VOA News: Asia: US, Afghanistan Sign Draft of Strategic Partnership Agreement

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

US, Afghanistan Sign Draft of Strategic Partnership Agreement Apr 28th 2012, 00:26 The U.S. and Afghan governments have finalized the initial draft of a strategic partnership agreement. The deal insures American military and financial support for the Afghan people for at least a decade beyond 2014, the deadline for most foreign combat forces to withdraw.   U.S. troops and Afghan security forces have fought on the front lines together. They have worked together to build up the Afghan Army and police force. And billions of dollars have poured into the country to boost the economy. Now the new strategic partnership agreement shows Afghanistan the U.S. will not completely leave the country after 2014. <!--AV--> "NATO and its partners cannot and will not abandon Afghanistan after 2014. Our ongoing support will be essential to preserving and building on the gains we've made thus far," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Western nations are negotiating how much to spend to support Afghan security forces following 2014. Analysts say whatever the cost, it will be far less than the more than $100 billion being spent this year. Lisa Curtis is a South Asia specialist at The Heritage Foundation. "Providing say two to three billion [dollars] to sustain Afghan security forces after 2014 seems like a pretty good bargain to ensure the U.S. is not attacked again - that we don't have another type of 9/11 attack on the U.S. homeland," she said. U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a strong critic of the Afghan government, was recently banned from traveling to Kabul by President Hamid Karzai. Rohrabacher said the strategic partnership agreement is an admission that a decade of nation-building has not worked. "One of the reasons we are in bad shape and have lost so many people already, is we have imported combat troops to try to force local people to accept Kabul as the legitimate power. And Kabul, of course, is run by a corrupt regime under Karzai," said Rohrabacher. But U.S. military officials say they will need to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 to train local security forces. Major General John Toolan has spent the past year commanding troops in Afghanistan. "They will have to be in Afghanistan as long as it takes for the Afghan security forces to establish, particularly the police and I'll say specifically the police, to establish local security and credibility among the population," said Toolan. Earlier, officials signed agreements on the thorny issues of night raids by U.S. troops and the handover of detention facilities to Afghan authorities. Analysts say the strategic partnership sends a strong message to Pakistan and the Taliban that Americans will not abandon the region as they did in the 1990s after the Soviets were pushed out of the country. "I think what this agreement shows is that the U.S. is not desperate for a peace deal with the Taliban. Yes, certainly, some kind of settlement that involves the Taliban is desirable, but the U.S. is simply not desperate to reach some type of agreement in the next two years," said Curtis of the Heritage Foundation. A post-2014 military force could provide training, air power, intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism operations in partnership with Afghan soldiers. Media files: reuters_brussels_clinton_480_18april2012.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) reuters_brussels_clinton_230_18april2012.jpg CN_US_AFGHAN_ANALYSIS_WEB4x3-fixed-x264-Platform_YTHQFull__283294.mp4 (video/mp4)

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VOA News: Europe: France's Presidential Frontrunner Gives Markets the Jitters

