NPR 2009-11-27

President Obama is sending a Thanksgiving tribute to troops serving in war zones this holiday. The White House says Mr. Obama telephoned ten service men and women to thank them for their sacrifices. Within days, the President is expected to announce if he will deploy 1 thousands more troops to Afghanistan. The troop status in Iraq is also uncertain and Iraqi parliamentary dispute is threatening to delay January's national election which could affect the American combat troop withdrawals 2.

The Iraq war could have been delayed had Britain been tougher with the Bush administration, that today from an ex-ambassador to Washington who addressed the British panel investigating the war. Christopher Meyer also says that two years before the invasion, US National Security Advisor 3 Condoleezza Rice raised the issue of Iraq on the same day as the 9/11 terror attacks. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

The Iraq inquiry 4, billed as the most sweeping 5 look yet at the Iraq conflict, is in its third day of hearing public evidence from former officials and diplomats 6 such as Christopher Meyer, who served as British ambassador in Washington from 1997 to 2003. Meyer said he spoke 7 to Condoleezza Rice just hours after the attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. He said Rice had told him she was in no doubt the attacks were an Al-Qaeda operation, but she added that the U. S. government was also looking to see if there was a connection with Saddam Hussein. Meyer said that it then became clear to the British government as early as March of 2002 that it was, as he put it, pointless to resist U. S. plans for regime change in Iraq. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

China says it's committing to a reduction in carbon emissions 8 as measure against its economic output. The announcement comes a day after the U. S. pledged to lay out its emissions-cutting plan at a climate conference in Copenhagen in two weeks. NPR's Louisa Lim has more from central China.

The world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases has unveiled its new energy efficiency target. China plans to cut its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40-45% by the year 2020, compared to 2005 levels. Beijing said this would be a major contribution to the fight against climate change. This means its overall emissions will likely still rise but at a slower pace than before. China's Premier 9 Wen Jiabao will attend the Copenhagen conference, as will President Obama. A spokesman for the UN climate change secretariat said Mr. Obama's presence and China's new target were a huge morale 10 booster. But a member of China's negotiating team has called the target a bit high for China's present capabilities 11. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Xi'an, China.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake has struck off the coast of El Salvador. There have been no immediate 12 reports of injuries.

U.S. financial markets are closed for the holiday.

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Some retailers 13 are getting a jump start on the black Friday shopping frenzy 14 in the U.S. by opening their doors today. But Edgar Dworsky, the editor of consumerworld.com warns finding a good deal will take time and patience, and coupons 16 can't hurt. “If you can use a coupon 15, and there are some 10% off coupons, or $10 off $50 purchase coupons, add that on to save and then if there is a manufacturer's rebate 17 for that's a triple play, some would even call it a home run.” Dworsky also advised his consumers to do research on products themselves.

Authorities in Australia say they're planning to corral a herd 18 of 6, 000 wild camels that have overrun in a small town in the Northern Territory in their search for water. From Sydney, Stewart Cowan reports.

Local officials in the small town of Docker River say they're under siege from the camels. They've invaded the town over the past few weeks in search of water in Australia's drought-plagued mid 19 section. The camels have smashed water-tanks, tried to drink condensation 20 from air-conditioners and overrun the local airfield 21. Some of the town's 350