CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The space shuttle and space station crews hugged goodbye Sunday after more than a week together, but saved their most heartfelt farewell for Discovery.
On its final voyage after nearly three decades, Discovery, the most traveled rocketship ever, will be retired following this week's return to Earth.
The hatches between Discovery and the International Space Station were sealed Sunday afternoon, setting the stage for the shuttle's departure first thing Monday.
"We're going to miss you," the space station's commander, Scott Kelly, told the six shuttle astronauts. "But most of all we're going to miss Discovery.
"Discovery has been a great ship and has really supported the International Space Station more so, I think, than any other space shuttle. We wish her fair winds and following seas."
Shuttle skipper Steven Lindsey nodded in agreement, then shook hands with Kelly. Lindsey noted that all the mission objectives had been accomplished: The new storage unit carried up by Discovery was installed and unloaded, leaving behind an empty, pristine compartment ready to serve its purpose.
Lead flight director Royce Renfrew radioed up congratulations to the two crews, before the hatches slammed shut. He said he was "really proud to take Discovery home at the very top of her game," and he credited the astronauts in large part. "You guys rock," he said.
Mission Control gave Discovery's astronauts two extra days at the orbiting outpost. They took advantage of the bonus time to empty the storage unit of all the gear that went up inside it. The bonus days stretched the entire mission to 13 days on top of the 352 days already logged during Discovery's previous 38 missions.
In their last hour together, the 12 astronauts amused themselves in the new 21-foot-long, 15-foot-wide storage compartment. Taking turns a few at a time, they performed somersaults in the center of the chamber, bounced off the walls, and floated through with outstretched arms like underwater swimmers.
The astronauts were having so much fun that Mission Control was sorry to interrupt. "I hate to ring the recess bell on you," Mission Control radioed, reminding the shuttle crew of one last job remaining before the hatches needed to be shut.
Immediately after undocking, Discovery will fly a victory lap of sorts around the orbiting lab, essentially for picture-taking. Then the shuttle astronauts will pull out an inspection boom and survey their ship for any signs of micrometeorite damage.
Landing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Aboard the space station, meanwhile, the crew hopes in the next week or two to unpack the humanoid robot that was left behind.
The robot, named R2 for Robonaut 2, is the first humanoid in space.
Mission Control, meanwhile, is monitoring a piece of space junk — an old rocket segment — that is threatening to come too close to the space station on Wednesday. Experts will assess the risk to the station following Discovery's undocking and determine whether the complex will have to move out of the way. The shuttle is not expected to be affected by the debris, officials said.
Only two other shuttle missions remain.
Endeavour is due to blast off April 19 with Kelly's identical twin brother Mark at the controls. Mark is married to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is recuperating from a gunshot blast to the head.
Atlantis will close out the 30-year shuttle program with a launch at the end of June.
___
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NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
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Sunday 6 March 2011
New Egypt PM names most of new Cabinet
CAIRO – Egypt's prime minister-designate named a caretaker Cabinet on Sunday to help lead the country through reforms and toward free elections after the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The changes include new faces in the key foreign, interior and justice ministries — a decision expected to be met with the approval of the pro-reform groups that led an 18-day uprising that force Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters staging a rally outside the Interior Ministry in Cairo, which houses offices the hated State Security agency, was violently broken up.
Protesters have over the past two days rallied outside some dozen state security offices across the nation. In many cases, protesters stormed the buildings, including the main State Security headquarters in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City. The protests followed reports that agents were burning and shredding documents to destroy evidence that would incriminate them in possible cases of human rights abuses.
On Sunday, army soldiers fired in the air and used stun guns to disperse a crowd that wanted to storm the State security offices inside the Interior Ministry in downtown Cairo. The protesters said they wanted to see for themselves whether the building had secret cells and to stop officers from destroying documents.
Thugs armed with rocks, firebombs and machetes also charged at the protesters, but it was not immediately known who had sent them. State TV said 27 arrests were made at the scene.
The State Security agency, which employs about 100,000 of Egypt's 500,0000-strong security forces, is blamed for the worst human rights abuses against Mubarak's opponents.
Dismantling the agency has been a key demand of the protest groups that led the uprising.
In a move clearly designed to respond to such demands, Prime Minister designate Essam Sharaf has named a new interior minister. Maj. Gen. Mansour el-Essawy, a former Cairo security chief, was expected to replace Mahmoud Wagdi, who has held the post for less than a month.
The Interior Ministry is in charge of the security forces.
El-Essawy, according to a report by the state news agency, pledged after meeting Sharaf that he would work to restore security and reduce the role of the State Security.
Sharaf met with 22 other ministerial nominees, including Nabil Elaraby, expected to be Egypt's foreign minister. Elaraby will replace Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit who has held the job since 2004, but has been maligned by the protesters because of his criticism of the uprising in its early days.
Elaraby was Egypt's U.N. representative in the 1990s and served as a judge in the International Court of Justice between 2001 and 2006. He was critical of the government's crackdown against the uprising and was a member of a committee to advise protest leaders on their reform demands.
The new Cabinet also includes a new justice minister, replacing one who was considered a close Mubarak ally and whose dismissal was demanded by the opposition groups.
The new Cabinet has to be approved and sworn in by Egypt's military rulers.
Nasser Abdel-Hamid, a protest leader and member of the Youth Coalition, said the new cabinet lineup was acceptable because it did not include Mubarak loyalists.
"Most of them are experts in their field, and have a good history," he said.
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The changes include new faces in the key foreign, interior and justice ministries — a decision expected to be met with the approval of the pro-reform groups that led an 18-day uprising that force Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters staging a rally outside the Interior Ministry in Cairo, which houses offices the hated State Security agency, was violently broken up.
Protesters have over the past two days rallied outside some dozen state security offices across the nation. In many cases, protesters stormed the buildings, including the main State Security headquarters in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City. The protests followed reports that agents were burning and shredding documents to destroy evidence that would incriminate them in possible cases of human rights abuses.
On Sunday, army soldiers fired in the air and used stun guns to disperse a crowd that wanted to storm the State security offices inside the Interior Ministry in downtown Cairo. The protesters said they wanted to see for themselves whether the building had secret cells and to stop officers from destroying documents.
