U.S. and Pakistani military officials denied reports that Pakistani troops turned back a U.S. attack in Pakistan's tribal areas on Monday by firing warning shots toward U.S. troops as they attempted to cross from Afghanistan in pursuit of Taliban insurgents.
A Pakistani intelligence official said several U.S. helicopters were seen hovering near the Pakistani village of Angor Adda in the tribal area of South Waziristan. By the official's account, the helicopters landed just inside Afghanistan and several U.S. soldiers got out of them.
Pakistani troops fired warning shots in the air as the U.S. troops tried to enter Pakistani territory from Afghanistan, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on military operations. The brief standoff ended about 4:30 a.m., the intelligence official said.
Tensions over cross-border incursions by U.S. and Afghan forces into Pakistan's tribal areas have been rising for months, as U.S. and NATO troops have suffered several major setbacks in Afghanistan.
Those tensions came to a boil early this month when U.S. commandos landed helicopter gunships in another South Waziristan village on Sept. 3. Pakistani officials said at least 20 people were killed after U.S. troops opened fire on a compound in the village of Musa Nika.
Georgians blame Russia for fires in beloved preserve
Around noon on Aug. 15, hours before his president signed a cease-fire agreement ending the war with Russia, Viktor Aksashvili saw a camouflage-painted helicopter in the sky.
Later that day, the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park started getting reports of at least six forest fires in and around the 210,000-acre nature preserve, one of Georgia's biggest and best-known.
Villagers rushed to cut down trees and create a firewall between their homes and the approaching flames. No villages were burned, but the mountainous area, southwest of Gori, a city then occupied by Russian forces, was hard for firetrucks to reach.
Whipped by hot winds, the fires burned for 24 days, destroying more than 2,500 acres of old-growth forest, tainting drinking water in some villages and threatening the local economy, which relies heavily on tourism.
Police say they do not yet know how the fires started. The area has no clear military targets and is not near Russian-occupied areas. Villagers reported seeing a helicopter, possibly the one seen by Aksashvili, later that day, and government officials said some villagers saw unidentified "burning things" dropping from the aircraft.
But as for who started the fires, in the minds of many Georgians, there is no question: the Russians.
In the end, about 370 acres of the park burned, plus an additional 2,200 acres of a neighboring buffer zone. A government commission has been formed to investigate the causes and assess the damage, and Enukidze said he hopes international organizations will participate.
Obama revives 'outsider' image
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., accused Republicans on Monday of using "false advertisements, lies and spin" to distract voters from the major issues in the election.
The Democratic presidential candidate also sought to reclaim his image as a Washington outsider, saying he had upset leaders of his own party by pushing to stop favor-trading between lobbyists and lawmakers.
Obama's renewed emphasis on reform comes as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska are casting themselves as mavericks bent on changing Washington's insular culture.
At an outdoor rally here in western Colorado, Obama told nearly 6,000 supporters that the election was "not about Paris or Britney."
McCain has run ads that compare Obama to celebrities and that say his use of a quip about putting "lipstick on a pig" was an insult aimed at the Alaska governor.
Obama also released a new TV ad that recaps some of the harsh media criticism that the GOP ticket has drawn in recent days for what even some Republicans say have been false or misleading statements by McCain and Palin. The spot slams McCain for "the sleaziest ads ever," "dishonest smears" and a "disgraceful, dishonorable campaign."
Aside from its caustic tone, the ad is remarkable for its blunt assault on McCain's character. Obama has shied from such attacks and often paid tribute to the Arizona senator's bravery in the Vietnam War.
But Palin's popularity has lifted McCain's poll ratings, and the backlash against the Republicans' campaign tactics gave Obama an opening to launch a new offensive.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
