NFL NATION MUSIC Pats hope to ride US COVID deaths Gentle giant resurgence into reach highest daily Chris Stapleton playoff contention level since May a complicated character Page 24 Page 7 Page 12 Officials urging Biden to appoint more diverse Cabinet ›› Nation, Page 8 stripes.com Volume 79 Edition 155B ©SS 2020 CONTINGENCY EDITION SUNDAY,NOVEMBER 22, 2020 Free to Deployed Areas V Corps takes up position at new Poland HQ BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes STUTTGART, Germany — The Army’s V Corps officially return- ed to Europe Friday with a cere- mony at the unit's new forward headquarters in Poznan, Poland, from where it will command mis- sions along NATO’s eastern flank. The first soldiers attached to the Poznan headquarters began arriv- ing last month after the Army re- activated the unit at Fort Knox, Ky. About 200 troops will eventu- ally be assigned to the forward ele- ment in Poland while an addition- al 400 will work from Kentucky. The activation of the Poznan mission came after Polish Presi- dent Andrzej Duda on Nov. 9 signed off on a security coopera- tion pact that paved the way for the unit to officially launch. U.S. Army Europe said in a statement this week that they ex- PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN/Stars and Stripes pect the new headquarters to be An Afghan security official patrols a section of road in the Shar-e-Now area of Kabul, which was hit by rockets on Saturday. fully operational by November 2021. “The mission of V Corps will in- clude command and control of as- signed and rotational units in sup- Rocket attack in Kabul kills 8 port of U.S. Army Europe and U.S. European Command,” USA- REUR said. “The Forward Head- quarters will be critical to accom- Explosions add to spate of violence across country amid plishing these responsibilities.” V Corps will play a key role in ongoing peace negotiations between Taliban, government upcoming U.S. European Com- BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN SEE POLAND ON PAGE 4 Stars and Stripes INSIDE KABUL, Afghanistan — At least eight peo- Experts to Biden: Freeze ple were killed and dozens wounded when rockets landed on various parts of the Afghan US troop levels until capital Saturday morning, a government offi- cial said. Taliban agrees to end war The attack followed two magnetic bomb Page 3 blasts in other parts of the city earlier in the day and add to a spate of violence that’s continued located. throughout the country despite ongoing peace One of the rockets landed on the Iranian Em- talks between the Taliban and the Afghan gov- bassy compound, but wounded no one, the em- ernment. bassy said in a statement. The sound of rocket fire followed by explo- Aliya Azizi, a resident of the Qala-e-Musa FACEBOOK/U.S. Army Europe sions could be heard shortly before 9 a.m. in neighborhood, said at least two rockets fell The U.S. Army's V Corps officially densely populated areas around Kabul’s heavi- near her house and shattered its windows. RAHMAT GUL/AP established their headquarters in ly fortified Green Zone, where the U.S. Embas- An Afghan man holds part of a mortar shell Poznan, Poland, on Friday. sy and NATO’s Afghanistan headquarters are SEE ATTACK ON PAGE 3 after Saturday's attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Sunday, November 22, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER US, Taiwan boost economic unity EXCHANGE RATES Associated Press significant step that increases ties a free trade agreement. However, Military rates Poland (Zloty) 3.76 Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7504 TAIPEI, Taiwan — The U.S. between Washington and Taipei. Taiwan in August announced the Euro costs (Nov. 23) $1.16 Singapore (Dollar) 1.3429 Dollar buys (Nov. 23) 0.8211 So. Korea (Won) 1116.07 and Taiwan are stepping up coop- China, which views Taiwan as easing of restrictions on imports of British pound (Nov. 23) $1.30 Switzerlnd (Franc) .9103 eration in a newly created eco- its own territory to be reunited by American beef and pork, lowering Japanese yen (Nov. 23) 101.00 Thailand (Baht) 30.26 South Korean won (Nov. 23) 1085.00 nomic dialogue, in another move force if necessary, has criticized a trade barrier for U.S. businesses Turkey (NewLira) 7.6821 Commercial rates (Military exchange rates are those avail­ from the outgoing Trump admin- such steps as provocation. that is expected to pave the way Bahrain(Dinar) .3767 able to customers at military banking fa­ istration to increase official ex- “The U.S.-Taiwan economic for further trade negotiations. Britain (Pound) 1.3282 cilities in the country of issuance for Ja­ Canada (Dollar) 1.3052 pan, South Korea, Germany, the Nether­ changes with the self-ruled island. dialogue signifies that not only is U.S. trade with Taiwan totaled China(Yuan) 6.5628 lands and the United Kingdom. For nonlo­ The two sides signed a five-year the United States-Taiwan eco- an estimated $103.9 billion in 2019, Denmark (Krone) 6.2775 cal currency exchange rates (i.e., Egypt (Pound) 15.6010 purchasing British pounds in Germany), agreement establishing the U.S.