COLLEGE BASKETBALL FACES MILITARY Talented Texas trio Rob Lowe brings Tokyo official doesn’t leading the way for experience to role fault US base for top-ranked Gonzaga as first responder water contamination Back page Page 14 Page 3 63 Canadians among 176 killed in Ukrainian jet crash in Iran » Page 13 stripes.com Volume 78, No. 189 ©SS 2020 THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Stepping back from the brink RELATED US assessment is that Iranian reprisal Iran ‘appears to be standing down’ In Irbil, residents after attack on bases, Trump says were warned deliberately missed American troops BY JENNIFER JACOBS BY COREY DICKSTEIN would not retaliate for the missile to stay indoors ing at unpopulated areas of the AND CAITLIN KENNEY strike. AND GLEN CAREY sprawling al Asad Air Base, be- ahead of strikes cause precision guided missiles Stars and Stripes The president also said no Bloomberg American troops were injured or Page 6 struck sandy areas, said one of WASHINGTON — President killed when Iran launched more Iran apparently intended to the officials, who spoke on con- Donald Trump said Iran “ap- than a dozen ballistic missiles in avoid U.S. casualties when it dition of anonymity because the pears to be standing down” after retaliation for the U.S. drone at- President Donald Trump launched more than a dozen mis- information wasn’t yet publicly launching a missile attack on tack that killed one of Iran’s top addresses the nation siles at U.S.-Iraqi airbases in announced. The absence of U.S. bases used by Americans in Iraq. military leaders. Wednesday from the White retaliation for an American air- casualties could mitigate the po- The development “is a good “I am pleased to inform you, House on the ballistic strike that killed a top Iranian tential for a dramatic escalation. thing for all parties concerned the American people should be missile strike that Iran general, according to U.S. officials The Islamic Revolutionary and a good thing for the world,” extremely grateful and happy no launched against Iraqi air with knowledge of the matter. Guard Corps claimed responsi- Trump said Wednesday, seem- Americans were harmed in last bases housing U.S. troops . U.S. assessments of the strikes bility for the barrage, which the ing to indicate the United States SEE ATTACK ON PAGE 6 EVAN VUCCI/AP indicate Iran may have been aim- SEE MISSED ON PAGE 7 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Thursday, January 9, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Delta aims to make its app the latest travel concierge Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................0.9698 Euro costs (Jan. 9) ............................ $1.1413 Thailand (Baht) .....................................30.37 Dollar buys (Jan. 9) ...........................€0.8762 Turkey (Lira) .........................................5.9534 BY MARY SCHLANGENSTEIN notifications when their seat is gather on people’s lives. British pound (Jan. 9) ........................... $1.35 (Military exchange rates are those Japanese yen (Jan. 9).........................106.00 available to customers at military banking Bloomberg ready to board, Chief Executive The airline’s first step toward South Korean won (Jan. 9).............1,148.00 facilities in the country of issuance Officer Ed Bastian said at the the digital concierge will extend Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Delta Air Lines Inc. is creat- Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3770 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For CES technology trade show in its existing partnership with on- Britain (Pound) ....................................1.3124 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., ing its own version of a “digital Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3018 purchasing British pounds in Germany), Las Vegas on Tuesday. line ride sharing company Lyft concierge” to tie customers more China (Yuan) ........................................6.9463 check with your local military banking He outlined the airline’s plan Inc. The Fly Delta app will link Denmark (Krone) ................................ 6.7179 facility. Commercial rates are interbank tightly to the carrier for travel for expanding its technology plat- Egypt (Pound) ....................................16.0147 rates provided for reference when buying customers’ Delta SkyMiles and Euro .......................................... 1.1123/0.8990 currency. All figures are foreign currencies needs ranging from navigating form over the next few years to to one dollar, except for the British pound, Lyft accounts, making it easier to Hong Kong (Dollar) ..............................7.7747 traffic to booking a hotel. Hungary (Forint) .................................297.93 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, improve operations and make life and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) An improved mobile app will earn miles during trips, Bastian Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.4655 easier for customers. In the pro- Japan (Yen) ........................................... 