Thugs armed with rocks, firebombs and machetes also charged at the protesters, but it was not immediately known who had sent them. State TV said 27 arrests were made at the scene.
The State Security agency, which employs about 100,000 of Egypt's 500,0000-strong security forces, is blamed for the worst human rights abuses against Mubarak's opponents.
Dismantling the agency has been a key demand of the protest groups that led the uprising.
In a move clearly designed to respond to such demands, Prime Minister designate Essam Sharaf has named a new interior minister. Maj. Gen. Mansour el-Essawy, a former Cairo security chief, was expected to replace Mahmoud Wagdi, who has held the post for less than a month.
The Interior Ministry is in charge of the security forces.
El-Essawy, according to a report by the state news agency, pledged after meeting Sharaf that he would work to restore security and reduce the role of the State Security.
Sharaf met with 22 other ministerial nominees, including Nabil Elaraby, expected to be Egypt's foreign minister. Elaraby will replace Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit who has held the job since 2004, but has been maligned by the protesters because of his criticism of the uprising in its early days.
Elaraby was Egypt's U.N. representative in the 1990s and served as a judge in the International Court of Justice between 2001 and 2006. He was critical of the government's crackdown against the uprising and was a member of a committee to advise protest leaders on their reform demands.
The new Cabinet also includes a new justice minister, replacing one who was considered a close Mubarak ally and whose dismissal was demanded by the opposition groups.
The new Cabinet has to be approved and sworn in by Egypt's military rulers.
Nasser Abdel-Hamid, a protest leader and member of the Youth Coalition, said the new cabinet lineup was acceptable because it did not include Mubarak loyalists.
"Most of them are experts in their field, and have a good history," he said.
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White House praises Muslims ahead of House hearing
STERLING, Va. – The White House on Sunday praised American Muslims for helping fight violent extremism, but a House leader on terrorism issues said they aren't cooperating enough with law enforcement to counter the radicalization of young followers by al-Qaida-linked groups.
Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, speaking at an interfaith forum at a Northern Virginia mosque, commended its members for taking "an unequivocal stand against terrorism."
"You've sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another," McDonough said.
But Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, re-asserted warnings about al-Qaida terrorists targeting Muslim youth in this country.
"The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but at this stage in our history there's an effort ... to radicalize elements within the Muslim community," he said in a preview of his hearing Thursday on the extent of the problem and the Muslim community's response.
"It's there and that's where the threat is coming from at this time," King said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"I don't believe there is sufficient cooperation" by American Muslims with law enforcement, King said. "Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same — they do not give the level of cooperation that they need."
In New York City, a coalition of over 100 interfaith, nonprofit and governmental organizations planned a rally Sunday against King's hearing, saying it will send the wrong message to U.S. Muslims by "demonizing" them. The committee hasn't released a witness list yet for the hearing.
The administration has tried to strike a balance on the thorny issue, working to go after homegrown Islamic extremists without appearing to be at war with the Muslim world. There has been an effort to build stronger relationships with Muslims — internationally and with Islamic leaders in the United States.
At the same time, however, militant Islamic propaganda has factored into recent terrorist attacks and foiled attempts in this country.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspect in 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, is believed to have been inspired by the Internet postings of violent Islamic extremists, as was Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons charges in the attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square.
The first Muslim elected to the House, Rep. Keith Ellison, said that while it's proper to investigate radicalization, he thinks it is wrong to single out one religion.
"To say we're going to investigate a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take," said Ellison, D-Minn. "I don't want them to be able to stand up and claim, you know, see, we told you, America is at war with Islam. That's one of their main recruiting arguments."
Ellison said Congress needs to be careful about how it addresses the issue in investigative hearings. Appearing with King on CNN's "State of the Union," he said it makes sense to speak with people in the Muslim community about efforts by extremists such as radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to encourage Muslims to wage attacks against the U.S.
But Ellison argued that Muslim-Americans have worked with authorities to report suspected terrorists within their community. It's important, he said, to engage Muslims, not frighten them.
Shortly after he took office, Obama pledged a new beginning in the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world. His national security strategy dropped rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism as Obama argued that words matter and such inflammatory language linking Islam to the terrorist threat feeds al-Qaida propaganda and could alienate moderate Muslims.
Others, however, say the administration is failing to clearly articulate the threat, and should more directly identify Islamic extremism as a root cause of terrorism.
"It's an international movement with elements here in the United States, and to me, that's a real distinction," King said. "There's always going to be isolated incidents, isolated fanatics, isolated terrorists even. But an organized terrorist effort, to me, is different, which requires an investigation unto itself."
The site for McDonough's speech was the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, one of the largest Muslim communities-mosque in the U.S., with seven branches serving more than 5,000 families, according to its website.
It is an outreach partner of the FBI and its executive director is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Countering Violent Extremism Working Group.
___
Online:
All Dulles Area Muslim Society: http://adamscenter.org/
House Homeland Security Committee: http://homeland.house.gov/
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Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, speaking at an interfaith forum at a Northern Virginia mosque, commended its members for taking "an unequivocal stand against terrorism."
"You've sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another," McDonough said.
But Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, re-asserted warnings about al-Qaida terrorists targeting Muslim youth in this country.
"The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but at this stage in our history there's an effort ... to radicalize elements within the Muslim community," he said in a preview of his hearing Thursday on the extent of the problem and the Muslim community's response.
"It's there and that's where the threat is coming from at this time," King said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"I don't believe there is sufficient cooperation" by American Muslims with law enforcement, King said. "Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same — they do not give the level of cooperation that they need."
In New York City, a coalition of over 100 interfaith, nonprofit and governmental organizations planned a rally Sunday against King's hearing, saying it will send the wrong message to U.S. Muslims by "demonizing" them. The committee hasn't released a witness list yet for the hearing.
The administration has tried to strike a balance on the thorny issue, working to go after homegrown Islamic extremists without appearing to be at war with the Muslim world. There has been an effort to build stronger relationships with Muslims — internationally and with Islamic leaders in the United States.
At the same time, however, militant Islamic propaganda has factored into recent terrorist attacks and foiled attempts in this country.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspect in 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, is believed to have been inspired by the Internet postings of violent Islamic extremists, as was Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons charges in the attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square.