VOA News: Europe Europe Voice of America

France's Presidential Frontrunner Gives Markets the Jitters Apr 27th 2012, 22:49 The eurozone's sovereign debt crisis has helped topple half a dozen European leaders. It looks like French President Nicolas Sarkozy may be next. Polls show Sarkozy's Socialist rival, Francois Hollande, winning France's May 6 runoff election.  But the prospect of an Hollande presidency is making markets - and analysts - nervous. It's been nearly 20 years since France had a Socialist president. That may change in just over a week. French polls all predict Socialist contender Francois Hollande will beat conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round of presidential elections on May 6. In press conferences and interviews - like one on French radio Friday - Hollande outlines an economic strategy that includes more taxes for the rich and more spending to stimulate growth. But Hollande says his first action would target the wider eurozone crisis that is now in its third year.  Hollande says he will renegotiate a European Union fiscal treaty agreed to last year in order to promote economic growth. The Socialist candidate is getting applause from his supporters - but not from markets, which briefly dipped after he won the first round of French elections last Sunday.  Analysts like economics professor Tomasz Michalski, of the HEC business school in Paris, also see little reason to cheer. "First of all, Hollande is going to increase very drastically taxes in France. In the short run the increase in taxes is going to lower the budget deficit," he said. "But in the long run it's not a good growth strategy…this is going to keep talent away. And France desperately needs new businesses, desperately needs entrepreneurs to keep the economy going." Other experts agree. Britain's leading The Economist magazine is even more critical, calling Hollande's economic prescriptions "dangerous." Analyst Philip Whyte, of the London-based Center for European Reform, says he understands why markets are jittery about an Hollande presidency. "But of course, once he's in office, he will very quickly be confronted by some of the constraints of office and some of those constraints might be imposed by the bond markets," he said." Hollande's growth prescription for Europe even got some support this week by European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi, who called on governments to invest in jobs and growth along with spending cuts. Jobs and economic growth are top concerns of French voters like 54-year-old Fatna Chouaikh.  Chouaikh believes Hollande can turn things around.   She says Hollande is competent, hard-working and has what it takes to bring France out of its economic doldrums. Under current President Sarkozy, the economy shrank and unemployment soared to nearly 10 percent. Most analysts agree that Sarkozy is not to blame for a global crisis that has sent many other economies tumbling as well. Whyte, of the Center for European Reform, credits Sarkozy for pushing through a few key reforms - like raising the retirement age - and for his initial leadership in the eurozone crisis. But Whyte faults the French president for letting German Chancellor Angela Merkel dictate eurozone policies today. And overall, he gives Sarkozy's performance a mediocre review. "The problem with Sarkozy is that he really doesn't have an economic vision," Whyte said. "He's a man of action. But he has no real coherence to much of what he does. If you look at his performance over five years as president, there's not been a terribly clear economic path he's forged." Professor Michalski offers similar criticism. "The measures that Sarkozy is proposing in this campaign do not form a coherent long-term program," he said. "Rather, they're small measures addressed to particular issues. So I'm very skeptical." Ultimately, smaller parties may shape the economic policies of either an Hollande or a Sarkozy presidency.  Hollande is counting on far-left and centrist voters to win the May 6 runoff.  Sarkozy is courting those who voted for the far-right in the first round - and who are skeptical of the European Union and of taking economic orders from Brussels. Media files: AP1204230336.jpg (image/jpeg, 0 MB) reuters_france_hollande_230_16april2012.jpg

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VOA News: USA: Hillary Clinton Recalls Raid That Killed Osama bin Laden

