Marines move toward ‘build’ phase in Marjah

Attacks by Taliban now infrequent

By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes

MARJAH, Afghanistan — Now that the shooting appears to be mostly over, Marines in this southern Taliban enclave are working to consolidate the gains they’ve made since the largest coalition offensive of the 8-year-old Afghan war began nearly three weeks ago.

The primary focus of U.S. forces now is to integrate Afghan police units back into the community, which had been under Taliban control for at least a year and a half. Marine officers are also meeting daily with village elders to assess the needs of the community and identify local leaders they can work with. They’re also putting unemployed local men to work on small clean-up projects to inject some quick cash into the community.

"We are in the ‘hold,’ and on the edge of the ‘build’ phase," said Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, which operates in the northern half of Marjah, referring to the military strategy of "clear, hold and build".

More than 5,000 U.S. troops, along with 2,000 Afghan soldiers, swept into Marjah on Feb. 12 at the beginning of Operation Moshtarak. So far, 12 Marines have been killed in the operation, four of them from the 3rd Battalion.

According to Marine officers, U.S. troops faced stiff resistance from dug-in Taliban fighters for the first few days of the operation, but then the Taliban melted away.

"We expected they were going to stand and fight for a while, then go to ground," said Maj. Billy Moore, executive officer for 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. "It’s been a few days since we’ve had contact".

Until Thursday, more than a week had passed since Marines in northern Marjah had fired a shot in anger. Then a small group of Taliban fighters ambushed a U.S. patrol near a crossroads known as "Five Points." The Marines returned fire, and after a brief exchange, the Taliban dropped their weapons and fled. No Marines were killed or wounded in the engagement.

"We know the Taliban is out there among the population," said Maj. Lawrence Lowman, operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. "But it’s just a game of patience right now".

Even though the Taliban are steering clear of the running gunbattles that characterized the first few days of the operation, roadside bombs remain a constant threat.

Marines with 3rd Battalion have encountered more than 100 bombs since the operation began. Although some explosions have caused casualties, most have been found before they could explode.

"Right now, there are a lot of positives," Lowman said. "Lots of locals are pointing out IEDs and threat areas to us. But I wouldn’t say that they’ve totally shifted to our side yet".

Hundreds of villagers have attended three "shuras," or meetings with village elders to determine what kind of help the Afghans want. While some villagers have expressed a desire for assistance from the Marines, many are clearly still afraid of Taliban retribution.

Christmas said that during a recent meeting in the bazaar, only a few hundred yards from 3rd Battalion’s main base, villagers said they would like to get schools reopened. One man, a mechanic and electrician named Wali Muhammad, even stepped forward to tell Christmas that he would be willing to teach.

On Friday morning, Christmas met with Muhammad. Christmas said he was willing to provide money for Muhammad’s salary and for school supplies if they could get a school started immediately.

But by that point, Muhammad was backtracking, saying that everyone in the village wanted to reopen a school, "but until we have 100 percent security, we can’t do it".

Christmas countered that the Marines and Afghan police could provide the security that the villagers needed. But as the conversation progressed over the course of an hour and more local villagers joined in, several of them said that they were afraid the Taliban would kill them and their families if they cooperated. One man said the Taliban had already issued a written proclamation that warned anyone who received help from the Marines would be beheaded.

Christmas said he was willing to provide help discreetly, if that is what the villagers wanted. He also made it clear that he needed the villagers’ help to root the Taliban out of Marjah.

"The problem is that the Taliban put their weapons down, and now they live among you," he said. "The only way for me to know who they are is for you to tell me".

"I can only help you," he said later, "if you’re willing to help yourselves".

The frightened Afghans were unwilling to take that step. But in the end, everyone agreed that they would meet again the next day to discuss renting a nearby building so that a school could be opened.

Stars and Stripes

Abuse scandal hits elite progressive school

Pupils at a progressive private boarding school in Hesse were regularly sexually abused, the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper reported Saturday. The news follows a series of revelations about Catholic schools in Germany

The Odenwaldschule school board admitted to the paper that teachers had abused wards at the school for years. School director Margarita Kaufmann told the newspaper, "As far as I am concerned, it is a fact that sexual abuse occurred here at least since 1971".

According to accounts by former pupils, teachers at the school in Heppenheim woke them by stroking their genitals, forced them to perform oral sex, and were made into "sex slaves" for whole weekends.

Teachers also beat their wards, provided them with drugs and alcohol, and did not intervene when several pupils sexually abused a girl.

Allegations against Rector Gerold Becker, who ran the school from 1971 to 1985, were first made public around ten years ago. But investigations were suspended because of the amount of time that had passed. "It was a failure and a serious mistake, that the school did not investigate further then," Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann, who has directed the school since 2007, said that she had recently been approached by pupils with concerns, and that she had then spoken to several former pupils. She believes that at least three former teachers were involved. The Frankfurter Rundschau believes that between 50 and 100 former students were victims of abuse.

