MILITARY WIRED WORLD RAF Fairford hosts 1st ‘World’s largest game open house-style event show’ opens this week in nearly a decade in Chiba prefecture Page 7 Page 16 No. 7 Michigan squeaks by Army in double overtime » College football, Back page stripes.com Volume 78, No. 103 ©SS 2019 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Pompeo says recent attack led to end of Taliban talks BY DEB RIECHMANN AND RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sun- day that Taliban “overreached” with a car bomb attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier, prompting President Donald Trump to call off closely held Af- ghanistan peace talks planned for Camp David. Pompeo said the Trump ad- ministration has recalled envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been negotiating with Taliban leaders for months in Qatar, and it will be up to the insurgent group whether talks will resume. Critics denounced Trump’s plan to hold the Camp David meeting just days before the 18th anniver- sary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and they said Trump was giving legitimacy to extremists who are responsible for the deaths of more than 2,400 U.S. servicemembers 1969 battle for Hamburger Hill defi ned the futility of America’s fi ght in Vietnam Page 14 in America’s longest war. Pompeo said Trump wanted to A wounded U.S. paratrooper from the 101st Airborne Division is helped through driving ONLINE: Read about Nixon, protests, look the Taliban leaders “in the rain by medics after being evacuated during May 1969’s 10-day battle for Hamburger Hill. Woodstock and war-weary America eye” while Khalilzad worked to stripes.com/vietnam Stars and Stripes at finalize an agreement that would allow the U.S. to start withdraw- ing troops. Pompeo defended Trump’s planned talks, saying the presidential retreat in Mary- land was an “appropriate place,” Turkey, US begin ‘safe zone’ joint patrols given that it had been the venue for Mideast peace negotiations BY SARAH EL DEEB Syria, and American vehicles waiting about a SEE ATTACK ON PAGE 3 Associated Press mile away. The two sides then came together in a joint patrol with American vehicles lead- TAL ABYAD, Syria — Turkish and U.S. ing the convoy. troops conducted their first joint ground pa- At least two helicopters hovered overhead. trol in northeastern Syria on Sunday as part of a planned so-called “safe zone” that Ankara The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed ‘ They tried to use has been pressing for in the volatile region. the start of the joint patrols and said un- Turkey hopes the buffer zone, which it says manned aerial vehicles also were being used. terror to improve should be at least 19 miles deep, will keep Syr- In recent years, Washington frequently their negotiating ian Kurdish fighters, considered a threat by has found itself trying to forestall violence Turkey but U.S. allies in the fight against Is- between NATO ally Turkey and the Kurdish position. The Taliban lamic State group, away from its border. fighters it partnered with along the border to MAYA ALLERUZZO/AP overreached. Associated Press journalists in the town clear of ISIS militants. ’ of Tal Abyad saw about a dozen Turkish ar- U.S. and Turkish forces conduct their first An initial agreement between Washington Mike Pompeo mored vehicles with the country’s red flag joint ground patrol on the Syrian side of the secretary of state standing along the border after crossing into border with Turkey on Sunday . SEE PATROLS ON PAGE 8 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Monday, September 9, 2019 PACIFIC Tokyo will not extend deadline to close Futenma BY MATTHEW M. BURKE to halt the construction. Those AND AYA ICHIHASHI efforts have included a flurry Stars and Stripes of lawsuits and administrative challenges. CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa Construction at Schwab began — The Japanese government de- five years ago. It has been post- clined to establish a new deadline poned several times due to the for closing Marine Corps Air Sta- legal challenges and environmen- tion Futenma after being pressed tal factors. by officials on the southern island A prefectural spokesman prefecture. confirmed the Asahi report to The move came during a meet- Stars and Stripes on Friday. The ing Wednesday between Deputy spokesman said Tokyo cited un- Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhi- certainty surrounding the stabil- ro Sugita, senior defense officials, CARLOS VAZQUEZ/Stars and Stripes ity of the seabed, which has been Okinawa Deputy Gov. Kiichiro described as “soft,” in its decision Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa, is shown on April 19. Tokyo has rejected Jahana and Ginowan Deputy Okinawa officials’ request to provide a new deadline for the closure of Futenma. Mayor Keigo Wada, Japan’s Asahi to forgo a new deadline. newspaper reported Thursday. “During the meeting, the pre- Japanese Defense Minister Iwaya, the defense minister, Defense Ministry website. Okinawan officials sought a fectural government and Ginowan Takeshi Iwaya was on the island said