The first Muslim elected to the House, Rep. Keith Ellison, said that while it's proper to investigate radicalization, he thinks it is wrong to single out one religion.
"To say we're going to investigate a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take," said Ellison, D-Minn. "I don't want them to be able to stand up and claim, you know, see, we told you, America is at war with Islam. That's one of their main recruiting arguments."
Ellison said Congress needs to be careful about how it addresses the issue in investigative hearings. Appearing with King on CNN's "State of the Union," he said it makes sense to speak with people in the Muslim community about efforts by extremists such as radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to encourage Muslims to wage attacks against the U.S.
But Ellison argued that Muslim-Americans have worked with authorities to report suspected terrorists within their community. It's important, he said, to engage Muslims, not frighten them.
Shortly after he took office, Obama pledged a new beginning in the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world. His national security strategy dropped rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism as Obama argued that words matter and such inflammatory language linking Islam to the terrorist threat feeds al-Qaida propaganda and could alienate moderate Muslims.
Others, however, say the administration is failing to clearly articulate the threat, and should more directly identify Islamic extremism as a root cause of terrorism.
"It's an international movement with elements here in the United States, and to me, that's a real distinction," King said. "There's always going to be isolated incidents, isolated fanatics, isolated terrorists even. But an organized terrorist effort, to me, is different, which requires an investigation unto itself."
The site for McDonough's speech was the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, one of the largest Muslim communities-mosque in the U.S., with seven branches serving more than 5,000 families, according to its website.
It is an outreach partner of the FBI and its executive director is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Countering Violent Extremism Working Group.
___
Online:
All Dulles Area Muslim Society: http://adamscenter.org/
House Homeland Security Committee: http://homeland.house.gov/
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Libya forces try to halt rebel move toward capital
BIN JAWWAD, Libya – Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, some in helicopter gunships, pounded opposition fighters with artillery, rockets and gunfire Sunday, dramatically escalating their counteroffensive to halt the rebels' rapid advance toward the capital.
They also battled to loosen the grip of rebels on two cities close to Tripoli. But in at least one case, their tactics appeared to lead them into a trap.
Residents said pro-Gadhafi troops punched into the city of Misrata, 120 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli, the capital, with mortars and tanks but were pushed out five hours later by rebel forces. The rebel commanders intentionally opened the way for government tanks to enter the city, then surrounded them and attacked with anti-aircraft guns and mortars, said Abdel Fatah al-Misrati, one of the rebels.
"Our spirits are high," al-Misrati said. "The regime is struggling and what is happening is a desperate attempt to survive and crush the opposition. But the rebels are in control of the city."
As fighting across Libya grew more fierce, the international community appeared to be struggling to put military muscle behind its demands for Gadhafi to give up power.
A small British delegation sent to talk to the rebels headquartered in the main eastern city of Benghazi, meanwhile, was arrested by the rebels themselves, who said the group had entered the country without permission. The rebels have set up an interim governing council that is urging international airstrikes on Gadhafi's strongholds and forces, though they strongly oppose foreign intervention on the ground.
Sunday's fighting appeared to signal the start of a new phase in the conflict, with Gadhafi's regime unleashing its air power on the rebel force trying to oust the ruler of 41 years. Resorting to heavy use of air attacks signaled the regime's concern that it needed to check the advance of the rebel force toward the city of Sirte — Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold.
Anti-Gadhafi forces would get a massive morale boost if they captured Sirte, and it would clear a major obstacle on the march toward the gates of Tripoli.
The uprising against Gadhafi, which began Feb. 15, is already longer and much bloodier than the relatively quick revolts that overthrew the longtime authoritarian leaders of neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Libya appears to be sliding toward a civil war that could drag out for weeks, or even months. Both sides seem to be relatively weak and poorly trained, though Gadhafi's forces have the advantage in numbers and equipment.
The conflict took a turn late last week when government opponents, backed by mutinous army units and armed with weaponry seized from storehouses, went on the offensive. At the same time, pro-Gadhafi forces have conducted counteroffensives to try to retake the towns and oil ports the rebels have captured since they moved out of the rebel-held east.
An opposition force estimated at 500 to 1,000 fighters pushed out of the rebel-held eastern half of Libya and has been cutting a path west toward Tripoli. On the way, they secured control of two important oil ports at Brega and Ras Lanouf.
If the rebels continue to advance, even slowly, Gadhafi's heavy dependence on air power could prompt the West to try to hurriedly enforce a no-fly zone over the country. The U.N. has already imposed sanctions against Libya, and the U.S. has moved military forces closer to its shores to back up its demand that Gadhafi step down.
Enforcing a no-fly zone could take weeks to organize, however, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has noted that it must be preceded by a military operation to take out Libya's air defenses. British Foreign Minister William Hague said Sunday that a no-fly zone over Libya is still in an early stage of planning and ruled out the use of ground forces.
Hague also said a small British diplomatic team sent to Libya to try to talk to the rebels left after it "experienced difficulties," but that another team would be sent. He told the BBC it would be inappropriate to comment on an article in Britain's Sunday Times that soldiers were captured by rebel forces when a secret mission to put British diplomats in touch with leading opponents of Gadhafi went awry.
Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, spokesman for the rebels' provisional transitional national council, said eight people with British passports were arrested, including one who claimed to be a British diplomat. He said their departure was being arranged, and that they have "probably already left."
"The reason they were arrested is because they came into the country unofficially without previous arrangement with Libyan officials. Libya is an independent nation, and we have our borders that we expect to be respected," Ghoga said.
He added that there is "no crisis" between the council and Britain and that anti-Gadhafi forces are "more than willing" to talk to any delegation sent "in a legitimate way."
Hundreds if not thousands of people have died since Libya's uprising began Feb. 15 — tight restrictions on media make it near impossible to get an accurate tally. More than 200,000 people have fled the country, most of them foreign workers. The exodus is creating a humanitarian crisis across the border with Tunisia — another North African country in turmoil after an uprising in January that ousted its longtime leader.
The turmoil is being felt more broadly still in the form of rising oil prices. Libya's oil production has been seriously crippled by the unrest.
