OLYMPICS: College changes could hurt Team USA Page 48 GAMES Monster Hunter Rise BOOKS: Hunter Biden is a rare great original tells his story Page 27 for Nintendo Switch Page 15 MUSIC: Brandi Carlile opens up in memoir Page 28 stripes.com Volume 79 Edition 253 ©SS 2021 FRIDAY,APRIL 9, 2021 $1.00 ANALYSIS Biden seems ready to extend US presence in Afghanistan BY ROBERT BURNS Associated Press WASHINGTON — Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it. Biden has inched so close to the deadline that his indecision amounts almost to a decision to put off, at least for a number of months, a pullout of the remaining 2,500 troops and continue sup- porting the Afghan military at the risk of a Taliban backlash. Remov- ing all of the troops and their equipment in the next three weeks — along with coalition partners that cannot get out on their own — IAN KINK/U.S. Navy would be difficult logistically, as Sailors remove a line as the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz prepares to move from its pier in Bremerton, Wash., to a dry dock at Puget Sound Naval Biden himself suggested in late Shipyard in March 2018. Maintenance backlogs have adversely affected Navy readiness, according to a GAO report. March. “It’s going to be hard to meet the Curbed capability SEE EXTEND ON PAGE 4 Combat readiness weakened after decades of conflict, watchdog agency says BY JOHN VANDIVER “The Navy cited limited maintenance ca- enced declines in both areas, the GAO Stars and Stripes pacity at private and public shipyards as the found. Two decades of conflicts have degraded primary challenge for recovering ship and Meanwhile, all other military domains — the military’s ability to fight in the air and at submarine readiness,” the GAO said in an ground, air, space and cyber — got a boost in sea while ground forces have experienced a analysis of military capabilities between resources. But that only translated into in- AP boost in their ability to carry out missions, a 2017 and 2019. creased capability to carry out missions for Soldiers stand guard in the government watchdog agency report said. The GAO broke down “readiness” into ground units, the GAO said. motorcade for President Donald The Navy was especially hard hit, seeing two categories — resources and capability. In the air domain, services reported nu- Trump during a Thanksgiving visit declines in availability of resources and While resources focused on availability of merous challenges, including the effects of to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, ship maintenance backlogs, the Govern- personnel and equipment, capabilities as- 2018’s Hurricane Michael, which damaged in 2019. It appears U.S. troops ment Accountability Office said in a report sessed whether a service could carry out its will be in the country beyond the released Wednesday. assigned missions. Operations at sea experi- SEE CAPABILITY ON PAGE 6 May 1 deadline for withdrawal. PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, April 9, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER EUROPE GAS PRICES EXCHANGE RATES Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel Military rates South Korea (Won) 1117.32 Germany $3.132 $3.534 $3.786 $3.419 Azores .. .. $3.686 .. Switzerland (Franc) .9252 Euro costs (April 10) $1.16 Change in price +0.5 cents +0.8 cents +0.5 cents ­1.7 cents Change in price .. .. +0.5 cents .. Thailand (Baht) 31.44 Dollar buys (April 10) 0.8198 Turkey (NewLira) 8.1530 Netherlands .. $3.943 $4.238 $3.916 Belgium .. $2.989 $3.258 $3.011 British pound (April 10) $1.35 Japanese yen (April 10) 107.00 Change in price .. +4.5 cents +4.6 cents +0.9 cents Change in price .. No change No change No change (Military exchange rates are those available South Korean won (April 10) 1090.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the U.K. .. $3.433 $3.685 $3.318 Turkey .. .. $3.571 $4.025* Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ Change in price .. +0.8 cents +0.5 cents ­1.7 cents Change in price .. .. +0.5 cents +15.4 cents many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain(Dinar) .3770 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ Britain (Pound) 1.3757 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2594 your local military banking facility. Commercial China(Yuan) 6.5493 rates are interbank rates provided for reference PACIFIC GAS PRICES Denmark (Krone) 6.2512 Egypt (Pound) 15.7102 when buying currency. All figures are foreign Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel Euro .8405 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Japan .. $3.579 .. $3.209 