VOA News: USA USA Voice of America

Hillary Clinton Recalls Raid That Killed Osama bin Laden Apr 27th 2012, 21:50 Hillary Clinton says combat in Iraq and Afghanistan helped hone the SEAL Team Six assault on Osama bin Laden's compound one year ago. Recounting that night, the U.S. Secretary of State recalls a Special Forces officer speaking with administration officials outside a small room under the White House. "This may sound really exotic and scary to you all, but we've probably done something similar to this - helicopter in, take the target, look for who you're after, and get out of there - we have probably done it now 1,000 times," said Clinton. Walking through various scenarios Even with that experience on the ground, Clinton said President Barack Obama's advisors worked through every contingency they could think of in assessing the bin Laden raid: What if something went wrong with the helicopters, like in the failed effort to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980? When was the next moonless night? What would Pakistan do? "We did our very best to try to give the president our honest assessment," Clinton said. "Ultimately it was his decision. Which I fully supported because I believed that we had to take the risk - and it was a risk - that that large house in Abbottabad was the haven for Bin Laden." Clinton discussed the assault in an appearance at the U.S. Naval Academy. Uniformed men and women listened politely to her lecture on strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. But they sat forward in their seats when she was asked about her thoughts on the night of bin Laden's death. "We were attacked. And one of my goals as a senator and then as a Secretary of State was to do everything I could to try to bring bin Laden to justice," she said. Identifying Pakistan as haven She recalled her first visit to Pakistan as secretary of state in 2009. "I can't believe that there isn't anybody in the Pakistani government who doesn't know where Bin Laden is. And that caused a little bit of a ruckus. But I believed that somebody had to of known where he was," said Clinton. When the U.S. intelligence community ran down the trail to Abbottabad, Clinton said a very small group began discussing whether to launch an air or a ground assault. Having decided on SEAL Team Six, U.S. officials gathered in a bunker beneath the White House and watched a live video feed from the helicopter as it landed. "We could see or hear nothing when they went into the house. There was no communication or feedback coming," Clinton said. "So it was during that timetable that everyone was particularly focused on trying to keep calm, prepare for what might happen. I'm not sure anybody breathed for 35 or 37 minutes." <!--IMAGE-LEFT--> Dangerous mission succeeds As the raid progressed, a helicopter damaged its tail section on a wall of the bin Laden compound, so another chopper was sent in from Afghanistan. SEALs moved women and children from the house to shield them from an explosion set off to destroy the damaged helicopter while other SEALs brought out what they hoped was bin Laden's body. "All of this is happening - the body is going out, the women and children are coming in, the reserve helicopter is on its way, but it's not there yet," Clinton says. "There was a lot of breath-holding." With the SEAL team finally on its way back to Afghanistan and a second DNA test confirming bin Laden's identity, Clinton walked with the president up to the East Room for his televised address to the nation. Afterward, along the Rose Garden colonnade, they heard cheering from George Washington University students who had come to the gates of the White House to celebrate. "Many of them, like many of you, were children when we were attacked," Clinton told the men and women of the Naval Academy. "This had been part of your consciousness for as long as you can remember." "So listening to those cheers, feeling the relief that came from knowing that it was a job very well done, and for me personally, having the sense that for many of those who lost their loved ones, who had been grievously injured during that attack, whom I knew personally, that they could - in a way that they had not been able to the day before - think about the future." Media files: reuters_pakistan_obl_compound_480_may2011.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) reuters_pakistan_obl_compound_230_may2011.jpg voa_compound_raid_diagram_480_April2012.jpg

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VOA News: USA: Security Issues Expected to Top Obama-Noda Meeting

VOA News: USA USA Voice of America

Security Issues Expected to Top Obama-Noda Meeting Apr 27th 2012, 22:26 An agreement to remove almost half the U.S. Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa could lead to progress on other issues when Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda visits Washington on Monday.   Analysts say the disagreement over the U.S. forces on Okinawa has been an irritant in relations between Washington and Tokyo for years. The deal, reached Thursday, would move about 9,000 Marines from Okinawa to Australia, the U.S. territory of Guam or the state of Hawaii. A senior White House official said Friday that the breaking of the stalemate over Okinawa allows both countries' leaders to focus on other security issues. Japan's U.S. Ambassador, Ichiro Fujisaki, said Thursday at a forum sponsored by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies that  the agreement will improve U.S. protection of its Asia-Pacific allies. "There will be more distribution of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific, which will fortify the U.S. presence, I think, and which will add to the fortification of deterrents in that area, so we welcome that," he said. When President Obama and Prime Minister Noda meet in the Oval Office on Monday, North Korea and its nuclear ambitions are expected to be near the top of the agenda. The recent attempted rocket launch by Pyongyang caused concern in nearby Japan and other Asian neighbors. The U.S. and Japanese leaders may also discuss Tehran's nuclear ambitions.  Analyst Sheila Smith at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations says Tokyo has also been working to help tighten sanctions on Iran. "Japan's energy dependence on Iran has been slowly reduced since the sanctions in 2006," she said. "Forty percent of Japan's oil was imported from Iran.  Now I think it is less than 10 percent.  So Japan works very closely with us in terms of our U.N. Security Council conversation on Iran as well." Also likely to come up in Monday's meeting is Japan's role in helping to rebuild and stabilize Afghanistan. Another priority will probably be the state of the world economy, and Japan's recovery from last year's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Perhaps the ceremonial highlight of the prime minister's visit will be the U.S. gift of 3,000 dogwood trees to be planted in a park in Tokyo.   Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says the gesture comes on the 100th anniversary of Japan's gift of cherry trees to the United States. "And we hope that, as a gesture, it will be something that our children and our children's children, both in the United States and Japan, will have the opportunity to enjoy and treasure, just as we have had the opportunity to treasure the cherry trees," said Campbell. Despite some disagreements, such as the deployment of U.S. Marines in Okinawa, a senior Obama administration official says U.S.-Japan relations are strong. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in a statement Thursday, called Japan "not just an ally, but a close friend."   Media files: Reuters Japan PM Yoshihiko Noda 13Jan12 300.jpg (image/jpeg, 0 MB)