The Odenwaldschule was established in 1910 with a holistic ethos of raising a child according to its own individual desires, rather than through discipline and drill. The 225 pupils currently attending (200 as boarders) live in so-called 'families,' with their class teacher as a kind of 'family head' who lives in an adjacent room. A boarder's place at the school currently costs €2,220 a month. 

Prominent alumni include Green party politician Daniel Cohn-Bendit, journalist and TV presenter Amelie Fried, entrepreneur Beate Uhse and the author Klaus Mann.

The Local | Germany

'Precious' sweeps indie film awards

By Dean Goodman, Reuters

"Precious," the harrowing tale of an incest survivor's struggle for self-acceptance, swept the Spirit Awards yesterday, taking home five prizes at the independent film world's version of the Oscars.

The film's haul included best feature, director amd first screenplay. Its actors, newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and comedienne Mo'Nique, took home the honors for female lead and supporting female, respectively.

For Mo'Nique, who played an abusive mother, it represented yet another statuette for her groaning shelf this awards season. The only event left is the Academy Awards tomorrow.

But the 42-year-old actress told reporters backstage that she was not preparing an Oscar acceptance speech, because "I think the universe would say, 'You have a lot of nerve'".

Sidibe, 26, plucked from obscurity to play an illiterate schoolgirl impregnated by her stepfather, recalled that her mother would give her $2 a day for going to school. She saved her funds and saw her first 1995 independent movie, "Welcome to the Dollhouse".

"Perhaps that was when my independent spirit was born," said Sidibe, who described herself as "kind of a dork".

The film, whose full name is "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," also won the screenplay award for Geoffrey Fletcher. Lee Daniels, accepting his award for best director, indicated it might be his last time at the podium during awards season.

"Kathryn Bigelow's not here tonight. I am," a tearful Daniels said, referring to the "Hurt Locker" director, who is the favorite to win the Oscar.

Backstage he said, "We've won already," when asked about his Oscar chances. The film, a testament to the struggle that filmmakers undergo every day, received six Oscar nominations.

Daniels made the movie with $10 million in funding from a Denver couple, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, and launched an extensive casting search to find the title character. He settled on Sidibe after realizing that she was the diametrical opposite of her on-screen character.

He unveiled the film at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009 with the modest goal of securing a straight-to-DVD deal. But it inspired a bidding war and it ended up at independent distributor Lionsgate. The studio released it last November to critical and commercial acclaim.

Another Oscar favorite, Jeff Bridges, won the male lead award for playing a washed-up country singer in "Crazy Heart." The 60-year-old Hollywood veteran, who has never won an Oscar, told reporters that he was "not counting any chickens".

"Crazy Heart" also won for best first feature.

Each year, a handful of Spirit winners usually go on to earn Oscars thanks in part to the success of low-budget films.

But this year's top Oscar race appears to be a showdown between the mega-budget sci-fi extravaganza "Avatar" and the indie war drama "The Hurt Locker," which was not eligible for the Spirits this year because it was nominated last year.

Along with the Tolstoy drama "The Last Station," "Precious" led the field with five nominations each. "The Last Station" went home empty-handed.

Other winners included Woody Harrelson for his supporting turn in "The Messenger." The 48-year-old actor played a U.S. Army captain who must notify soldiers' next-of-kin when they are killed in service.

The British period drama "An Education" was named best foreign film. Documentary honors went to "Anvil! The Story of Anvil." The indefatigable heavy-metal band at the center of the action performed at the ceremony.

The Spirit Awards, now in their 25th year, honor low-budget American films based on such criteria as original, provocative subject matter and the degree of independent financing. The event is organized by Film Independent, a nonprofit group that champions arthouse movies.

Full list of winners at Spirit Awards

BEST FEATURE - "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire"

BEST DIRECTOR - Lee Daniels "Precious"

BEST SCREENPLAY - Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber "(500) Days of Summer"

BEST FIRST FEATURE - "Crazy Heart"

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY - Geoffrey Fletcher "Precious"

BEST MALE LEAD - Jeff Bridges "Crazy Heart"

BEST FEMALE LEAD - Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"

BEST SUPPORTING MALE - Woody Harrelson "The Messenger"

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE - Mo'Nique "Precious"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - Roger Deakins "A Serious Man"

BEST DOCUMENTARY - "Anvil!: The Story of Anvil"

BEST FOREIGN FILM - "An Education"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (FIRST FEATURE MADE FOR UNDER $500,000) - "Humpday"

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (PRE-ANNOUNCED) - "A Serious Man"

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD (FOR EMERGING FEATURE DIRECTORS) - Kyle Alvarez "Easier With Practice"

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD (FOR EMERGING DOCUMENTARY MAKERS) - Bill Ross, Turner Ross "45365"

PRODUCERS AWARD (FOR EMERGING PRODUCERS) - Karin Chien "The Exploding Girl"

The Independent

Italy scandal a labyrinth of intrigue

A governor is photographed trysting with a transsexual by policemen who are later arrested on extortion charges. There are two suspected murders and, oh yes, Premier Berlusconi figures as well

By Jeffrey Fleishman

Reporting from Rome - The governor made off to a monastery after having affairs with transsexuals, but not before the cops videotaped a tryst, all flesh and white powder, and offered to sell copies to a magazine owned by the prime minister, who, at the time, was rumored to be entangled with an underage Neapolitan model.

