The World in Brief (2/2/06)

Videotape proves bin Laden deputy is still alive

By Hannah Allam, Knight Ridder… Videotape proves bin Laden deputy is still alive

By Hannah Allam, Knight Ridder Newspapers

CAIRO, Egypt – Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, threatened new attacks against the United States and said Americans should beware of a government “shedding your blood and wasting your money” in the war on terror, according to a video message aired Monday.

The message, part rallying cry for the Islamic world and part warning to the West, was the third al-Qaeda message broadcast within a month. Intelligence analysts have said that the flurry of tapes could signal an impending attack but also could be a new propaganda campaign aimed not only at Muslim audiences, but also at Americans.

The tape, broadcast on Al-Jazeera television 11 days after a similar audio message from al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, provided the first visual proof that al-Zawahri survived a U.S. airstrike on Jan. 13 that targeted him in eastern Pakistan. The attack killed 13 villagers and touched off several days of angry protests. U.S. intelligence officers believe four al-Qaeda leaders also died in the strike.

Mohamed Salah, the Cairo bureau chief for the Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper, said the speed of al-Zawahri’s response – not the message – was most surprising. He said the tape is evidence that, even from a remote hiding place, al-Zawahri is able to address the world about an event barely two weeks old.

“Ayman Zawahri is telling us he’s in a location where he can follow the news, that he knows what the Americans are doing and that they can’t catch him,” Salah said.

Bill would raise student loan limits, interest rates

By Iris Kuo, Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON – Students will be able to borrow more money for college, but they’ll pay it back at higher interest rates if the House of Representatives passes the Deficit Reduction Act on Wednesday.

The legislation, which the Senate has passed, would take a $12.7 billion bite out of federal student-loan financing, the biggest cut in the program’s history. The Treasury would recover the money through higher interest rates, cuts in federal subsidies to private lenders and mandatory borrower’s fees.

“This bill roots out excess lender subsidies in the student loan program while increasing student access to loans. It’s a win-win for students and taxpayers,” said Don Seymour, the press secretary for Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee.

The savings on student loans amount to about a third of the $40 billion package of revenue-saving benefit reductions, including cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, backed by the Bush administration. The vote may be close if moderate House Republicans balk at cutting popular programs so much. According to the College Board, 47 percent of students get help from federal loans.

For four-year private colleges, tuition and fees average $21,235 for 2005-06, the board reports. For four-year public colleges, they total $5,491. That’s a 6 percent increase for private colleges and 7 percent for public ones over the year before.

An army of civilians apply for long hours, high pay in Iraq

By Pam Zubeck, The Gazette

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – When Lane Vannatta stepped off a plane at Colorado Springs Airport at 11 p.m. on Dec. 22, the nearly deserted terminal held no flag-wavers or welcome-home banners.

Only his wife, Kimber, awaited his arrival after a year in Iraq.

Unheralded homecomings are happening to thousands of civilians who are helping fight the war, risking their necks to serve meals, wash clothes, move supplies and provide security.

The war couldn’t be fought without them.

“If you were to withdraw the civilian contractors, from KBR to Blackwater providing private security, the system would deteriorate very quickly, and you would be faced with a much worse case than we currently face,” said Brett Lambert, managing partner with the Densmore Group, a Washington defense consultant. “You just can’t do the job we’re doing now without the civilian contractors.”

But Lambert said the Pentagon and intelligence community worry they’re losing soldiers and workers to contractors who offer hefty salaries the government can’t match.

“If you’re a specialist making $28,000 driving a truck, and you can come back and do it for a firm and make $120,000 a year, it’s something that is worrisome for people looking at longtime trends,” he said.

In providing critical support, contractors have made a lot of money, but they have also given their lives.

So far, at least 309 contract workers from across the globe have been killed in Iraq, about half of them Americans, according to a Web site, http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx, created by two citizens, that tracks the number of slain contractors and military personnel.

Khat dominates male life in the tiny Muslim nation of Djibouti

By Shashank Bengali, Knight Ridder Newspapers

DJIBOUTI – In this overwhelmingly Muslim nation, alcohol is frowned upon and hard drugs are exceedingly rare. But one stimulant dominates the lives of Djibouti’s half-million citizens: khat, a green leaf that when chewed gives the chewer an amphetamine-like high.

Here, khat is king. Women sell it, men chew it and children either lament their fathers’ habit or count the days until they, too, can take part in the national pastime.

Its influence becomes clear every day at lunchtime, when nearly all Djiboutian males retreat inside with a handful of friends to gnaw gently on ball-sized lumps in the sides of their cheeks.

“Everything we do depends on our majesty, khat,” said Mahdi Moussa, 32, a hotel driver.

Khat is illegal in many Western countries, including the United States and Canada. But among Djibouti’s laid-back professional class, an afternoon of khat-chewing is like a round of golf, helping to cement deals and relationships. For others, it’s a social lubricant, good for whiling away the day with friends.

But the drug has more serious effects than that warm buzz. For poor people, it’s a very expensive hobby.

All of Djibouti’s khat is imported – 11 tons of it daily, mostly by plane from Ethiopia. It’s a huge drain on the economy of this country, which, despite a strategic port on the Red Sea, has no natural resources and scant rainfall.

Every year, Djiboutians spend $170 million on khat, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. For an average family, that’s between $700 and $1,800 per year – 10 percent to 19 percent of a household’s income, the agency says.