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VOA News: Asia: Hillary Clinton Recalls Raid That Killed Osama bin Laden

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

Hillary Clinton Recalls Raid That Killed Osama bin Laden Apr 27th 2012, 21:50 Hillary Clinton says combat in Iraq and Afghanistan helped hone the SEAL Team Six assault on Osama bin Laden's compound one year ago. Recounting that night, the U.S. Secretary of State recalls a Special Forces officer speaking with administration officials outside a small room under the White House. "This may sound really exotic and scary to you all, but we've probably done something similar to this - helicopter in, take the target, look for who you're after, and get out of there - we have probably done it now 1,000 times," said Clinton. Walking through various scenarios Even with that experience on the ground, Clinton said President Barack Obama's advisors worked through every contingency they could think of in assessing the bin Laden raid: What if something went wrong with the helicopters, like in the failed effort to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980? When was the next moonless night? What would Pakistan do? "We did our very best to try to give the president our honest assessment," Clinton said. "Ultimately it was his decision. Which I fully supported because I believed that we had to take the risk - and it was a risk - that that large house in Abbottabad was the haven for Bin Laden." Clinton discussed the assault in an appearance at the U.S. Naval Academy. Uniformed men and women listened politely to her lecture on strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. But they sat forward in their seats when she was asked about her thoughts on the night of bin Laden's death. "We were attacked. And one of my goals as a senator and then as a Secretary of State was to do everything I could to try to bring bin Laden to justice," she said. Identifying Pakistan as haven She recalled her first visit to Pakistan as secretary of state in 2009. "I can't believe that there isn't anybody in the Pakistani government who doesn't know where Bin Laden is. And that caused a little bit of a ruckus. But I believed that somebody had to of known where he was," said Clinton. When the U.S. intelligence community ran down the trail to Abbottabad, Clinton said a very small group began discussing whether to launch an air or a ground assault. Having decided on SEAL Team Six, U.S. officials gathered in a bunker beneath the White House and watched a live video feed from the helicopter as it landed. "We could see or hear nothing when they went into the house. There was no communication or feedback coming," Clinton said. "So it was during that timetable that everyone was particularly focused on trying to keep calm, prepare for what might happen. I'm not sure anybody breathed for 35 or 37 minutes." <!--IMAGE-LEFT--> Dangerous mission succeeds As the raid progressed, a helicopter damaged its tail section on a wall of the bin Laden compound, so another chopper was sent in from Afghanistan. SEALs moved women and children from the house to shield them from an explosion set off to destroy the damaged helicopter while other SEALs brought out what they hoped was bin Laden's body. "All of this is happening - the body is going out, the women and children are coming in, the reserve helicopter is on its way, but it's not there yet," Clinton says. "There was a lot of breath-holding." With the SEAL team finally on its way back to Afghanistan and a second DNA test confirming bin Laden's identity, Clinton walked with the president up to the East Room for his televised address to the nation. Afterward, along the Rose Garden colonnade, they heard cheering from George Washington University students who had come to the gates of the White House to celebrate. "Many of them, like many of you, were children when we were attacked," Clinton told the men and women of the Naval Academy. "This had been part of your consciousness for as long as you can remember." "So listening to those cheers, feeling the relief that came from knowing that it was a job very well done, and for me personally, having the sense that for many of those who lost their loved ones, who had been grievously injured during that attack, whom I knew personally, that they could - in a way that they had not been able to the day before - think about the future." Media files: reuters_pakistan_obl_compound_480_may2011.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) reuters_pakistan_obl_compound_230_may2011.jpg voa_compound_raid_diagram_480_April2012.jpg

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VOA News: Asia: Security Issues Expected to Top Obama-Noda Meeting

