years in power are a testimony to its success.

She also dismisses opposition claims that the AKP wants to impose an Islamic state or force women to cover their hair. She says the party judges no one by what they wear or how they look.

Critics do not agree, and the main opposition faction, the Republican Peoples' Party, the CHP, is leading the charge.

The opposition cites the AKP's Islamist roots - the fact that its main leaders are openly devout Muslims whose wives wear the traditional Islamic headscarf.

And, they dismiss arguments from AKP leaders that being a devout Muslim does not conflict with upholding the constitution or presiding over a democratic state.

Oya Tuemer

CHP activist Oya Tuemer is among those with suspicions about the AKP.

"They have a secret agenda that they do not want to tell us," said Tuemer. "This is that they want Islam to rule this country."

Tuemer insists the AKP wants to take Turkey backwards, to the days of the Ottoman Empire that long held sway over this region. The CHP, on the other hand, sees itself as the guardian of secularism, as espoused by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.

Mustafa Akyol

Political columnist Mustafa Akyol tells VOA this election highlights that divide.

"This election in Turkey will be kind of a referendum on the current government - the current government led by the Justice and Development Party [AKP], which defines itself as conservative, but some secularists see as Islamist," said Akyol.

The vote is seen as equally crucial for the secularist agenda, as political science professor Ali Carkoglu of Sabanci University, outside Istanbul, explains.

Ali Carkoglu

"From the perspective of the secularists this is an important election because they believe that unless this rise of Islamism is stopped, the Islamists will take over the whole state system," he said.

Carkoglu believes these secularist fears are overblown.

Despite such deep ideological divides, opinion polls show most Turks rate problems of daily life highest on their list of concerns, problems of unemployment and the ongoing battle against Kurdish separatist.

The AKP is expected to win the most votes in Sunday's elections. The CHP is said likely to come in second and at least one other party is given a chance of passing the 10 percent vote threshold to make it into parliament. And, polls show 30 to 40 independent candidates also have a good chance of gaining a seat.

Russia to Stop Counter-Terrorism Cooperation with Britain

By Peter Fedynsky Moscow 19 July 2007

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Russia has escalated its diplomatic dispute with Britain, expelling four British diplomats and also suspending bilateral cooperation in the struggle against terrorism. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has details from Moscow.

Mikhail Kamynin speaks in the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, 19 Jul 2007

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin says four British diplomats must leave Russia within 10 days. Moscow will also stop issuing visas to British government officials. These are in-kind reactions to London's expulsion Monday of four Russian diplomats.

The Kremlin response, however, takes the dispute a step further.

The Russian official says that to his country's regret, measures announced by London on July 16 make it impossible for Russia to cooperate with Britain in the struggle against terrorism.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called the expulsion of the four British diplomats "completely unjustified."

British-Russian ties have deteriorated since the Kremlin refused to extradite Alexander Lugovoi, a former KGB intelligence officer accused of murdering Kremlin-critic Alexander Litvinenko last year in London. Litvinenko was also an ex-KGB officer.

Meanwhile, the international community is calling for a resolution to the crisis.

In Berlin, the German Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet Friday with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, for brief but intensive talks about the situation.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Sky News Television that Britain has nothing to gain by abandoning Russia. Secretary Rice added that Russia should cooperate fully with Britain and extradite Lugovoi to face trial on murder charges in Britain.

Portugal, in its capacity as current head of the European Union's rotating presidency, expressed disappointment with Moscow's failure to cooperate with British authorities.

Russian officials responded to the Portuguese statement with surprise, saying selective application of European solidarity could harm relations between Russia and the European Union.

Kremlin officials say their country's constitution prohibits the extradition of Russian citizens.

Both sides have said they do not want worsening diplomatic relations to affect tourism, exchange programs or business. But political observer Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a Moscow-based monthly magazine, says business will inevitably suffer.

