WAR ON TERRORISM MOVIES LIFESTYLE Officials: US troops have Controversial Pandemic, the game, left bases in Helmand, ‘The Hunt’ has become all too Laghman provinces hits theaters real, says its creator Page 3 Page 11 Page 12 Commentary: What will fans talk about without sports? » Back page Volume 78, No. 235A ©SS 2020 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas US carries out VIRUS OUTBREAK retaliatory raid on Iran-backed fighters in Iraq US SHUTS DOWN BY CHAD GARLAND Americans adjust to new life, hunker down amid pandemic AND COREY DICKSTEIN Stars and Stripes WASHINGTON — An Ameri- can air raid early Friday morn- ing on an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq was precise, propor- tionate and defensive — designed to deter the group from launch- ing more rockets at American and anti-ISIS coalition forces, the top general for U.S. Central Com- mand said. U.S. fighter jets struck five weapons caches south of Bagh- dad held by the Kataeb Hezbollah militia at about 1 a.m. in retalia- tion for an attack blamed on the group that killed two Ameri- can troops and a British service member Wednesday, Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said. He also blamed the militia for at least a dozen rocket attacks during the last six months, at least two of which killed Americans. “We believe this is going to have an effect on deterring future strikes of this nature,” McKenzie told reporters Friday at the Penta- gon. “We’ve seen in the past what happens if you don’t respond [to attacks.] Now people know that we are not going to tolerate these direct attacks on American or co- alition service members, and we are willing and able to respond.” McKenzie stopped short of im- plicating Iran in ordering the at- tack, which came on what would have been the 63rd birthday of BY MICHELLE R. SMITH most every facet of American life. invoke emergency powers because of powerful Iranian Maj. Gen. Qas- AND GILLIAN FLACCUS The spate of event cancellations the outbreak, according to two people sem Soleimani, who was killed in Associated Press that drove home the gravity of the familiar with the planning who spoke outbreak a day earlier only intensifi ed on condition of anonymity. It was still SEE RAID ON PAGE 3 orkers lost their jobs, parents Thursday, with Disney and Universal unclear early Friday, however, pre- came up with impromptu Orlando Resort shutting down theme cisely what mechanism Trump would lesson plans for children parks, the NCAA calling off March use to free up additional federal Wkept home from shuttered Madness and Broadway theaters clos- resources for testing and treatment as ‘ We believe this schools. Families fretted over dwindling ing their doors in Manhattan. All the well as help those struggling with the retirement accounts, the health of elder- major professional sports announced economic impact. is going to have an ly parents, and every cough and sneeze they are halting play, and offi cials With the looming announcement in their midst. ordered a shutdown of every school in and cascade of closures, a new reality effect on deterring Millions of people settled into new the state of Ohio for three weeks. set in for American households. future strikes of this and disrupted routines Thursday as On Friday afternoon, President nature. ’ the coronavirus began to uproot al- Donald Trump was preparing to SEE PANDEMIC ON PAGE 4 Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Authorities control a line of motorists Friday waiting to be tested for the coronavirus at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, N.Y. CENTCOM commander JOHN MINCHILLO/AP PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, March 14, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Bill helps replace Chinese telecom equipment Military rates Euro costs (March 16) .....................$1.1442 Switzerland (Franc)............................ 0.9511 Dollar buys (March 16) ...................... €0.874 Thailand (Baht) .....................................31.80 British pound (March 16) ....................$1.29 Turkey (Lira) .........................................6.3053 BY KEVIN FREKING known as 5G. Both companies using untrustworthy vendors to Japanese yen (March 16) .................. 101.00 (Military exchange rates are those South Korean won (March 16) ......1,193.00 available to customers at military banking Associated Press have denied that China uses their build communications infrastruc- Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance products for spying. ture threatens national security Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3776 for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the WASHINGTON — President British pound .....................................$1.2508 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For The Federal Communications nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., Donald Trump on Thursday by exposing networks to actors Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3891 Commission has already voted to China (Yuan) ....................................... 6.9935 purchasing British pounds in Germany), signed into law a bill that pro- who are potentially influenced by Denmark (Krone) ............................... 6.7182 check with your local military banking bar U.S. phone companies from facility. Commercial rates are interbank vides $1 billion to help small tele- foreign entities. Egypt (Pound) ....................................15.6990 using government subsidies for Euro ...........................................$1.1124/.8990 rates provided for reference when buying com providers replace equipment Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7688 currency. All figures are foreign currencies The legislation creates a reim- to one dollar, except for the British pound, equipment from the two Chi- Hungary (Forint) .................................304.41 made by China’s Huawei and which is represented in dollars-to-pound, nese companies. This bill affects bursement program that small Israel (Shekel) .................................... 3.6563 ZTE. telecom providers can use when Japan (Yen) ...........................................106.82 The U.S. government considers mostly small, rural companies, Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3081 INTEREST RATES because the major U.S. network removing and replacing equip- Norway (Krone) ...................................9.9884 the Chinese companies a security Philippines (Peso)................................. 51.05 Prime rate ................................................4.25 risk and has pushed its allies not providers don’t use the Chinese ment manufactured by entities Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.93 Discount rate .......................................... 1.75 deemed to pose unacceptable na- Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7534 Federal funds market rate ...................1.09 to use Huawei equipment in next- equipment. Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.4131 3-month bill .............................................0.32 generation cellular networks, The White House said that tional security risks. South Korea (Won) .......................... 1208.39 30-year bond ........................................... 1.41 WEATHER OUTLOOK SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SATURDAY IN EUROPE SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 38/31 Kabul 53/33 Seoul 41/32 Baghdad 72/61 Kandahar 66/39 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 41/34 45/33 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 52/37 39/29 49/36 Iwakuni 50/44 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 73/68 Brussels 40/32 Guam 72/67 49/38 Ramstein 52/47 80/77 Lajes, 45/33 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 78/67 78/62 60/57 45/34 47/36 Aviano/ Vicenza 47/44 Naples 57/52 Okinawa Morón 63/59 69/52 Sigonella Rota 71/39 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 83/76 63/53 61/56 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 14 Comics/Crossword ...... 16 Movies ..................... .11 V ideo Games ..............12 Board Games .............13 Opinion ..................... 15 Sports ...................17-24 Saturday, March 14, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 WAR ON TERRORISM US troops continue Afghanistan withdrawal BY J.P. LAWRENCE beri in Laghman province, east of U.S. official told Agence France- and British troops since the 2001 thorities that according to the Stars and Stripes Kabul, a tribal leader there said. Presse on Tuesday. invasion. deal with the Taliban, this base For the past few days, tribal U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, de- If the U.S. military leaves again, will be closed and its forces will KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. elder Haji Shah Mahmoud said clined to comment on specific some locals fear it will likely see a finally leave Afghanistan,” Noori troops have pulled out of a key he has seen large numbers of he- base closings. repeat of the 2015 Taliban offen- base in Afghanistan’s southern licopters flying in and out of the After previously withdraw- sive, they told Stars and Stripes said. “If Taliban also fulfill what Helmand province, the site of base, which is next to his village. ing from Helmand province as last year. they agreed to, it will be good for some of the fiercest fighting of “I thought there must be a huge part of a large-scale drawdown “Security is going to get worse,” Afghanistan.” the war, officials said Friday. military operation going on,” in 2014, the U.S. returned to the said Haji Abdul Ali Sarwari, a U.S. officials have publicly ex- U.S. advisers withdrew from Mahmoud said. “(Afghan) sol- provincial capital the following civil activist