NPR 2009-05-11

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

Tens of thousands of civilians 2 in Pakistan's Swat Valley took advantage of a temporary lifting of a curfew there to flee the fighting in the region today as the Pakistani army steps up its offensive to clear up militants 3 from the Taliban stronghold. NPR's Julie McCarthy has more from Islamabad.

Residents reported that transport was scarce because the military denied entry of vehicles into Swat Valley for fear the militants would use them to send in reinforcements. Terrified residents also said the civilian 1 casualties were mounting. The army has been sharply criticized for loss of innocent life and for its failure to resolutely 4 move against the Taliban before now. But the Prime Minister declared the current defensive 5 "a battle for the survival of Pakistan". He refused to give a time frame but the fact the fighting rages a morning's drive from Islamabad makes a swift and decisive battle all the more urgent. A half million people are expected to flee before the offensive is over. And no one can say when they will return or what they will find when they do. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

President Obama's top national security advisor 6 General James Jones says the US will not rule out more air strikes against extremists in Afghanistan despite a warning from that country's president about civilian deaths caused by those attacks. "We have to have the full complement 7 of, of our offensive military power when we need it. We have to, we can't fight with one hand tied behind our back, but on the other hand, we have to be careful to make sure that we don't unnecessarily wound or kill innocent civilians." Jones was interviewed on ABC's This Week.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the civilian casualties from the US air strikes are undermining public support for the American military presence in his country.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi spent this Mother's Day in Iraq. She was in Baghdad, visiting US troops and Iraqi leaders as NPR's Jonathan Blakely reports.

Along with Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, Speaker Pelosi met with Iraq's newly elected parliament speaker Ayad al-Samarrai. They discussed the ongoing 8 US troop drawdown from Iraq and the need for both Baghdad and Washington to build up intelligence gathering 9 in the country. "If we are going to have a diminished physical military presence, we have to have a strong intelligence presence." Prime Minister Al-Maliki wants Washington to hold to the mandate 10 that US troops will be out of Iraq's large cities and urban areas by the June 30 deadline. That might be difficult. Insurgents 11 have maintained a steady level of violence in parts of Baghdad and in Mosul. Jonathan Blakely, NPR News, Baghdad.

A choir 12 singing on the banks of the River Jordan today as Pope Benedict visited the site where Jesus was said to have been baptized. The pontiff called on Christians 13 in the Middle East to set an example "of reconciliation 14 and peace through forgiveness and generosity 15." The Pope travels to Israel tomorrow.

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Former Vice 16 President Dick Cheney says he has no regrets about approving harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding that have since been renounced 17 by the Obama administration—techniques that, Cheney insists, provided good intelligence. "What happened here was an honorable approach to defending the nation that there was nothing devious 18 or deceitful or dishonest or illegal about what was done." Cheney was on CBS's Face the Nation.

Firefighters in southern California took advantage of an ocean mist today to make further headway against the stubborn wildfire in Santa Barbara. That blaze is now about 55% contained. Bob Hensley of Capital Public Radio has the story.

About 15,000 evacuees 19 were able to return home yesterday as the weather allowed firefighters to get a handle on the blaze that has scorched 20 nearly 9,000 acres since last Tuesday. All but 350 of the thousands of remaining evacuees have now been given the green light to go home. A spokeswoman for the Emergency Operation Center in Santa Barbara says the neighborhood where the 350 live is still under a mandatory 21 evacuation order because of fire activity. Some residents have returned to find their homes heavily damaged or destroyed. Property losses are expected in the tens of millions of dollars. The cost of fighting the fire has surpassed 7 million dollars. Officials predict the wildfire will be contained by Wednesday. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley.

West Virginia's governor has mobilized 300 National Guard troops to help with the cleanup from a weekend of flooding in the state's southern coal fields that destroyed at least 100 buildings. And in Illinois and Missouri, utility crews are working around the clock to restore electricity to nearly 100,000 homes and businesses after powerful storms hit that region.

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News from Washington.