NFL HURRICANE DORIAN Browns’ swaggering QB Storm rakes coastal Bahamians unfazed by expectations Carolinas on its way desperate for help going into 2nd season toward Outer Banks after devastation Back page Page 8 Page 9 Japanese trio Babymetal not your typical headbangers » Faces, Page 16 Volume 78, No. 102 ©SS 2019 CONTINGENCY EDITION FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas AFGHANISTAN American, Romanian are killed by suicide bomber BY J.P. LAWRENCE The name of the U.S. servicemember Stars and Stripes killed is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of his family, a NATO An American servicemember and a statement said. The Romanian Defense Romanian soldier were killed Thursday Ministry identified its soldier as Cpl. 3rd in a Taliban suicide bomb explosion in Class Ciprian-Stefan Polschi, 38, a mar- Kabul, Afghanistan, heightening Afghan ried father of two on his third Afghani- government concerns that a U.S.-bro- stan tour. kered peace deal with the insurgents is moving too quickly. SEE BOMBER ON PAGE 3 Son of slain Afghan guerrilla leader launches anti-Taliban movement Page 3 RAHMAT GUL/AP Resolute Support forces remove a damaged vehicle after a car bomb explosion rocked Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday. The explosion followed a Taliban attack against a foreign compound late Monday that killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 100, almost all of them local civilians. DOD lists projects defunded by moving billions of dollars to build border wall BY COREY DICKSTEIN The Pentagon is confident that Congress to backfill those funds to build the defunded Stars and Stripes will later provide another $3.6 billion for the projects, said the official who spoke on the Diverted funding 127 planned construction projects worldwide condition of anonymity. WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s move from which funds were diverted to pay for Meanwhile, lawmakers in affected states puts school projects to divert some $3.6 billion from military con- sections of border wall to be built in Texas, largely expressed dismay at the decision ap- on hold in Germany, struction coffers to fund 175 miles of border Arizona and California as part of President proved by Defense Secretary Mark Esper on fencing will defund planned projects in 23 Donald Trump’s national emergency procla- Tuesday, which came months after Congress Japan, States states, three U.S. territories and at bases in 20 mation in February, a senior defense official provided the Trump administration some other countries, the Defense Department an- said Wednesday. The Defense Department Page 5 nounced Wednesday. has no “Plan B” should lawmakers decide not SEE BORDER ON PAGE 4 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Friday, September 6, 2019 MILITARY Bahrain School limits homework to just reading BY JOSHUA KARSTEN “Our staff met (in June) to Stars and Stripes discuss our school’s current homework practices across all MANAMA, Bahrain — Chil- classrooms,” elementary school dren at the Department of principal Penelope Miller-Smith Defense Education Activity’s said. Bahrain School no longer have They “read and discussed sev- to do homework unless it’s read- eral journal articles regarding the ing, school staff and parents have purpose of homework and worked said. collaboratively to develop a … Parents of kids at the DODEA schoolwide practice that would elementary school were told at be consistent across grades and the start of the new school year classrooms,” Miller-Smith said. that students will no longer be as- A member of the school staff, signed traditional homework but however, said the Bahrain Educa- should read at home for at least tion Ministry’s homework policy JOSHUA KARSTEN/Stars and Stripes 20-30 minutes a day. was discussed at the meeting in The change brings the school in June. A number of Bahraini na- Heather Heffernan, a fifth grade teacher at the Bahrain School, goes over classwork with a student on line with a 2018 Bahrain Educa- tionals are enrolled at the school. Thursday. The Bahrain School has a new policy of assigning no homework other than reading for grades tion Ministry decision that home- The DODEA school opted for K-5, falling in line with a Bahrain Ministry of Education decision announced last year work was to be “replaced by daily a slightly modified version of the hands-on exercises implemented Bahraini policy to include a home sheets in the evening after a long to reduce the amount of home- she liked the new rule “because by students under teachers’ su- reading obligation and interactive day of school and after-school ac- work instead of doing away with homework is boring.” pervision inside the classroom reading journal, officials said. tivities is not going to foster that,” it altogether. The downside of the new policy before the end of each lesson.” The new policy also specifies said Theresa Tamash, whose Having a little homework helps for Ofelia, though, was the re- “This innovative approach is that students in fourth and fifth kindergartner and fourth grader