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

Security Issues Expected to Top Obama-Noda Meeting Apr 27th 2012, 22:26 An agreement to remove almost half the U.S. Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa could lead to progress on other issues when Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda visits Washington on Monday.   Analysts say the disagreement over the U.S. forces on Okinawa has been an irritant in relations between Washington and Tokyo for years. The deal, reached Thursday, would move about 9,000 Marines from Okinawa to Australia, the U.S. territory of Guam or the state of Hawaii. A senior White House official said Friday that the breaking of the stalemate over Okinawa allows both countries' leaders to focus on other security issues. Japan's U.S. Ambassador, Ichiro Fujisaki, said Thursday at a forum sponsored by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies that  the agreement will improve U.S. protection of its Asia-Pacific allies. "There will be more distribution of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific, which will fortify the U.S. presence, I think, and which will add to the fortification of deterrents in that area, so we welcome that," he said. When President Obama and Prime Minister Noda meet in the Oval Office on Monday, North Korea and its nuclear ambitions are expected to be near the top of the agenda. The recent attempted rocket launch by Pyongyang caused concern in nearby Japan and other Asian neighbors. The U.S. and Japanese leaders may also discuss Tehran's nuclear ambitions.  Analyst Sheila Smith at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations says Tokyo has also been working to help tighten sanctions on Iran. "Japan's energy dependence on Iran has been slowly reduced since the sanctions in 2006," she said. "Forty percent of Japan's oil was imported from Iran.  Now I think it is less than 10 percent.  So Japan works very closely with us in terms of our U.N. Security Council conversation on Iran as well." Also likely to come up in Monday's meeting is Japan's role in helping to rebuild and stabilize Afghanistan. Another priority will probably be the state of the world economy, and Japan's recovery from last year's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Perhaps the ceremonial highlight of the prime minister's visit will be the U.S. gift of 3,000 dogwood trees to be planted in a park in Tokyo.   Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says the gesture comes on the 100th anniversary of Japan's gift of cherry trees to the United States. "And we hope that, as a gesture, it will be something that our children and our children's children, both in the United States and Japan, will have the opportunity to enjoy and treasure, just as we have had the opportunity to treasure the cherry trees," said Campbell. Despite some disagreements, such as the deployment of U.S. Marines in Okinawa, a senior Obama administration official says U.S.-Japan relations are strong. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in a statement Thursday, called Japan "not just an ally, but a close friend."   Media files: Reuters Japan PM Yoshihiko Noda 13Jan12 300.jpg (image/jpeg, 0 MB)

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VOA News: Europe: Doctors Call for Tymoshenko to be Treated Abroad

VOA News: Europe Europe Voice of America

Doctors Call for Tymoshenko to be Treated Abroad Apr 27th 2012, 22:04 German doctors who have examined jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko have appealed to the president to let her be moved abroad for treatment. Karl Einhaeupl, head of Berlin's Charite university hospital, told reporters Friday that his team is skeptical that  Tymoshenko can recover from her back problems if she remains in Ukraine. "One of the reasons for this press conference is that the Ukrainian government approached us through their Foreign Minister with the demand to treat Yulia Tymoshenko in the Ukraine," he said. "We believe that the hunger strike and the escalation of the situation have worsened the situation of Yulia Tymoshenko. Therefore we think that another judgement about Tymoshenko's current condition from our side is necessary." The Ukrainian leadership recently proposed Germany sending doctors to treat Ms. Tymoshenko in Ukraine, but Einhaeupl said Ukrainian hospitals have neither the equipment nor the expertise to handle her case. Tymoshenko has been on a hunger strike since last week, when she alleges she was beaten by prison guards. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said Thursday he has ordered a probe into the allegations.  Earlier this week, Ukraine's commissioner for human rights said a personal examination confirmed that Ms. Tymoshenko has bruises on her body. German President Joachim Gauck has canceled his planned attendance at a meeting in the Ukrainian Black Sea resort of Yalta next month to protest Tymoshenko's situation. And EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has announced she is "deeply preoccupied" with  Tymoshenko's health. The former prime minister has complained of severe back pain and asked for medical treatment monitored by foreign doctors.   Last year, she was sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of abuse of office in a 2009 gas deal with Russia.  She is now standing trial on tax evasion charges that could extend her jail time to 12 years. Tymoshenko denies the charges and argues they are part of a campaign by President Yanukovich to remove his strongest political rival. Media files: ap_Karl_Einhaeupl_Tymoshenko_eng_27apr12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB)