On Saturday night, the rebels pushed to just 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Sirte, but then pulled back about 90 miles (150 kilometers) to the town of Ras Lanouf for the night.
That night, pro-Gadhafi forces infiltrated the town of Bin Jawwad, on the road to Sirte, and set an ambush for the rebel forces when they returned at daylight. They also came under a barrage of fire from helicopter gunships, artillery and rockets. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw fierce battles raging throughout the day.
"We got thrown by bombs and snipers from the side roads that we can't see," recalled Jamal al-Karrari, a Libyan who abandoned his studies in the U.S. to join the uprising. "I didn't even use my Kalashnikov; I didn't find a target. All we were trying to do was escape and come back."
The rebels staged several offensives throughout the day, while unarmed spectators, many decorated with the rebel flag, cheered them on from the road. Each advance, however, was met with a withering barrage of cannon fire that threw the rebels back. The government also launched airstrikes against Ras Lanouf.
About 50 rebel fighters were trapped inside a Bin Jawwad mosque, and their comrades who had retreated to the edge of the city suddenly surged forward in 20 pickup trucks to try to rescue them. They drove straight into the bombardment and one of the trucks was hit, sending a huge plume of black smoke into the air. The rest of the convoy quickly retreated back to the edges of the town.
Rebel soldier Musa Ibrahim said Gadhafi's forces took hostages in the town in the morning.
"They took one of every family hostage to keep them from fighting," he said.
During the fighting, ambulances sped east toward a hospital in Ras Lanouf while rebel trucks, at least four of them mounted with multiple rocket launchers, raced west to reinforce the front lines.
Hospital officials said six people were killed in the fighting for Bin Jawwad and 60 were wounded, including a French journalist for France 24 TV.
In Misrata, a city about halfway between Tripoli and Sirte, residents said the rebels repelled a government counteroffensive to seize back control.
The regime forces attacked just before noon with tanks, mortars, artillery and anti-aircraft guns. A heavy gunbattle raged for about five hours and residents said they were choking on the smoke that clogged the air.
Abubakr al-Misrati, a doctor at a Misrata hospital, said 20 people were killed, 14 of them from Gadhafi's forces, and 100 injured.
Tripoli, the capital of 2 million, is the city most firmly in Gadhafi's grip. Residents there awoke before dawn to the crackle of unusually heavy and sustained gunfire that lasted for at least two hours. Some of the gunfire was heard around the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp where Gadhafi lives, giving rise to speculation that there may have been some sort of internal fighting within the forces defending the Libyan leader inside his fortress-like barracks. Gadhafi's whereabouts were unknown.
Libyan authorities tried to explain the unusually heavy gunfire by saying it was a celebration of the regime taking back Ras Lanouf and Misrata, though both places appeared to still be in rebel hands.
After the gunfire eased in the early morning, thousands of Gadhafi's supporters poured into Tripoli's central square for a rally that lasted all day, waving green flags, firing guns in the air and holding up banners in support of the regime. Hundreds drove past Gadhafi's residence, waving flags and cheering. Armed men in plainclothes were standing at the gates, also shooting in the air.
Khaild Kaid, deputy foreign minister, claimed the government now held the cities of Ras Lanouf, Misrata and Zawiya, though rebels and residents said all were held by Gadhafi's opponents.
Kaid said government forces arrested 37 rebels. He said that Zawiya's rebels have used their families as human shields and that the army decided not to attack them.
Zawiya, just 30 miles west of Tripoli, is the closest rebel-held city to the capital. Residents there said pro-Gadhafi forces entered with tanks, anti-aircraft guns and mortars Saturday but retreated after a three-hour battle, and that rebels seized some of the troops' weapons and equipment. They said pro-Gadhafi forces had withdrawn to the outskirts of the city and were bracing for a new offensive. Most of the residents interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
"At the beginning (of fighting), our weapons were rudimentary. But every time they attack us, we seize their weapons," one rebel fighter said. He also said opposition fighters took hostages and shot and killed at least 10 of them in a hotel near the square.
___
Michael reported from Tripoli.
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They also battled to loosen the grip of rebels on two cities close to Tripoli. But in at least one case, their tactics appeared to lead them into a trap.
Residents said pro-Gadhafi troops punched into the city of Misrata, 120 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli, the capital, with mortars and tanks but were pushed out five hours later by rebel forces. The rebel commanders intentionally opened the way for government tanks to enter the city, then surrounded them and attacked with anti-aircraft guns and mortars, said Abdel Fatah al-Misrati, one of the rebels.
"Our spirits are high," al-Misrati said. "The regime is struggling and what is happening is a desperate attempt to survive and crush the opposition. But the rebels are in control of the city."
As fighting across Libya grew more fierce, the international community appeared to be struggling to put military muscle behind its demands for Gadhafi to give up power.
A small British delegation sent to talk to the rebels headquartered in the main eastern city of Benghazi, meanwhile, was arrested by the rebels themselves, who said the group had entered the country without permission. The rebels have set up an interim governing council that is urging international airstrikes on Gadhafi's strongholds and forces, though they strongly oppose foreign intervention on the ground.
Sunday's fighting appeared to signal the start of a new phase in the conflict, with Gadhafi's regime unleashing its air power on the rebel force trying to oust the ruler of 41 years. Resorting to heavy use of air attacks signaled the regime's concern that it needed to check the advance of the rebel force toward the city of Sirte — Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold.
Anti-Gadhafi forces would get a massive morale boost if they captured Sirte, and it would clear a major obstacle on the march toward the gates of Tripoli.
The uprising against Gadhafi, which began Feb. 15, is already longer and much bloodier than the relatively quick revolts that overthrew the longtime authoritarian leaders of neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Libya appears to be sliding toward a civil war that could drag out for weeks, or even months. Both sides seem to be relatively weak and poorly trained, though Gadhafi's forces have the advantage in numbers and equipment.
The conflict took a turn late last week when government opponents, backed by mutinous army units and armed with weaponry seized from storehouses, went on the offensive. At the same time, pro-Gadhafi forces have conducted counteroffensives to try to retake the towns and oil ports the rebels have captured since they moved out of the rebel-held east.