Lukyanov says those who would come to Russia to participate in big projects will not do so at the present time. He says he believes British companies will not get permission to come.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kamynin said Russia hopes common sense will prevail and Russian-British relations will be relieved of, as he put it, artificial burdens.

Brazilian Prosecutors Call for Airport to Suspend Flights During Crash Investigation

By Brian Wagner Miami 19 July 2007

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Brazilian prosecutors are seeking to suspend flights at the country's busiest airport while investigators study a plane crash that killed at least 189 people. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports aviation officials have pledged to address safety concerns, without halting service at the key airport.

Firefighters work at the site where a TAM airlines jet crashed Tuesday killing at least 189 people in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 19 July 2007

Federal prosecutors filed a motion to halt operations at Congonhas airport one day after the TAM Airlines jet flew off a runway and burst into flames. Prosecutors asked a judge to suspend flights until aviation officials can ensure that it is safe to continue operations at the airport, in the heart of Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo.

Jose Carlos Pereira, the president of Brazil's aviation authority, Infraero, said halting flights at the nation's busiest airport would be an excessive and radical measure.

He said any suspension would affect the 20 million passengers who use that airport, and said it could trigger chaos in the airline industry.

Federal police officers inspect the Congonhas airport runway, as a TAM airlines jet prepares to land, in Sao Paulo, 19 Jul 2007

Flights resumed at Congonhas airport early Wednesday, but aviation officials say the runway involved in the crash will remain closed until an investigation is complete.

TAM airline executives said the Airbus 320 aircraft was in perfect condition and the pilots were experienced.

Recovery efforts were continuing at the site where the plane left the runway, crossed a busy city street and crashed into a cargo terminal and gas station. Officials say the bodies of most of the victims have been recovered, but work is slow because of fears that the heavily damaged buildings may collapse.

Brazilian investigators are working with experts from the plane's maker, Airbus, as well as officials from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

Jim Hall, a former chairman of the U.S. agency, said the probe into the crash will consider numerous factors, including rainy conditions at the time of the accident.

"They will be looking at the runway, the runway surface," said Hall. "They will be looking at weather information that was available, weather radar [and] the transmissions between the [control] tower and the aircraft."

Police officers carry remains of victims from the crash of a TAM airlines commercial jet in Sao Paulo, 18 July 2007

Earlier this year, airport officials resurfaced the runway used by the TAM flight, but they said workers had not yet cut grooves into the pavement to help channel rain water.

Hall said he has flown into Congonhas airport, and said he recalls that it has a very short runway and is located in a dense urban area. He said Brazilian officials have been aware of safety concerns for some time.

"The main concern is the length of that runway, and a lack obviously of any type of adequate safety area at the end of the runway," he added.

Hall says one possible safety measure is placing a surface called "crushable concrete" at the end of the tarmac to help stop runaway airplanes. He said several U.S. airports use the material that allows a plane's wheels to sink in, and slow the aircraft down.

Suicide Bombings Strike Pakistan as President Calls for Unity Against Extremism

By Benjamin Sand Islamabad 19 July 2007

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Separate bomb blasts have killed more than 52 people in Pakistan, and the country is bracing for more violence. A wave of attacks in recent days has left at least 160 people dead, and has put Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf on the defensive. VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad.

The site of a bomb explosion in Hub near Karachi, 19 Jul 2007

The first bomb ripped through a crowded marketplace Thursday morning in Hub, in the southern province of Baluchistan.

Later, a suicide bomber targeted a police training center in northern Pakistan, killing at least seven people.

Major General Saleem Nawaz, commander of security forces in the south, says the Baluchistan blast occurred as a convoy of Chinese engineers was passing through the area.

He says police and paramilitary forces were guarding the convoy, and no Chinese nationals were reported injured in the attack.

Chinese officials have pressed Pakistan to provide greater protection for its citizens working here, following a recent series of deadly attacks.

A violent though fairly limited insurgency has destabilized Baluchistan for several years.

Tribal militants there are seeking greater control over local resources, and have targeted Chinese contractors in the past.