South Korea $2.939 .. $3.589 $3.219 Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7768 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Change in price .. +1.0 cents .. ­2.0 cents Change in price +1.0 cents .. No change ­2.0 cents Hungary (Forint) 301.25 Israel (Shekel) 3.2819 Okinawa $2.919 .. .. $3.209 Guam $2.929 $2.339 $2.589 .. Japan (Yen) 109.81 INTEREST RATES Kuwait(Dinar) .3017 Change in price No change .. .. ­2.0 cents Change in price No change +1.0 cents +1.0 cents .. Norway (Krone) 8.4855 Prime rate 3.25 Philippines (Peso) 48.56 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 *DieselEFD **Midgrade Poland (Zloty) 3.82 Federal funds market rate 0.07 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7504 3­month bill 0.02 For the week of April 9­15 Singapore (Dollar) 1.3399 30­year bond 2.33 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 54/36 Kabul Seoul 64/43 65/41 Baghdad 71/54 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 60/40 58/40 88/55 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 51/35 60/45 50/39 Iwakuni Kuwait City Bahrain 59/37 Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 90/71 74/71 Ramstein 56/38 66/48 57/41 55/34 87/79 Riyadh Lajes, 100/75 Doha Azores Stuttgart 88/72 63/56 46/38 Pápa Aviano/ 62/40 Vicenza 59/41 Naples 57/37 Okinawa Morón 72/66 69/50 Sigonella Rota 62/41 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 68/55 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 89/77 55/47 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 36 Comics ................... 38-39 Crossword ............. 38-39 Faces .......................... 35 Opinion ....................... 40 Sports .................... 41-48 Friday, April 9, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY McCain transits Taiwan Strait, irks China BY SETH ROBSON if we need to fight a war, and if we Stars and Stripes need to defend ourselves to the ve- A Navy warship steamed ry last day, then we will defend through the Taiwan Strait on ourselves to the very last day.” Wednesday following reports of Asked about the McCain’s tran- Chinese fighter jets overhead ear- sit during a press briefing lier in the week and one of its air- Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman craft carriers training nearby. John Kirby described it as a free- The guided-missile destroyer dom-of-navigation operation and USS John S. McCain conducted “a not a response to any specific routine Taiwan Strait transit” event or action by another coun- through international waters in try. accordance with international “We conduct freedom-of-navi- law, the Navy said in a statement gation operations around the Wednesday. world to send a message about The trip through the contested how strong we believe in interna- waterway is the fourth by a U.S. tional law and in freedom that all warship this year. The McCain nations have to sail, operate and made the Navy’s first transit of fly in accordance with interna- 2021 on Feb. 4. tional law,” he said. “Freedom of As the destroyer passed the seas doesn’t just exist for fish through the strait again Wednes- and icebergs.” day, Taiwan Foreign Minister Jo- A spokesman for China’s East- JEREMY GRAHAM/U.S. Navy seph Wu told reporters that his ern Theater Command said the Seaman James Bailey of Greenville, S.C., stands watch on the bridge of the guided­missile destroyer USS country would defend itself “to the McCain’s transit sent an “errone- John S. McCain in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. very last day” if attacked by Chi- ous signal to the ‘Taiwan Inde- na, which claims the island as its pendence’ force, deliberately dis- strait. Meanwhile, the Theodore Roo- said in a statement. own territory to be won over rupted and undermined the re- The number of Navy transits sevelt Carrier Strike Group con- Malaysia is one of several peacefully or by force. gional situation, and jeopardized through the 110-mile-wide water- ducted a bilateral exercise Tues- Southeast Asian nations that dis- China flew 10 warplanes into the peace and stability across the way separating Taiwan from day and Wednesday with the Roy- pute China’s claims to much of the Taiwan’s air defense identifica- Taiwan Strait,” according to Chi- mainland China has increased al Malaysian Air Force in the South China Sea. tion zone on Monday and sent an na Military Online, a government along with tensions between the South China Sea, the U.S. 7th Fleet The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier group for exercis- site. United States and China in the said in a statement. departed San Diego on Dec.