An opposition force estimated at 500 to 1,000 fighters pushed out of the rebel-held eastern half of Libya and has been cutting a path west toward Tripoli. On the way, they secured control of two important oil ports at Brega and Ras Lanouf.
If the rebels continue to advance, even slowly, Gadhafi's heavy dependence on air power could prompt the West to try to hurriedly enforce a no-fly zone over the country. The U.N. has already imposed sanctions against Libya, and the U.S. has moved military forces closer to its shores to back up its demand that Gadhafi step down.
Enforcing a no-fly zone could take weeks to organize, however, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has noted that it must be preceded by a military operation to take out Libya's air defenses. British Foreign Minister William Hague said Sunday that a no-fly zone over Libya is still in an early stage of planning and ruled out the use of ground forces.
Hague also said a small British diplomatic team sent to Libya to try to talk to the rebels left after it "experienced difficulties," but that another team would be sent. He told the BBC it would be inappropriate to comment on an article in Britain's Sunday Times that soldiers were captured by rebel forces when a secret mission to put British diplomats in touch with leading opponents of Gadhafi went awry.
Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, spokesman for the rebels' provisional transitional national council, said eight people with British passports were arrested, including one who claimed to be a British diplomat. He said their departure was being arranged, and that they have "probably already left."
"The reason they were arrested is because they came into the country unofficially without previous arrangement with Libyan officials. Libya is an independent nation, and we have our borders that we expect to be respected," Ghoga said.
He added that there is "no crisis" between the council and Britain and that anti-Gadhafi forces are "more than willing" to talk to any delegation sent "in a legitimate way."
Hundreds if not thousands of people have died since Libya's uprising began Feb. 15 — tight restrictions on media make it near impossible to get an accurate tally. More than 200,000 people have fled the country, most of them foreign workers. The exodus is creating a humanitarian crisis across the border with Tunisia — another North African country in turmoil after an uprising in January that ousted its longtime leader.
The turmoil is being felt more broadly still in the form of rising oil prices. Libya's oil production has been seriously crippled by the unrest.
On Saturday night, the rebels pushed to just 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Sirte, but then pulled back about 90 miles (150 kilometers) to the town of Ras Lanouf for the night.
That night, pro-Gadhafi forces infiltrated the town of Bin Jawwad, on the road to Sirte, and set an ambush for the rebel forces when they returned at daylight. They also came under a barrage of fire from helicopter gunships, artillery and rockets. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw fierce battles raging throughout the day.
"We got thrown by bombs and snipers from the side roads that we can't see," recalled Jamal al-Karrari, a Libyan who abandoned his studies in the U.S. to join the uprising. "I didn't even use my Kalashnikov; I didn't find a target. All we were trying to do was escape and come back."
The rebels staged several offensives throughout the day, while unarmed spectators, many decorated with the rebel flag, cheered them on from the road. Each advance, however, was met with a withering barrage of cannon fire that threw the rebels back. The government also launched airstrikes against Ras Lanouf.
About 50 rebel fighters were trapped inside a Bin Jawwad mosque, and their comrades who had retreated to the edge of the city suddenly surged forward in 20 pickup trucks to try to rescue them. They drove straight into the bombardment and one of the trucks was hit, sending a huge plume of black smoke into the air. The rest of the convoy quickly retreated back to the edges of the town.
Rebel soldier Musa Ibrahim said Gadhafi's forces took hostages in the town in the morning.
"They took one of every family hostage to keep them from fighting," he said.
During the fighting, ambulances sped east toward a hospital in Ras Lanouf while rebel trucks, at least four of them mounted with multiple rocket launchers, raced west to reinforce the front lines.
Hospital officials said six people were killed in the fighting for Bin Jawwad and 60 were wounded, including a French journalist for France 24 TV.
In Misrata, a city about halfway between Tripoli and Sirte, residents said the rebels repelled a government counteroffensive to seize back control.
The regime forces attacked just before noon with tanks, mortars, artillery and anti-aircraft guns. A heavy gunbattle raged for about five hours and residents said they were choking on the smoke that clogged the air.
Abubakr al-Misrati, a doctor at a Misrata hospital, said 20 people were killed, 14 of them from Gadhafi's forces, and 100 injured.
Tripoli, the capital of 2 million, is the city most firmly in Gadhafi's grip. Residents there awoke before dawn to the crackle of unusually heavy and sustained gunfire that lasted for at least two hours. Some of the gunfire was heard around the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp where Gadhafi lives, giving rise to speculation that there may have been some sort of internal fighting within the forces defending the Libyan leader inside his fortress-like barracks. Gadhafi's whereabouts were unknown.
Libyan authorities tried to explain the unusually heavy gunfire by saying it was a celebration of the regime taking back Ras Lanouf and Misrata, though both places appeared to still be in rebel hands.
After the gunfire eased in the early morning, thousands of Gadhafi's supporters poured into Tripoli's central square for a rally that lasted all day, waving green flags, firing guns in the air and holding up banners in support of the regime. Hundreds drove past Gadhafi's residence, waving flags and cheering. Armed men in plainclothes were standing at the gates, also shooting in the air.
Khaild Kaid, deputy foreign minister, claimed the government now held the cities of Ras Lanouf, Misrata and Zawiya, though rebels and residents said all were held by Gadhafi's opponents.
Kaid said government forces arrested 37 rebels. He said that Zawiya's rebels have used their families as human shields and that the army decided not to attack them.
Zawiya, just 30 miles west of Tripoli, is the closest rebel-held city to the capital. Residents there said pro-Gadhafi forces entered with tanks, anti-aircraft guns and mortars Saturday but retreated after a three-hour battle, and that rebels seized some of the troops' weapons and equipment. They said pro-Gadhafi forces had withdrawn to the outskirts of the city and were bracing for a new offensive. Most of the residents interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
"At the beginning (of fighting), our weapons were rudimentary. But every time they attack us, we seize their weapons," one rebel fighter said. He also said opposition fighters took hostages and shot and killed at least 10 of them in a hotel near the square.
___
Michael reported from Tripoli.
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Saturday 5 March 2011
Michael Moore rallies Wis. pro-union protesters
MADISON, Wis. – Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore urged Wisconsin residents Saturday to fight against Republican efforts to strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights, telling thousands of protesters that "Madison is only the beginning."