Authorities say it is not clear if Thursday's attack was carried out by separatist rebels or Islamist extremists.

However, religious militants have vowed bloody revenge after government commandos stormed a radical, pro-Taleban mosque in Islamabad last week.

Smoke rises from Lal Masjid during heavy gunbattle between Pakistan troops and militants in Islamabad, 10 July 2007

An eight-day siege and assault on the mosque left more than 100 people dead, and the action appears to have sparked a militant backlash. Officials say more than 140 people have been killed in attacks since the raid.

Thursday's bombing of the police training center in northern Pakistan was the sixth such attack in as many days.

The bomber rammed his car, reportedly full of explosives, into the compound's outer gate.

Taleban and al-Qaida militants are thought to be active in that area.

State Minister of Information Tariq Azim says President Pervez Musharraf has no intention of backing down in the face of the militant threat.

"He's as determined as ever. Suicide attacks will not deter him," said Azim. "He's as determined to fight terrorists as he always has been."

Political analysts say the attacks have sharply increased the pressure on Mr. Musharraf, who faces mounting opposition from both religious extremists and the country's pro-democracy moderates.

He has scheduled national elections later this year, but his critics fear he may postpone the vote and blame the surging violence.

On Wednesday, he insisted he would not declare a state of emergency or delay the election.

VOASE0719_Economics Report

19 July 2007

Junior Achievement Teaches Business Skills to Young People
Volunteers help students around the world understand real-life economics.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Junior Achievement is an international movement to educate young people about business and economics. The purpose is to help them prepare to succeed in a world economy.

Vesna Jeremic, left, leader of Podunavlje County, Serbia, purchases ''stocks'' from students in Junior Achievement

The organization is the largest of its kind. JA Worldwide says it reaches about seven and one-half million students each year in nearly one hundred countries. Programs begin in elementary school and continue through middle and high school. The education is based on the ideas of market-based economics and entrepreneurship.

Junior Achievement began in nineteen nineteen in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two business leaders, Horace Moses and Theodore Vail, joined with Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts to start it.

For more than fifty years, Junior Achievement programs met after school. They began as a group of business clubs. The organization started with a small number of children ages ten to twelve.

But in nineteen seventy-five, Junior Achievement began to offer classes during school hours. Many more young people joined the organization once it began to teach business skills as part of the school day.

Volunteers from the community teach about businesses, how they are organized, and how products are made and sold. They also teach about the American and world economies, the money system, industry and trade.

The Junior Achievement Company Program teaches young people how entrepreneurship works. They learn about business by operating their own companies.

The students develop a product and sell shares in their company. They use the money to buy the materials they need to make their product, which then they sell. Finally, they return the profits to the people who bought shares in the company.

Junior Achievement says more than two hundred fifty thousand volunteers support its programs around the world. In the United States alone, there are more than twenty-one thousand places that hold Junior Achievement events.

Junior Achievement Incorporated and Junior Achievement International combined their operations in two thousand four. They formed Junior Achievement Worldwide. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Shelley Gollust and Mario Ritter. Transcripts and archives are at voaspecialenglish.com where you can also find a link to the JA Web site, ja.org. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0719_American Mosaic

19 July 2007

Kids Love Shoes on Wheels, but Adults Turn Against 'Heelys'
A new environmental magazine called Verdant. And a listener from Iran wants the details about singer George Michael and his 1984 hit ''Careless Whisper.''

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We listen to music from George Michael …

Learn about some popular shoes for children …

And report about a new environmental magazine.

Verdant

HOST:

Finding new ways to improve the world’s environment and fight climate change is becoming an important industry. “Going Green” has become a way to make money. Verdant Magazine is a new publication that wants to be part of the “Going Green” market. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Verdant Magazine says it gives “Smarter Choices for Better Living.” It calls itself a high-end

magazine that provides information about environmentally friendly living. The magazine says it is fun while also being informative. It tells its readers about many things including travel, design, art and reports about products.