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VOA News: Africa: Somalis, Yemenis Face US Prosecution for Khat

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Somalis, Yemenis Face US Prosecution for Khat Apr 27th 2012, 21:00 Thirteen natives of Somalia and Yemen are on trial in U.S. Federal Court near Washington for allegedly smuggling millions of dollars' worth of khat into the United States. Khat is a plant whose leaves and upper branches contain a mild stimulant and has been openly chewed in those and other countries for centuries, often while drinking tea. <!--AV--> Khat is chewed in social settings around the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa.  It is legal in Somalia and Yemen, and in Britain and the Netherlands, but not in the United States. Khat's green leaves and branches contain cathinone, a stimulant known to produce a mild high but considered a serious drug under U.S. federal law. Grant Smith with the Drug Policy Alliance says the government overreacted. "When people have taken a look at khat, they have found that it is really just a mild stimulant," said Smith.  "It is akin to a couple of cups of coffee or some energy drinks.  And while there may be some long term health effects from using it, that doesn't mean we should criminalize people who use it." But some believe khat is addictive and often leads to child abuse and domestic violence as depicted in this film by the Minneapolis based organization Somali Cause. "So, they stay up for maybe a day or two or so," noted Mohamed Hassan works with Somali Cause. "And then once they start feeling the sleepiness, then they crash for two or three days.  So there you can see that person cannot really be productive." Drug policy reform advocates argue that prosecuting people for khat is a waste of public resources.  They say the use of khat should be treated as a public health issue.   "We should have a reasonable response that is based on public education, that looks at health, the health effects that is reality-based education," Smith added.  "And not respond to the typical sort of response we usually have to drugs which is to criminalize first and ask questions later." Smith says people are less likely to seek help for khat use if using it is a crime.  But Mohamed Hassan says khat is not a recreational stimulant that can be used within reason. "I do think strongly that it is addictive.  I mean it makes people go beyond their means.   Obviously, it is not helping them," said Hassan. Hassan says khat use is not very common in the Somali-American community.  Attorneys for the 13 defendants say the case stems from concerns that smuggled khat is being used to fund terrorism, but that no evidence of that has turned up in court. Media files: HD_FOR_THE_WEB_Khat_Smuggling_US-desktop-FCPImportProResP101Tease.jpg Khat_Smuggling_WEB_16x9-fixed-x264-Platform_YTHDFull__569393.mp4 (video/mp4)

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VOA News: USA: Somalis, Yemenis Face US Prosecution for Khat

VOA News: USA USA Voice of America

Somalis, Yemenis Face US Prosecution for Khat Apr 27th 2012, 21:00 Thirteen natives of Somalia and Yemen are on trial in U.S. Federal Court near Washington for allegedly smuggling millions of dollars' worth of khat into the United States. Khat is a plant whose leaves and upper branches contain a mild stimulant and has been openly chewed in those and other countries for centuries, often while drinking tea. <!--AV--> Khat is chewed in social settings around the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa.  It is legal in Somalia and Yemen, and in Britain and the Netherlands, but not in the United States. Khat's green leaves and branches contain cathinone, a stimulant known to produce a mild high but considered a serious drug under U.S. federal law. Grant Smith with the Drug Policy Alliance says the government overreacted. "When people have taken a look at khat, they have found that it is really just a mild stimulant," said Smith.  "It is akin to a couple of cups of coffee or some energy drinks.  And while there may be some long term health effects from using it, that doesn't mean we should criminalize people who use it." But some believe khat is addictive and often leads to child abuse and domestic violence as depicted in this film by the Minneapolis based organization Somali Cause. "So, they stay up for maybe a day or two or so," noted Mohamed Hassan works with Somali Cause. "And then once they start feeling the sleepiness, then they crash for two or three days.  So there you can see that person cannot really be productive." Drug policy reform advocates argue that prosecuting people for khat is a waste of public resources.  They say the use of khat should be treated as a public health issue.   "We should have a reasonable response that is based on public education, that looks at health, the health effects that is reality-based education," Smith added.  "And not respond to the typical sort of response we usually have to drugs which is to criminalize first and ask questions later." Smith says people are less likely to seek help for khat use if using it is a crime.  But Mohamed Hassan says khat is not a recreational stimulant that can be used within reason. "I do think strongly that it is addictive.  I mean it makes people go beyond their means.   Obviously, it is not helping them," said Hassan. Hassan says khat use is not very common in the Somali-American community.  Attorneys for the 13 defendants say the case stems from concerns that smuggled khat is being used to fund terrorism, but that no evidence of that has turned up in court. Media files: HD_FOR_THE_WEB_Khat_Smuggling_US-desktop-FCPImportProResP101Tease.jpg Khat_Smuggling_WEB_16x9-fixed-x264-Platform_YTHDFull__569393.mp4 (video/mp4)