The crowd roared in approval as Moore implored demonstrators to keep up their struggle against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, saying they've galvanized the nation against the wealthy elite and comparing their fight to Egypt's revolt. He also thanked the 14 state Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in history books.
"We're going to do this together. Don't give up. Please don't give up," Moore told the protesters, who have swarmed the Capitol every day for close to three weeks.
Police said there were "tens of thousands" of protesters but didn't give a specific count. The vast majority of the crowd was pro-union, and no one was arrested or cited. Rallies drew huge crowds the previous two Saturdays, too: about 70,000 on Feb. 19, and an even larger one on Feb. 26.
Moore told them that the wealthy have overreached, first taking the working class' money and then taking their souls by shutting them up at the bargaining table. The crowd yelled "thank you" before Moore began to speak, and he responded: "All of America thanks you, Wisconsin."
Walker has said the legislation is needed to help ease a state deficit projected to hit $3.6 billion by mid-2013, though opponents see it as an effort to weaken unions.
Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans broke down Thursday, though communication lines remain open, Sen. Tim Cullen said Saturday. Cullen, one of the Democrats who fled the state, said it's difficult for either side to compromise since Democrats don't want to lose support from their base and Walker doesn't want to appear weak by backing down.
Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, wrote in an e-mail Saturday that Walker wouldn't publicly comment on the negotiations but was focused on balancing the budget and following through on his campaign pledge to create 250,000 new jobs. Walker has said he wouldn't compromise on the collective bargaining issue or anything that saves the state money.
Playing to the hometown crowd, Moore disputed the governor's claims that Wisconsin was broke, saying the idea was as farfetched as the belief that the Green Bay Packers needed former quarterback Brett Favre to win a Super Bowl. The Packers won the title last month with Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers.
Activists began a sit-in at the Wisconsin Capitol on Feb. 15, and although a judge ended protestors' overnight stays late last week, several hundred were back in the rotunda Saturday chanting "Who's house? Our house!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"
Renee Peplinski, a fifth-grade teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, said she doesn't mind making financial concessions to help the state even though it would hurt her family. She's more concerned about losing her collective bargaining rights. Without union protections, teachers would be at the mercy of administrators who could decide to fire them for any perceived slight, she said.
"Every teacher I know is depressed," said Peplinski, 42. "Every minute of the day there's this black cloud."
Thousands more marched in the streets. They banged drums, waved flags and carrying signs with messages like "No one has ever died from overexposure to education," "Worst bill ever" and "Tree huggers for unions."
Meanwhile, two other Democratic senators who fled the state joined the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago to urge Walker to negotiate with workers. Sen. Lena Taylor said Democrats left because they "needed to slow the bill down."
"I ask the governor, 'Do your job. Come to the table and speak to Wisconsin workers,'" Taylor said. "We agree that fiscally we need to do things differently. We even agree that there are some places where we need to talk about how we negotiate. ... However we refuse to accept in America that we don't believe that a voice at the table is an option. It is not an option of a leader and it surely is not the Wisconsin way."
Sen. Chris Larson urged protestors to stay strong.
"We've been here for the last 16 days we'll continue to be here until worker's rights are removed as the target in this budget repair bill by our governor," he said.
Walker has said the bill is needed to ease a deficit that could hit $137 million by July and $3.6 billion by the middle of 2013. His proposal comes up with the money for this year in part by forcing state employees to pay for half the cost of their pensions and twice their current health care premiums — concessions equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut.
With the labor bill stalled, Walker said layoffs may be necessary so the state can start to realize the $30 million savings he had assumed would come from the concessions. All state workers, except those at prisons, state hospitals and other facilities open around the clock, would be potential layoff targets.
Walker informed state employee unions Friday that he intends to issue layoff notices to 1,500 workers that would be effective on April 4.
___
Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report from Chicago.
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The crowd roared in approval as Moore implored demonstrators to keep up their struggle against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, saying they've galvanized the nation against the wealthy elite and comparing their fight to Egypt's revolt. He also thanked the 14 state Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in history books.
"We're going to do this together. Don't give up. Please don't give up," Moore told the protesters, who have swarmed the Capitol every day for close to three weeks.
Police said there were "tens of thousands" of protesters but didn't give a specific count. The vast majority of the crowd was pro-union, and no one was arrested or cited. Rallies drew huge crowds the previous two Saturdays, too: about 70,000 on Feb. 19, and an even larger one on Feb. 26.
Moore told them that the wealthy have overreached, first taking the working class' money and then taking their souls by shutting them up at the bargaining table. The crowd yelled "thank you" before Moore began to speak, and he responded: "All of America thanks you, Wisconsin."
Walker has said the legislation is needed to help ease a state deficit projected to hit $3.6 billion by mid-2013, though opponents see it as an effort to weaken unions.
Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans broke down Thursday, though communication lines remain open, Sen. Tim Cullen said Saturday. Cullen, one of the Democrats who fled the state, said it's difficult for either side to compromise since Democrats don't want to lose support from their base and Walker doesn't want to appear weak by backing down.
Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, wrote in an e-mail Saturday that Walker wouldn't publicly comment on the negotiations but was focused on balancing the budget and following through on his campaign pledge to create 250,000 new jobs. Walker has said he wouldn't compromise on the collective bargaining issue or anything that saves the state money.
Playing to the hometown crowd, Moore disputed the governor's claims that Wisconsin was broke, saying the idea was as farfetched as the belief that the Green Bay Packers needed former quarterback Brett Favre to win a Super Bowl. The Packers won the title last month with Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers.
Activists began a sit-in at the Wisconsin Capitol on Feb. 15, and although a judge ended protestors' overnight stays late last week, several hundred were back in the rotunda Saturday chanting "Who's house? Our house!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"
Renee Peplinski, a fifth-grade teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, said she doesn't mind making financial concessions to help the state even though it would hurt her family. She's more concerned about losing her collective bargaining rights. Without union protections, teachers would be at the mercy of administrators who could decide to fire them for any perceived slight, she said.
"Every teacher I know is depressed," said Peplinski, 42. "Every minute of the day there's this black cloud."