Then one of the transsexuals, a Brazilian named Brenda, turned up naked and dead, her laptop computer submerged under a running tap. Oh, yeah, and the drug dealer who supplied cocaine to the governor and Brenda would meet his own demise. It's an odd coincidence.

Note to reader: The writer would love to pretend he has made all this up, but this is Italy, where one's imagination pales beside the operatic brio of real-life librettos that unfold with delicious, unseemly decadence.

Piero Marrazzo, a married governor and onetime crusading TV reporter, was having a dalliance with Natalie on a July afternoon when four cops burst into her apartment and began recording with a cellphone camera. Marrazzo, blushing in his skivvies, found himself the victim of blackmail, while Natalie, a transsexual with an artistic flair for makeup, hit YouTube and the news show circuit.

Marrazzo resigned his government post and reportedly sought refuge in a Benedictine monastery. The police officers were arrested and charged with extorting about $27,500 from Marrazzo to keep the video hush-hush, even as they were peddling their scratchy little production to potential buyers.

Unpleasant as it all was, the tawdriness might have vanished in the clamor of unending Italian scandals had Brenda, who was Natalie's friend and Marrazzo's other lover, not been found dead in November.

She was asphyxiated when a suitcase surrounded by candles caught fire in her flat, filling it with smoke. Police say Brenda was drinking heavily and may have passed out, but that doesn't explain why the laptop had been doused. It's just the kind of revelation that sends the Italian media into a buzzing espresso high.

What was on the computer? More politicians in various throes of ecstasy and stages of undress?

Prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo doesn't think so. Investigators found no incriminating tales on the hard drive, but Capaldo, a circumspect man, believes that Brenda was slain and so was the drug dealer, Gianguerino Cafasso, who overdosed in September on heroin and cocaine.

People here mutter of a byzantine, puppet-master political conspiracy to set up Marrazzo, an opposition center-left politician, and rub out anyone connected with the case, but there's no proof. It appears to be a blackmail scheme by sloppy cops, but in Italy -- think of poor Caesar -- the tantalizing aura of political intrigue is too hard to ignore.

"We don't know if anyone outside of the four officers was involved," Capaldo said, predicting that the killings would be solved within weeks, but not disclosing the identities of the suspects. "The crime has potential political value. It speaks to the kind of political battle that's fashionable these days in which one reaches to destroy his enemy not on the political stage but on a personal level".

Enter billionaire Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose ego is somewhere between the size of his wardrobe and his bank account. A magazine in his media empire, Chi, was offered the video of Marrazzo and Natalie; the cops were arrested before negotiations got very far. But Berlusconi, a center-right politician, knows a political gift when he sees one. He likes to remind voters of Marrazzo's, shall we say, exotic sexual proclivities while hinting at, but not quite admitting, his own more traditional conquests.

Berlusconi, 73, has denied allegations of an affair with the teenage model, saying that nothing "spicy" happened. He has also suggested he was unaware that women at his villas, some romping naked, others dressed as Santa Claus, were escorts. His wife wants a divorce.

In a speech last month, the prime minister said, "When I see women, you know, I lose the thread of the conversation. But do you prefer people like me or the other ones, Marrazzo, for example?"

Ouch.

Word in the Italian press is that Marrazzo has done his penance and quit the monastery. He wants his old job back on state TV, which in a strange way may make him beholden to Berlusconi, who as head of the government has influence within the network.

Which brings us back to where it all started: Natalie's apartment on Via Gradoli, the street where decades ago the leader of Italy's murderous Red Brigades lived and the nation's intelligence services reportedly rented addresses.

The portiere said that Natalie had left to spend time north in Perugia. Via Gradoli led to a wider boulevard and then to Via Due Ponti, where, through an underpass and up a hill, the door to Brenda's flat was crisscrossed with police tape.

Brazilian transsexual prostitutes peeked from doorways; it was afternoon and they had yet to put on their working faces. China, as she calls herself, said, "Brenda could have been murdered. There's lots of fear. It's a big mess. Oh, and by the way, I only grant interviews if I get paid".

She waved her hand and disappeared upstairs to meet Raphael, another friend of Brenda who also intimately knew Marrazzo, but like China, talks only for money. Alessia strolled up wearing a knit cap and carrying a purse of blue feathers. She said Brenda threw tantrums, took drugs and often seemed lost.

"But then she started seeing Marrazzo," she said. "He came here many afternoons, and Brenda told me, 'Alessia, we have no problems anymore.' So we went shopping".

Alessia glanced down at her ripped coat and unpainted nails: "I become more beautiful at night".

China signaled from upstairs for Alessia to stop talking for free. Alessia considered this, mumbled something about a nightmare and wandered away.

Doors closed and it grew quiet on the edge of town.

Los Angeles Times