- nomic relationship strong, but it according to the latest figures Euro .8425 check with your local military banking fa­ Taiwan Economic Prosperity continues to deepen and grow,” from the U.S. Trade Representa- Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7530 cility. Commercial rates are interbank Hungary (Forint) 302.89 rates provided for reference when buying Partnership Dialogue, which is said Brent Christensen, director tive’s office. Israel (Shekel) 3.3399 currency. All figures are foreign curren­ meant to be held annually. The of the American Institute in Tai- The U.S. has also started selling Japan (Yen) 103.78 cies to one dollar, except for the British Kuwait(Dinar) .3057 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ deal falls short of a long-desired pei, the de-facto embassy. advanced weaponry to Taiwan un- Norway (Krone) 8.9850 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­ Philppines (Peso) 48.23 bilateral trade agreement, but is a Taiwan and the U.S. do not have der the Trump administration. euro.) WEATHER OUTLOOK SUNDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SUNDAY IN EUROPE MONDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 54/43 Kabul Seoul 52/34 54/41 Baghdad 71/55 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 55/42 66/46 58/38 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 40/26 54/48 58/48 Iwakuni Kuwait City 64/48 Bahrain Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 89/65 86/73 Ramstein 42/38 63/50 62/54 42/35 85/81 Riyadh Lajes, 88/60 Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 64/60 44/30 85/72 Aviano/ 41/26 Vicenza 45/31 Naples 54/48 Okinawa Morón 77/72 70/46 Sigonella Rota 64/51 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 69/52 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 87/72 59/56 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 14 Classified .................... 13 Comics .........................18 Crossword ................... 18 Faces .......................... 15 Opinion .................. 16-17 Sports ................... 20-24 Sunday, November 22, 2020 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 WAR ON TERRORISM Experts: Freeze US troop level in Afghanistan BY COREY DICKSTEIN accord with the Taliban in Febru- Stars and Stripes ary. WASHINGTON — The Penta- That agreement called for a gon should freeze troops levels in steady draw down of U.S. troops Afghanistan until the Taliban through May 2021 if the Taliban agrees to stop fighting the Afghan met certain conditions, including military or the United States risks not striking U.S. and NATO troops the country falling back into the and cutting ties to terrorist fundamentalists’ hands, a trio of groups, especially al-Qaida. While foreign policy experts told law- the Taliban has mostly ceased at- makers on Friday. tacking U.S. troops, officials have The experts told the House said, they have not cut ties with al- Armed Services Committee that Qaida. The U.N. said during the without continued U.S. military summer that evidence showed the support — especially air power — Taliban had likely strengthened the Afghan national security its relationship with the terrorist forces were unlikely to win the on- organization this year. going war with the Taliban, which Crocker urged the United States would likely return to power. The to employ “strategic patience” as hearing came just days after act- it dealt with the Taliban going for- ing Defense Secretary Christoph- ward. He and Jones said it was er Miller announced President critical the United States continue Donald Trump had ordered a to back the Afghan government drawdown of U.S. troops in Af- with military and financial aid un- ghanistan from about 5,000 to til a peace settlement was imple- 2,500 by Jan. 15 — five days before mented. President-elect Joe Biden is to be But Crocker said Trump’s latest inaugurated. / withdrawal order provided the “Absent a peace deal, the fur- Seth G. Jones, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think Taliban “all it needed to know” ther withdrawal of U.S. forces will tank, testifies Thursday at a House Armed Services Committee hearing. about America’s intentions in that likely continue to shift the balance country. Crocker helped establish of power on the ground in the mil- The hearing did not include offi- draw those troops entirely in ex- lic had long grown weary of the the U.S. embassy in Kabul in 2002 itary campaign in favor of the Tali- cials from the Pentagon or other change for negotiating conces- two-decade war.