Thousands more marched in the streets. They banged drums, waved flags and carrying signs with messages like "No one has ever died from overexposure to education," "Worst bill ever" and "Tree huggers for unions."
Meanwhile, two other Democratic senators who fled the state joined the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago to urge Walker to negotiate with workers. Sen. Lena Taylor said Democrats left because they "needed to slow the bill down."
"I ask the governor, 'Do your job. Come to the table and speak to Wisconsin workers,'" Taylor said. "We agree that fiscally we need to do things differently. We even agree that there are some places where we need to talk about how we negotiate. ... However we refuse to accept in America that we don't believe that a voice at the table is an option. It is not an option of a leader and it surely is not the Wisconsin way."
Sen. Chris Larson urged protestors to stay strong.
"We've been here for the last 16 days we'll continue to be here until worker's rights are removed as the target in this budget repair bill by our governor," he said.
Walker has said the bill is needed to ease a deficit that could hit $137 million by July and $3.6 billion by the middle of 2013. His proposal comes up with the money for this year in part by forcing state employees to pay for half the cost of their pensions and twice their current health care premiums — concessions equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut.
With the labor bill stalled, Walker said layoffs may be necessary so the state can start to realize the $30 million savings he had assumed would come from the concessions. All state workers, except those at prisons, state hospitals and other facilities open around the clock, would be potential layoff targets.
Walker informed state employee unions Friday that he intends to issue layoff notices to 1,500 workers that would be effective on April 4.
___
Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report from Chicago.
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Tornado slams La. town, downed tree kills mother
RAYNE, La. – A tornado slammed a southwestern Louisiana town Saturday, killing a young mother who was sheltering her child and injuring 11 other people. More than 100 homes were damaged, many of them destroyed, authorities said, and about 1,500 people were evacuated because of natural gas leaks.
Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office, said 21-year-old Jalisa Granger was killed when a tree fell on her house.
"She sheltered the child to protect her from the storm and a tree fell on the house and it killed the mother but the child was OK," Trahan said, adding that a relative who lived nearby found them.
Debris was littered throughout Rayne, a town of about 8,500 people, after a line of violent thunderstorms moved through the area and left behind a swath of damage about a quarter of a mile wide to three miles long.
Pieces of homes were strewn about the tops of trees, and power lines were down. A U.S. Postal Service truck was flipped to its side.
"It's a mess back there — a lot of damage," Trahan said. The community is near Route 10 and about 70 miles west of Baton Rouge.
Trahan said the natural gas leaks, which were later fixed, delayed authorities trying to count how many homes and businesses were damaged. About 1,500 people were ordered out of the area for the night, she said, because officials feared more gas leaks could occur. A temporary shelter was set up at a fire station — about two dozen displaced persons were there Saturday night — and officials were working to find other shelters. A curfew was imposed for the storm-damaged area and will remain in effect until at least 6 a.m.
"There are houses off their foundations," said State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons. "There are houses that have been destroyed."
The National Weather Service sent a team to investigate and confirmed a tornado had struck the area.
The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades either were delayed, started earlier or canceled because of the severe weather.
As the storm system moved east, it weakened, and at 11 p.m. Eastern time, tornado watches expired for south-central and southwest Alabama and northwest Florida, including Destin and Panama City.
Showers and thunderstorms were expected to move through the area, contributing to rough waters and dense fog in the early-morning hours.
"The thunderstorms are moving into increasingly stable air and they're getting a little weaker as they move east, particularly the ones above land," NWS forecaster Mark Wool said Saturday evening.
Wool said the severe weather was caused by strong winds ahead of a cold front.
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Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office, said 21-year-old Jalisa Granger was killed when a tree fell on her house.
"She sheltered the child to protect her from the storm and a tree fell on the house and it killed the mother but the child was OK," Trahan said, adding that a relative who lived nearby found them.
Debris was littered throughout Rayne, a town of about 8,500 people, after a line of violent thunderstorms moved through the area and left behind a swath of damage about a quarter of a mile wide to three miles long.
Pieces of homes were strewn about the tops of trees, and power lines were down. A U.S. Postal Service truck was flipped to its side.
"It's a mess back there — a lot of damage," Trahan said. The community is near Route 10 and about 70 miles west of Baton Rouge.
Trahan said the natural gas leaks, which were later fixed, delayed authorities trying to count how many homes and businesses were damaged. About 1,500 people were ordered out of the area for the night, she said, because officials feared more gas leaks could occur. A temporary shelter was set up at a fire station — about two dozen displaced persons were there Saturday night — and officials were working to find other shelters. A curfew was imposed for the storm-damaged area and will remain in effect until at least 6 a.m.
"There are houses off their foundations," said State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons. "There are houses that have been destroyed."
The National Weather Service sent a team to investigate and confirmed a tornado had struck the area.
The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades either were delayed, started earlier or canceled because of the severe weather.
As the storm system moved east, it weakened, and at 11 p.m. Eastern time, tornado watches expired for south-central and southwest Alabama and northwest Florida, including Destin and Panama City.
Showers and thunderstorms were expected to move through the area, contributing to rough waters and dense fog in the early-morning hours.
"The thunderstorms are moving into increasingly stable air and they're getting a little weaker as they move east, particularly the ones above land," NWS forecaster Mark Wool said Saturday evening.
Wool said the severe weather was caused by strong winds ahead of a cold front.
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Romney seeks to address health care woes
BARTLETT, N.H. – Call it an attempt to address an obvious political vulnerability. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Saturday derided President Barack Obama's health care law — modeled in some ways after one the ex-governor signed in Massachusetts — as a misguided and egregious effort to seize more power for Washington.
"Obamacare is bad law, bad policy, and it is bad for America's families," Romney declared. "And that's the reason why President Obama will be a one-term president." He vowed to repeal it if he were ever in a position to do so, and drew hearty cheers from his Republican Party audience.
Then, raising the Massachusetts law, Romney argued that the solution for the unique problems of one state isn't the right prescription for the nation as a whole, and he acknowledged: "Our experiment wasn't perfect — some things worked, some didn't, and some things I'd change."
"One thing I would never do is to usurp the constitutional power of states with a one-size-fits-all federal takeover," Romney said, again earning applause. "The federal government isn't the answer for running health care any more than it's the answer for running Amtrak or the post office."
