'We Cannot Stand Idly
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VIDEO GAMES FOOD & DINING NFL Telling Lies brilliantly Poland’s Brovaria Packers take down evokes the texture of life serves up one of Bears in low-scoring in an age of surveillance Europe’s best meals season opener Page 15 Page 19 Back page Bahamians await aid as Dorian moves north, ravaging Carolinas » Pages 6-7 Volume 78, No. 102A ©SS 2019 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2019 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas AFGHANISTAN Taliban attack 3rd provincial capital in week BY TAMEEM AKHGAR AND CARA ANNA Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban attacked a third provin- cial capital in less than a week, killing at least two civilians, an Afghan official said Friday as a U.S. envoy was back in Qatar for unexpected talks on a U.S.- Taliban deal he had described as complete just days earlier. Farah provincial governor Mohammad Shoaib Sabet said another 15 people were wounded in the latest attack, citing local hospitals, and that airstrikes had been carried out against the mili- tant group. Also Friday, Afghanistan’s president postponed a visit to Washington early next week where he was to discuss the U.S.- Taliban talks on ending Ameri- ca’s longest war, a person familiar with the negotiations said Friday. The developments emerged after the U.S. envoy negotiating with the Taliban, Zalmay Khalil- ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AP zad, abruptly returned to Qatar for unexpected talks. The Tal- Russian troops march during the Victory Day military parade in Red Square in Moscow in May, marking 74 years since their WWII victory. iban maintain a political office in the Gulf Arab state. The agreement “in principle” to begin a U.S. troop withdrawal only needed President Donald Trump’s approval, Khalilzad had ‘We cannot stand idly by’ announced on Monday. The person who told The Asso- ciated Press of President Ashraf Esper calls on US allies to counter Russian, Chinese threats Ghani’s postponed Washington trip was not authorized to talk to reporters and spoke on condition BY CAITLIN M. KENNEY curity decisions. We Great Britain and France, spoke of military of anonymity. Stars and Stripes cannot stand idly by and economic threats posed by Russia and Since Khalilzad’s announce- while authoritarian na- China, which have been identified as “stra- ment about the peace deal on LONDON — Defense Secretary Mark tions attempt to reshape tegic competitors” to America’s interests Monday, two horrific Taliban car Esper on Friday called on U.S. allies in Eu- the global security envi- and security in the 2018 National Defense bombings in the Afghan capital, rope and Asia to act alongside the United ronment to their favor Strategy. Kabul — one of which killed a States in the face of a new era of great-power at the expense of oth- While America focused on “hard-fought U.S. servicemember — and objec- competition with Russia and China and help ers,” Esper said during battles” the last 18 years in Iraq and Afghan- tions to the deal from the Afghan challenge their aggressive attempts to exert a speech Friday at the istan and less on preparing for the future, government and several former influence on other countries around the Royal United Services Esper said Russia and China have used that U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan world. Institute, a British de- time to study the U.S. military, modernize have put pressure on Khalilzad “Russia and China want to disrupt the their armies and expand into the cyber and as many wonder whether a deal Esper fense think tank. international order by gaining a veto over Esper, who is meeting space domains. will truly bring peace. other nations’ economic, diplomatic and se- this week with senior leaders in Germany, SEE ESPER ON PAGE 5 SEE TALIBAN ON PAGE 5 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, September 7, 2019 MILITARY Mystery craft discovered to be Navy target boat BY KATHERINE HAFNER on what brought it so far. The post The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot blew up online. “We couldn’t have predicted Crew members of western the interest from the public that Ireland’s Doolin Ferry Co. were there has been in this boat,” Liam headed to Inis Oirr, a small island O’Brien, the ferry company’s in Galway Bay, on Monday after- owner, later said in a news re- MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS MICHAEL R. SANCHEZ/U.S. Navy noon when they spotted some- lease. “There was a lot of growth thing bright orange floating in Machine gun rounds fired from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge strike near a high-speed on it, it had clearly been there for maneuverable surface target like that found off the coast of Ireland. the water. a long time. We already have a “First I had a feeling of fear, shipwreck on the island, so every- (wondering) if there was people one’s saying