The first issue came out in May. Some articles are fun to look at, such as the pictures of environmentally safe objects for the home. These include computer devices covered in carved wood. Cloth colored with environmentally safe chemicals. And even art made from recycled materials.

One article tells about how to have a garden of plants that does not require a lot of water. The article shows that by using rocks and special plants people can have outdoor areas that do not waste water. Some stories are serious, such as the article about the future of hydrogen cars. Other articles are more fun, such as one about different uses for chocolate.

The next issue of Verdant will come out at the end of August. So far, people have given mixed opinions of the first issue on Web sites such as treehugger.com. Some people think Verdant is aimed only at rich people who can buy the objects in the articles. Some think the magazine itself is a waste since it is printed on paper. But others think the magazine offers environmental information in a form that is easy to use. If you want to decide for yourself, visit the magazine’s Web site at verdantmag.com.

Heelys

HOST:

One of the most popular activities among children in the United States this summer involves a costly pair of shoes. But adults are warning about the possible dangers of the shoes with wheels known as Heelys. Faith Lapidus explains.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Heelys are shoes that can roll. They are sports shoes with a wheel in the heel. The wheels can be easily removed from the shoes. So a person wearing them can either walk or ride! Heelys are sold in at least fifty countries around the world. They cost between fifty and one hundred dollars. They were first sold in the United States in two thousand.

Heelys Incorporated is one of the fastest growing businesses in the United States. Reports say the company has produced more than ten million pairs of shoes. And it had almost two hundred million dollars in sales last year.

Roger Adams invented Heelys because he wanted to be able to roller skate without changing his shoes. He invented a shoe that could roll if the wearer moved the weight of his body toward the back.

Doctors, however, say wearing Heelys can be dangerous. One doctor told a newspaper in the state of Iowa that the shoes would be safer if the wheels were in the front of the shoe instead of the back. He said a person’s natural balance is to the front of the foot, not the back.

One medical study last month in the journal Pediatrics warned of the possible dangers of wearing Heelys. It said doctors at a hospital in Dublin, Ireland reported treating sixty-seven children for injuries over a ten-week period last summer. Doctors in Singapore reported that thirty-seven children were treated for injuries during seven months in two thousand four. Most of the injuries reported involved broken hands, arms and ankles and cracked heads. The children were not wearing any kind of protective equipment when they fell.

The Heelys company recently released the result of a study it had requested. The study found that rolling on Heelys is safer than roller skating, skateboarding or riding scooters. Still, the company and many doctors suggest that children wear protective equipment on their heads, arms and legs. But children say they do not like to do this. Many say they expect to fall while learning to use Heelys and they just get up and try again.

George Michael

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Iran. Saeed Majidi wants to know about George Michael and his famous song “Careless Whisper.”

George Michael

George Michael is one of the world's most successful male recording artists. He has sold more than eighty million records around the world. George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in London in nineteen sixty-three. His father was from the Greek side of the island of Cyprus and changed his name to Jack Panos when he moved to England.

George Michael and his high school friend Andrew Ridgeley formed the music band Wham! in nineteen eighty-one. They released two albums, “Fantastic” and “Make it Big.” The song “Careless Whisper” came out in nineteen eighty-four. George Michael wrote it when he was only seventeen years old.

“Careless Whisper” became one of the most popular songs of the nineteen eighties.

(MUSIC)

In nineteen eighty-six the members of Wham! broke up. But George Michael continued to write and sing hit songs. The next year he released the album “Faith.” It earned him many awards. They include a Grammy Award for Best Album and two American Music Awards for Favorite Male Vocalist. Here George Michael sings the title song, "Faith."

(MUSIC)

George Michael has always been politically and socially active. He has given earnings from songs and concerts to organizations that deal with AIDS and children’s health. This summer, he has been performing more than thirty concerts all over Europe. The Twenty-Five Live Tour is celebrating his first twenty-five years in music. The tour will end next month.

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

It was written by Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.