her see her second and fifth grad- quirement that she should read compatible with the ministry’s grade can be sent home with “any attend the school. “I support the ers’ strengths and weaknesses for at least 20 minutes a day. efforts to develop academic cur- unfinished classwork as deter- new policy 100 percent.” better than if she only received That’s just like homework, she ricula to suit the requirements of mined by the teacher.” But, she added, she knew of reports from school, Martinez said. the 21st century,” the ministry Most parents were delighted parents who have asked teachers said. “You still need to read in home- said in a statement released in with the new rule, although some to direct them to educational web- Two children, whose parents work,” she said. “My homework December. have asked for resources for their sites or send home worksheets to asked that their last names not last year … I could get done in But a senior official at DODEA kids to work on at home — home- prevent their kids from falling be used, were overwhelmingly in less than 20 minutes. “Twenty insisted the decision to do away work, in other words. behind their peers in schools that favor of having no homework. minutes of reading takes more with homework was taken in- “I want my kids to love learn- still require homework. Zach, 10, said he now has more time.” dependently of any Bahraini ing and be lifelong learners, and Lucia Martinez said she time for activities like Boy Scouts, [email protected] mandates. working through a packet of work- thought it would have been better while first grader Ofelia said Twitter: @joshua_karsten T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ............18 Business .......................... 20 Comics ............................. 21 Crossword ........................ 21 Faces ............................... 16 Opinion ....................... 22-23 Sports .........................25-32 Weather ........................... 20 Friday, September 6, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 WAR ON TERRORISM Massoud’s son starts anti-Taliban movement BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN U.S. wants Taliban assurances Stars and Stripes that they will not harbor terrorist groups in Afghanistan. PANJSHIR, Afghanistan Some Afghans said their fears — The son of Afghanistan’s most of civil war and the Taliban re- famous anti-Taliban commander turning to power haven’t been as- launched a movement against the suaged by the U.S. talks. insurgents here Thursday amid “The people need to be orga- Afghan fears that a U.S. troop nized, to be ready for any kind of withdrawal could spark civil war. threat,” said Abdul Raziq, who Ahmad Massoud, who shares attended Thursday’s event in sup- his late father’s name, said the port of Massoud. movement was inspired by the Massoud, who trained at the United Front — also known as the British military academy Sand- Northern Alliance — a multi-eth- hurst, insisted the movement nic group his father helped lead would be strictly political. after it was formed in the 1990s “But if the day comes where the to counter the Taliban. other side does not have goodwill, “[We] will follow his agenda the other side isn’t prepared to and dreams,” Massoud told a launch a genuine peace process, crowd of several thousand who we might be forced to defend our- gathered at his father’s tomb for selves,” Massoud’s spokesman the launch of the movement. Ali Nazari said. “We are ready for any type of Thursday’s launch came almost sacrifice and cooperation that 18 years since al-Qaida operatives leads to peace,” he said. killed Ahmad Shah Massoud, two The movement was launched days before the group carried out days after American envoy Zal- the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the may Khalilzad said the U.S. had United States. reached an agreement in prin- The older Massoud, known as ciple with the Taliban that would “The Lion of Panjshir,” prevented /Stars and Stripes cut American troop numbers in PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN the Soviets and the Taliban from the country by 5,000 and could Ahmad Massoud, son of slain anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, speaks to a Thursday gaining control of the Panjshir lead to a complete withdrawal crowd in Panjshir, Afghanistan, where he launched a political movement to counter the Taliban. Valley and is generally consid- of nearly 20,000 international ered one of the greatest guerrilla servicemembers. leaders of the 20th century. On Tuesday, nine former U.S. should not go so far or so fast catastrophic for U.S. national se- show his support for the new anti- that the Taliban believe they can curity,” the statement said. Taliban movement. U.S.-led NATO forces part- ambassadors warned Afghanistan nered with Massoud and the could witness “total civil war” if achieve military victory,” the am- Many Afghans have also criti- President Donald Trump has bassadors said in an article pub- cized the deal, saying it has side- repeatedly expressed frustra- Northern Alliance after the 9/11 the U.S.