With that, he used his first appearance before New Hampshire Republicans since the midterm elections to start addressing head-on the issue that's certain to be a hurdle in his all-but-certain presidential campaign.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]
Romney's states-rights pitch is one that GOP primary voters are likely to hear over the next year as he tries to persuade them to overlook his flaws because he alone is the strongest Republican to challenge Obama on the country's top issue — the economy.
The failed candidate of 2008 is expected to formally announce a second candidacy later this spring. Campaign signs posted along the road leading to the hotel where he was speaking may have gotten a bit ahead of him. They said "Mitt Romney for President" and suggested that the theme would be "True Strength for America's Future."
Romney and his aides insisted they were old signs.
Among Romney's biggest challenges: explaining to GOP primary voters why he signed a law that became the foundation for Obama's national overhaul. Passed by Congress last year, Obama's health care law has enraged conservatives who view it as a costly government expansion and intrusion into their lives because it mandates insurance for most Americans.
Romney all but ignored the topic in his last major public appearance last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
But, since then, the similarities with Romney's 2006 law in Massachusetts have increasingly been dogging him.
Obama praised the efforts in Massachusetts during a meeting with governors at the White House, saying: "I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he's proud of what he accomplished on health care by giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions. He's right."
Also, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, an Obama friend, said Romney deserves a lot of credit on health care. "One of the best things he did was to be the co-author of our health care reform, which has been a model for national health care reform," he said.
The praise from Democrats provides fodder for Romney's Republican primary opponents; some are already heaping on the criticism.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says in his new book: "If our goal in health care reform is better care at lower cost, then we should take a lesson from RomneyCare, which shows that socialized medicine does not work." It was a play on the word that conservative critics use to describe the national law: Obamacare.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who is likely to run for president against Romney, took a shot at Romney when he testified before a House committee reviewing Obama's health care overhaul. He lumped Romney in with a late liberal icon and an Obama friend in saying: "Senator (Edward M.) Kennedy and Governor Romney and then Governor Patrick, if that's what Massachusetts wants, we're happy for them. We don't want that. That's not good for us."
A GOP rising star, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also weighed in, saying of Romney's law: "It's not that dissimilar to Obamacare. And you probably know I'm not a big fan of Obamacare."
All that was the backdrop as Romney took the stage at the Carroll County Lincoln Day Dinner at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel in northern New Hampshire.
First, he poked fun at the criticism that seems to be coming from all sides, saying "you may have noticed that the president and his people spend more time talking about me and Massachusetts health care than Entertainment Tonight spends talking about Charlie Sheen."
Then he turned serious and provided an explanation, emphasizing states' rights to a crowd from the "Live Free Or Die" state.
His coming candidacy may hinge on whether they buy it.
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"Obamacare is bad law, bad policy, and it is bad for America's families," Romney declared. "And that's the reason why President Obama will be a one-term president." He vowed to repeal it if he were ever in a position to do so, and drew hearty cheers from his Republican Party audience.
Then, raising the Massachusetts law, Romney argued that the solution for the unique problems of one state isn't the right prescription for the nation as a whole, and he acknowledged: "Our experiment wasn't perfect — some things worked, some didn't, and some things I'd change."
"One thing I would never do is to usurp the constitutional power of states with a one-size-fits-all federal takeover," Romney said, again earning applause. "The federal government isn't the answer for running health care any more than it's the answer for running Amtrak or the post office."
With that, he used his first appearance before New Hampshire Republicans since the midterm elections to start addressing head-on the issue that's certain to be a hurdle in his all-but-certain presidential campaign.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]
Romney's states-rights pitch is one that GOP primary voters are likely to hear over the next year as he tries to persuade them to overlook his flaws because he alone is the strongest Republican to challenge Obama on the country's top issue — the economy.
The failed candidate of 2008 is expected to formally announce a second candidacy later this spring. Campaign signs posted along the road leading to the hotel where he was speaking may have gotten a bit ahead of him. They said "Mitt Romney for President" and suggested that the theme would be "True Strength for America's Future."
Romney and his aides insisted they were old signs.
Among Romney's biggest challenges: explaining to GOP primary voters why he signed a law that became the foundation for Obama's national overhaul. Passed by Congress last year, Obama's health care law has enraged conservatives who view it as a costly government expansion and intrusion into their lives because it mandates insurance for most Americans.
Romney all but ignored the topic in his last major public appearance last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
But, since then, the similarities with Romney's 2006 law in Massachusetts have increasingly been dogging him.
Obama praised the efforts in Massachusetts during a meeting with governors at the White House, saying: "I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he's proud of what he accomplished on health care by giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions. He's right."
Also, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, an Obama friend, said Romney deserves a lot of credit on health care. "One of the best things he did was to be the co-author of our health care reform, which has been a model for national health care reform," he said.
The praise from Democrats provides fodder for Romney's Republican primary opponents; some are already heaping on the criticism.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says in his new book: "If our goal in health care reform is better care at lower cost, then we should take a lesson from RomneyCare, which shows that socialized medicine does not work." It was a play on the word that conservative critics use to describe the national law: Obamacare.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who is likely to run for president against Romney, took a shot at Romney when he testified before a House committee reviewing Obama's health care overhaul. He lumped Romney in with a late liberal icon and an Obama friend in saying: "Senator (Edward M.) Kennedy and Governor Romney and then Governor Patrick, if that's what Massachusetts wants, we're happy for them. We don't want that. That's not good for us."
A GOP rising star, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also weighed in, saying of Romney's law: "It's not that dissimilar to Obamacare. And you probably know I'm not a big fan of Obamacare."
All that was the backdrop as Romney took the stage at the Carroll County Lincoln Day Dinner at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel in northern New Hampshire.
First, he poked fun at the criticism that seems to be coming from all sides, saying "you may have noticed that the president and his people spend more time talking about me and Massachusetts health care than Entertainment Tonight spends talking about Charlie Sheen."
Then he turned serious and provided an explanation, emphasizing states' rights to a crowd from the "Live Free Or Die" state.
His coming candidacy may hinge on whether they buy it.
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