108.70 allow travelers to arrange rides cess, the carrier will go head-to- said. Other options being stud- Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3033 INTEREST RATES to the airport, stay on top of ied include a dedicated premium Norway (Krone) ...................................8.8528 head with more entrenched travel Philippines (Peso)................................. 50.71 Prime rate ................................................4.75 weather and traffic changes, get websites and have to grapple with Delta-Lyft service at the busiest Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.81 Discount rate ..........................................2.25 customized directions through growing privacy concerns about U.S. airports, and the option of Saudi Arab (Riyal)...............................3.7562 Federal funds market rate ...................1.55 Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3508 3-month bill .............................................1.52 unfamiliar airports and receive how companies use the data they paying for rides with SkyMiles. South Korea (Won) ..........................1,167.90 30-year bond ...........................................2.30 WEATHER OUTLOOK THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST THURSDAY IN EUROPE FRIDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 35/29 Kabul 37/17 Seoul 32/25 Baghdad 60/43 Kandahar 48/32 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 35/26 49/45 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 49/45 47/40 42/29 Iwakuni 49/44 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 69/65 Brussels 46/41 Guam 64/56 44/40 Ramstein 52/43 83/79 Lajes, 54/50 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 68/54 71/57 63/59 50/41 38/31 Aviano/ Vicenza 45/33 Naples 53/41 Okinawa Morón 67/63 56/39 Sigonella Rota 53/32 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 82/72 57/44 52/48 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 10 Classified .................. 13 Comics ...................... 15 Crossword ................. 15 Faces ........................ 14 Opinion ..................... 16 Sports ...................17-24 Thursday, January 9, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MILITARY Base not faulted on groundwater issues Tokyo : No evidence US caused contamination BY SETH ROBSON compounds are widely used and under- AND HANA KUSUMOTO ground water flows are complex. Stars and Stripes The wells where the chemicals were de- tected do not supply drinking water, she YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Contami- added. nated groundwater has been detected near “We couldn’t draw a conclusion that the home of U.S. Forces Japan in western it was or was not caused by Yokota Air Tokyo, but officials found no evidence the Base,” Kono said, noting that pollution was pollutants came from inside the base, a also detected in six other places that were Tokyo Metropolitan Government official not close to the base. said Wednesday. Tokyo officials hope to receive more de- Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and tails from the base to be able to determine perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — syn- the pollution source, said the metropolitan thetic chemicals found in firefighting foam government’s director of military facilities and other products — were detected in two PHOTOS BY ETHAN VALETSKI/U.S. Army relations, Jun Sakurai. wells near the base during a survey from Sgt. Jeffrey Pettigrew, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, provides security during a simulated December 2018 to January 2019, said Aya U.S. forces in Japan haven’t used aque- attack at the Dragoon Ready exercise in Hohenfels, Germany, in November. The Kono, an official with the Tokyo Metropol- ous firefighting foam in training since regiment will soon be heading to Poland to take over a NATO mission. itan Government’s Bureau of Social Wel- 2016, said 374th Airlift Wing spokeswoman fare and Public Health. Kaori Matsukasa. The contamination was about 19 times The chemicals found in the wells have the level set by a U.S. drinking water been used for years in a variety of products health advisory, the Asahi newspaper re- such as carpets, clothing and paper pack- 2nd Cav alry preparing ported Monday. The U.S. Environmental aging for food and cookware to make them Protection Agency recommends limiting oil- and water-repellent, she added. the combined presence of PFOS and PFOA “U.S. Forces rigorously manage the for a return to Poland in water to 70 parts per trillion, according stored firefighting foam within U.S. facili- ties and areas, including Yokota Air Base,” BY IMMANUEL