Nigerian Times

28 Jul 2011 17:16 Africa/Lagos PR Newswire WASHINGTON, July 28, 2011 WASHINGTON, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Should Congress fail to raise the national debt ceiling by Aug. 2, The American Legion says the paychecks of servicemembers must not be sacrificed. "We visited this same issue last April when the federal government narrowly averted a shutdown," said Jimmie L. Foster, national commander of The American Legion. "At that time, we urged Congress not to default on payments to our troops, and we are urging the same course of action again." Foster, a military retiree with 24 years of service in the Army and Marine Corps, said it was inconceivable to him that Congress would subject its men and women in uniform to such stress – twice in only four months. "As a nation that shows so much support for those who defend us in Iraq and Afghanistan, we really need to consider the message being sent to our military by the political brinksmanship that Congre...

8 Jun 2011 11:04 Africa/Lagos 52% - 35% Majority Believes U.S. Should Leave Afghanistan Faster Now That Bin Laden Is Dead Majority also favors making aid to Pakistan conditional on cooperation on pursuing Al Qaeda and the Taliban PR Newswire NEW YORK, June 8, 2011 NEW YORK, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A new BBC World News America/Harris Poll finds that a majority of Americans (52%) believe that the United States should move to get its troops out of Afghanistan now that Osama bin Laden is dead. However, 35% believe that U.S. troops should stay according to the existing plans. Reasons why most people favor withdrawing U.S. troops may be that a 51% to 14% majority of adults are not confident that U.S. policies in Afghanistan will be successful, and only 19% see the Afghan government as either an ally or a friend to the U.S. and 36% see it as unfriendly and an enemy. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO ) These are some of the findings of a new BBC World News A...

THE LAST WORD: Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, Commander of the United Nations- African Union. Last week Agwai's peacekeeping mission in Darfur suffered a serious setback when unidentified rebel forces overran an AU base. He spoke with Newsweek about the difficulties of his mission and how to be a peacekeeper where peace does not yet exist. "We are here as peacekeepers, and our job would be easier and smoother if there were a peace deal brokered for us. Unfortunately, right now, there is no peace to keep. So it has become another Herculean task to see that people are protected," he says. Force Dejection Newsweek International Oct. 15, 2007 issue - Gen. Martin Luther Agwai might have the toughest job in Africa. As commander of the new joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Darfur, the former head of Nigeria's armed forces will lead the 26,000-strong force that will be deployed to the region next year. His mission suffered a serious setback last Satur...