in March that reinforcing the Okinawa’s anti-base Gov. Denny new deadline because of safety City officials demanded a new Tamaki has vowed not to approve risks associated with MCAS deadline for returning Futenma last week to tour the Schwab con- seabed would set the project back any changes to the project, in- Futenma, which is in an urban as the deadline expired in Febru- struction site and meet with pre- three years and eight months. cluding stabilizing the seabed, area in central Okinawa. ary,” the prefectural spokesman fectural and U.S. military officials Current estimates of completion which could further complicate In 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo said. “The central government of- about the Futenma relocation. on the Schwab construction now matters for the Japanese govern- Abe promised former Okinawa ficial replied, ‘It may take a little “The central government stand somewhere around 2025- ment. When asked about taking Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima to shut- longer to reinforce soft seabed, thinks they had an agreement 26 or later, Marine officials have the prefecture to court to try and ter Futenma by February 2019 if but we will do our best to return with the former governor to close said. push through the changes, Iwaya Nakaima signed off on permits Futenma,’ without determin- down the base within five years Japan and the United States demurred Thursday night. to fill in a portion of Oura Bay ing the actual new deadline or to go along with the completion originally planned to finish the anything.” of Henoko construction,” Jahana, project by 2022 “or later.” “Everything is still theoretical along Okinawa’s northern coast at this moment so I would like to for a new runway at the Marine It is customary in Japan for the deputy governor, said after At a press conference at the some government officials to the Wednesday meeting, accord- Okinawa prefectural offices refrain from commenting,” he base Camp Schwab in Henoko. said. “[The Okinawa Defense Bu- speak on condition of anonymity. ing to the Okinawa Times news- Thursday night, Iwaya said the The airfield would provide a new reau] will try their best to get ap- A spokesman for the Okinawa paper. “They need to separate Okinawa Defense Bureau, after home for the Marine squadrons proval from Gov. Tamaki.” at Futenma. Defense Bureau, which repre- Futenma from Henoko and halt surveying the seabed at Henoko, Nakaima acquiesced, but two sents the Ministry of Defense on operations [at Futenma].” concluded the area could be rein- [email protected] Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1 subsequent Okinawa prefectural the island, declined to comment. Jahana again demanded a new forced using common construc- [email protected] administrations have strived The disagreement came while deadline. tion practices, according to the Twitter: @AyaIchihashi T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ............ 17 Business .......................... 21 Classified ................... 19, 23 Comics/Crossword ............ 22 Faces ............................... 18 Opinion ............................ 20 Sports .........................24-32 Weather ........................... 21 Monday, September 9, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 WAR ON TERRORISM Afghans welcome cancellation of negotiations BY PAMELA CONSTABLE over the weekend without public The Washington Post explanation. But on Friday, aides Taliban say more Americans will to Ghani said the trip was then KABUL, Afghanistan — Af- postponed. Most observers here ghan officials, analysts and had assumed he was going to ex- citizens on Sunday cautiously die if Trump cancels peace talks press his concerns about the pro- welcomed President Donald posed peace settlement. Trump’s announcement that he Trump’s tweet, however, stated was canceling planned secret BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN us now for weeks, and in some cases months, the that separate secret meetings had meetings with Afghan and Tal- Stars and Stripes president is not going to reduce the pressure; been in the works with Taliban iban leaders at Camp David, call- we’re not going to reduce our support for the leaders and with Ghani and his ing off the troubled U.S.-Taliban KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban on Sun- Afghan security forces that have fought so hard senior aides. He tweeted that he peace talks aimed at ending the day said it remained open to continuing peace there in Afghanistan,” Pompeo said in an inter- had canceled the meetings due 18-year conflict. talks with the United States, and if President view with CNN. to the most recent Taliban at- After weeks of mounting un- Donald Trump canceled them American lives The Taliban said the response by the United tack Thursday, a bombing near certainty and suspicion here, with would be lost. States showed a lack of “patience and experi- the U.S. Embassy in Kabul that insurgent violence raging across The group was replying to a series of Trump ence” and highlighted that neither side had com- killed 10 Afghans, one U.S.