The Hanscom Family Weblog

The agreement, to be announced when President Obama visits here Monday and Tuesday, represents one of the most concrete achievements in the administration’s attempt to ease relations with Russia after years of tension. But the two sides failed to make a trade deal or resolve differences over missile defense, and are struggling to draft a preliminary nuclear arms agreement.

The blend of success and stalemate leading to Mr. Obama’s visit suggests that it is easier to talk about a “reset” button than to press it. The promise of a new era of cooperation was always predicated on the tenuous notion that a change of tone and shift in emphasis might be enough to bridge deep divisions. But even with both sides eager for warmer ties, the issues that have torn Washington and Moscow apart did not go away with the transition at the White House.

Mr. Obama is less enthusiastic than President George W. Bush was about an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe or NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, but has not abandoned either goal, to the consternation of the Kremlin. Despite American pressure, Moscow has not yielded in its ongoing confrontation with Georgia a year after their brief war.

So Mr. Obama’s first visit here as president will be a test of his foreign policy. American officials said that the larger message is that if the Russians do not take his open hand, he will move on to other priorities.

Of those, the military reports 475 were killed by hostile action.

Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 68 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, three were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen.

There were also four CIA officer deaths and one military civilian death.
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The latest deaths reported by the military:

• A soldier died Thursday during sporadic gunbattles in southern Afghanistan.
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The latest identifications reported by the military:

Palin beat out Democrat Rod Blagojevich, the ousted former governor of Illinois allegedly caught trying to sell President Barack Obama’s Senate seat.

Blagojevich was the runner-up. Palin was noted for making headline after headline, month after month.

The selection was made last week at a conference in Ventura, Calif.

The study rated the climate performance of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. The countries were rated for the reduction/growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 1990, the percentage of their energy portfolio from renewables, and investment in clean energy technology.

The U.S., according to the study, has a “strong dependence on coal and oil.” However, the Obama administration was praised by the study for having a “very positive and encouraging attitude towards climate policies.” It acknowledged the economic stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), as having “included significant support for renewables and energy efficiency.”

A quote by Richard Moss, Vice-President and Managing Director for Climate Change in the WWF USA, was included in the study. Ross said, “President Obama has done more to support a clean energy economy in the last four months than has been done in the last three decades to get her in the US. If Congress pick s up on this leader ship and passes a strengthened clean energy bill, the US ranking will change quite dramatically in the coming years.”

Ms. Palin, who was Senator John McCain’s vice presidential running mate last year and solidified the support of the party’s conservative base, explained her decision at a news conference at her home in Wasilla, Alaska, accompanied by her husband, Todd, and other family members.

“We know we can effect positive change outside of government,” she said in making the announcement. Her official statement here.

Known as Sarah Barracuda when she played basketball in high school, Ms. Palin used point guard analogy in explaining her decision, saying she knows “exactly when to pass the ball so the team can win.”

She said that she planned to hand over the reins of the state government to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who would be sworn in at the governor’s picnic in Fairbanks later this month.

“This decision came after much consideration,” Ms. Palin told reporters gathered at her home, and added, “I really don’t want to disappoint anyone with this announcement.”

There had been wide speculation that she would seek to be the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in 2012. Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, who is also considered to be a leading Republican candidate for president in 2012, announced last month that he would not seek re-election.

Despite the troops’ substantial numbers and firepower, the strategy is not without risks. Indeed, on Thursday, the first Marine was killed in the operation.

Although American and allied forces have previously swept through the province, Helmand, killing or capturing as many guerrillas as they could, often with airstrikes, the military has never before had enough ground troops to hold onto large areas that were cleared of insurgent fighters in combat operations.

This time, a force of about 4,000 Marines, which arrived just weeks ago, was joined by 650 Afghan soldiers in the sweep into Helmand Province, a hotbed of Taliban activity and the largest producer of the opium poppies that are a major source of money for the insurgency.

“Essentially what they are trying to do is create and sustain a productive presence in Helmand Province, including both combat power and civil-engagement capabilities,” a senior military officer said.

“This is not simply to remove Taliban influence, but to replace that influence with security operations and reconstruction,” the officer said. “It is not simply about killing the enemy, but about protecting the population and improving their lives, which will help prohibit the return of insurgent elements.”

Commanders promised that the Marines would remain in significant numbers, setting up many small operating and logistics bases among the population. That tactic was central to the success of the so-called troop surge in Iraq.

Marines pushed into three significant towns along a 75-mile stretch of the Helmand River south of Lashkar Gah on Thursday, encountering sporadic resistance that grew throughout the afternoon, a Marine spokesman said.

The Marines now have a presence in Nawa and Garmsir in central Helmand Province, and in Khan Neshin in southern Helmand, said a spokesman for Marine forces in the province, Capt. Bill Pelletier. He described the contact with Taliban fighters as “mostly hit and run.” Some Marines were treated for heat exhaustion because temperatures reached 110 degrees, he said.

The mission appears to be intended to show residents that the troops are there to protect them and to prevent civilian casualties, either from NATO and American forces or from the Taliban.

Captain Pelletier said the Marines have used no artillery or bombs from aircraft, in an effort to show that the operation is focused more on protecting people than on killing the enemy. “The success of this operation is going to be dependent on how the populace views this, not just in how we deal with the enemy,” he said.

But perils of the Iraq mission are lurking in the shadows of this operation as well. Although the American military is capable of clearing insurgents from an area and may even have the numbers to hold that territory, the troops will be exposed to ambush and roadside bombs as they patrol villages. And it remains unclear whether the civilian agencies representing the Afghan, American and allied governments are prepared to take on the job of stabilization and reconstruction quickly and successfully.

Ian C. Kelly, the State Department spokesman, said in Washington that two civilians — one from the State Department and one from the Agency for International Development — were working in Helmand Province, and that an additional development officer would arrive this weekend, with three more to follow in the next several weeks.