NPR 2009-10-19

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says President Obama will not commit any more American troops to Afghanistan until questions about that country’s government are resolved.

"Get a government that is seen as legitimate 1 to the people and has a credibility to be a partner in the effort to secure Afghanistan, so it's not a haven 2 for Al-Qaeda or other type of terrorists or international terrorist organizations." Emanuel was on CBS's "Face the Nation".

International pressure was growing on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to agree to a runoff if the UN-backed panel looking into election allegation fraud finds that he failed to win a majority votes in the initial round of balloting 3 back in August. France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says Karzai is ready to work with his main rival to resolve the crisis. Eleanor Beardsley reports.

During his brief visit to the Afghan capital, Kouchner met with both Karzai and his main rival, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. So far, both Karzai and Abdullah predict the results of the fraud probe would be in their favor. Kouchner urged the two men to accept the panel’s soon-to-be released findings, whatever they are. He said they agreed on the necessity to work together. For NPR News, I’m Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

Pakistan’s army is pressing deeper into areas where Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants 4 are entrenched 5. Both sides are claiming to have inflicted 6 heavy casualties on the second day of the government's ground offensive. From Islamabad, NPR’s Julie McCarthy has the story.

The army issued a statement, saying that Pakistani forces have killed 60 Taliban militants, while the Taliban says its fighters are resisting every step of the way, sending soldiers back to their bases. It is not possible to independently verify the conflicting claims because access is blocked to the battlefield and surrounding towns. The army says some 28,000 troops have been deployed 7 against an insurgency 8 that is estimated to run anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000. Defense 9 analysts 10 have questioned the proportion of government troops to insurgence 11 saying that the current ratio of some 2:1 should be more like 10:1. Civilians 12 caught between the army and militants continue to flee South Waziristan. Neighboring areas are filling up with the displaced from Pakistan’s latest offensive against extremists. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

The White House and Congressional leaders are working to blend five different committee versions of health care legislation into a compromise bill that can make it through both Houses of Congress. White House Advisor 13 David Axelrod would not comment on what specific elements President Obama might or might not accept.

"Let's see what the final proposal says before we talk about what the president will or won’t sign. The president can sign a bill that will provide greater security for people who have insurance, that will help people don’t have it, get it and will lower the overall cost of health care and if it doesn’t meet those standards, then he won’t sign the bill." Axelrod was on ABC’s “This Week”. Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut says he still expects the final Senate version of the bills to include a government-run insurance option.

This is NPR News from Washington.

A suicide bomber 14 detonated a blast that killed five senior commanders of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and dozens of others in the restive 15 region along Iran’s boarder with Pakistan today. The attack occurred as military commanders were getting ready to sit down with tribal 16 leaders to discuss cooperation between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Iran’s President is pledging to retaliate 17 for the attack.

A Colorado sheriff says he’s preparing to recommend a number of criminal charges in the case of the so-called "Balloon Boy" that captured the attention of the nation last week. NPR’s Allison Keyes has more.

Police and likely many others feared for the safety of six-year-old Falcon 18 Heene when his parents claimed the child was inside a silver balloon shaped like a flying saucer. But now says Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden it is clear the incident was a hoax 19.

"It was a publicity 20 stunt 21 done with the hopes of marketing 22 themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future." Alderden says the whole family was in on it, including the children "They were 100% involved and participants had guilty knowledge." Alderden says police developed a strategy that tricked the family into thinking their story was believed while investigators 23 got to the bottom of the case and investigation 24 into whether others were involved is ongoing 25. Alderden is recommending that felony charges be filed in the case. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

Hurricane Rick is churning its way toward Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. Rick currently has sustained winds of 175 miles an hour. It’s expected to weaken significantly before making landfall by midweek. Still forecasters say the storm could retain enough strength to roll over the Peninsular and hit Mexico’s mainland with hurricane force winds.