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VOA News: USA: Study: Millennials Rejecting Religious Doctrine

VOA News: USA USA Voice of America

Study: Millennials Rejecting Religious Doctrine Apr 27th 2012, 20:58 College campuses are among the least religious places in America, largely because people tend to drift away from faith when they are young. But a study focusing on 18-to-24-year-old Americans finds many rejecting religious doctrine and orthodoxy in general. Findings of the Millennial Values Survey, a joint survey of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), and Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, indicate that many of the youngest millennials - members of the so called "millennial generation" - are leaving their childhood faith and ending up mostly unaffiliated. Around one quarter of respondents said they don't identify with any religion, more than twice the 11 percent raised in households without any particular faith. According to Dr. Robert Jones, PRRI's CEO and one of the study's lead researchers, this group is changing the way Americans view and practice religion. "Basically all the varieties of Christian religion are in negative territories," said Jones, adding that Catholics and white mainline Protestants saw the largest losses away from childhood religious identification. A Complicated Relationship "Millennials kind of have a complicated relationship with religion," said Abigail Clauhs, one of a group of university students from around the country invited to be present at the survey's release. "In my own personal experience dealing with other millennials my age, there's a lot of those kinds of stories of 'Well, I was raised like this, but I am now this, or I'm not religious at all,'" she said. "There's a lot of shifting, and people don't tend to be as committed to one strict set of doctrines or dogmas, even if they might be spiritual still." Clauhs, a religion major at Boston University, was raised by a southern Baptist father and a Roman Catholic mother. "I actually identify as Unitarian Universalist now," she said, explaining with a chuckle that "you're allowed to believe what you want." Christianity Too 'Judgmental' Only 23 percent of the survey's respondents said they believe the Bible is the word of God and should be taken literally. And while 76 percent agreed with the statement that Christianity "has good values and principals," more than six in ten said the way the faith is practiced today is "judgmental" and "anti-gay." Jones said it may not be surprising that millennials are less likely to attend church than older Americans. "Even on very basic questions like the nature of God, for example, we see millennials much less likely to believe in a personal God that one can have a relationship with, and much more likely to believe in a kind of God as an impersonal force," he said. Changing the Face of Religion in America The survey's results also suggest that many millennials aren't looking for spirituality online. Fewer than half of respondents with Facebook accounts, for example, list a religious affiliation on their profile page. But Jones said results do suggest millennials are seeking spirituality, albeit with less commitment than "the traditional structured church experience." "A social service opportunity for you to go and do some good in the city, that's going to be connected to the deepest things you believe about reality and God," he said, describing the kind of experience that might appeal to them. "And you know you can come this time, maybe you don't come next time, and you know six months later you'll come again. "That kind of more free-form engagement, that's something that this generation is really looking for," he said, adding that millennials "really do look to change the face of religion in the country." Media files: AP_candle_faith_480_27april12.JPG (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) AP_candle_faith_230_27april12.jpg Cuba_Pope_Update_-_web_version_4x3-fixed-x264-Platform_YTHQFull__511272.mp4 (video/mp4)

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