this is the new one. Ferry Co. wrote on its website. in difficulty ‘cause we could only This is definitely the most unusu- “It’s likely that it was lost during a see about a meter of the bow stick- al thing we have discovered and training exercise and it remained ing out of the water,” Tom Noel, it’s drawing in lots of tourists to in the water drifting until it ended one of the crew members, said in the area.” up in the water close to Inis Oirr. an email to The Virginian-Pilot News outlets across Ireland … How cool is that?!” on Thursday. “Then once we got picked up the mystery. Thousands That’s more than 3,400 miles of closer and could see the amount of people shared their theories on drifting. of growth on it, I knew it was a social media. Was it a drug-run- Turns out, it’s true. Timothy long time in the water and that it ning boat masqueraded as law Boulay, a spokesman for the Naval was only a danger to navigation.” enforcement? Was it an American Air Warfare Center Aircraft Di- Upon investigating, Noel and military vessel used to spy on the vision, said Thursday that the the rest of the Doolin Express Irish? vessel was lost during a missile crew found the boat covered in Within a day the answer came. test and evaluation event about 75 goose barnacles — it had clearly A representative for Silver Ships miles off the coast of Norfolk last been in the water for a while Inc., an Alabama-based ship- September. — and along with a local fishing building company, confirmed it After realizing the target was boat, towed the boat to the beach had manufactured the boat in lost, the Atlantic Target and Mar- at Inis Oirr, where many island- 2015 for the U.S. Navy, the ferry itime Operations team searched ers helped pull it ashore. company’s Siobhan Nolan said in for five hours but couldn’t find it A day later, Doolin Ferry Co., an email. and notified the Coast Guard of which is based near Ireland’s It’s a high-speed maneuverable the potential navigation hazard. Facebook famed Cliffs of Moher, posted surface target that can be guided Is it shocking the boat made the account on Facebook. At that remotely and is used as target it across the Atlantic? Not very, A ferry crew spotted this mysterious boat off the coast of Ireland point, they guessed the boat was practice by the Navy. Boulay said, because the test ves- and towed it to shore. After posting pictures on Facebook, they a U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat “We believe the boat originat- sels are foam-filled so that they found out what it was: a high-speed maneuverable surface target but were hoping for any details ed in Norfolk Virginia,” Doolin don’t sink. used by the U.S. Navy. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ............ 14 Business .......................... 13 Comics/Crossword ............ 22 Health & Fitness ...............18 Lifestyle ...................... 16-17 Opinion ............................ 20 Sports .........................24-32 Video Games .....................15 Weather ........................... 13 Saturday, September 7, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 MILITARY Report: Army didn’t know basic service policies bestos, water quality, open sewage and Officials at US bases say radon gas. In all, 1,078 of 1,404 IG survey respondents reported safety did not seem they were not trained in to be a priority for the companies running private, on-post housing. private housing oversight And while families have been left frus- trated by those concerns, they see few BY COREY DICKSTEIN other options, according to the IG. Of 1,118 Stars and Stripes respondents to its survey — not every resi- dent responded to every question — 712 WASHINGTON — Top Army command- said they would prefer to live off post but ers and civilian leaders were not familiar financial considerations keep them in the with basic service policies governing their private, on-post housing. relationships with private companies run- “At some remote or high-cost locations, ning on-post housing, which contributed residents often believed on-post privatized to the housing crisis at installations across housing was their only option,” the IG re- the United States, an inspector general’s port stated. report released Thursday determined. Investigators said top Army leaders Senior commanders, commanding gen- agreed with their findings and had com- erals and civilian directors of public works mitted to implementing their suggested departments at 48 Army installations in U.S. Army the United States reported they did not re- changes. ceive “adequate” training on their powers A new inspector general report says Army officials and local managers were unfamiliar The Army has already added 114 new to oversee privatized military housing on with Army policies and regulations regarding private housing on bases, such as these employees across its installations to bol- their installations, according to the new houses at Fort Stewart, Ga.