Today's Headlines from Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes, the U.S. Military's Independent News Source: Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Top headlines from Stars and Stripes. See the rest of today's news at www.stripes.com Pearl Harbor survivor back for 1st time since war Ed Johann will always remember the sound of planes diving out of the sky to bomb U.S. battleships, the explosions and the screams of sailors. He still recalls the stench of burning oil and flesh. Iraq clears way for parliamentary elections Iraqi lawmakers approved plans Sunday to hold parliament elections early next year that are seen as an important step toward political reconciliation and easing the withdrawal of U.S. troops. White House still lacks solid intel on bin Laden Osama bin Laden may be slipping back and forth from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Or the U.S. might not have a clue, more than eight years after the al-Qaida leader masterminded the terrorist attacks on America. U.S. envoy discusses North Korea trip President Barack Obama's special envoy conferred with South Korean officials Monday on the eve of a rare trip to North Korea aimed at bringing the communist country back to international nuclear disarmament talks. Misawa officials urge drinking airmen to use free ride program less Base leaders say they want fewer airmen to use a volunteer program offering free rides home after they've been drinking alcohol, as counterintuitive as it may seem. Air Force nixes tattoo policy after two weeks The Air Force has scrapped a two-week-old policy that prohibited recruits from having a tattoo on their right arm, and leaders are now conducting a review of the service's personal-appearance regulations. South Korea to send up to 350 troops to Afghanistan South Korea says it plans to send up to 350 troops to Afghanistan next year to protect its civilian aid workers. South Korea currently has no deployment in Afghanistan, after withdrawing some 200 troops in 2007. Mullen expects casualties to rise in Afghanistan Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told soldiers and Marines on Monday that the insurgency in Afghanistan has grown in the last three years and he expects casualties to rise next year as additional U.S. troops pour into the war. Jobs, not Taliban, the worry in Afghan town Shopkeepers and residents tell U.S. Marines who patrol the streets that they appreciate their efforts to open a new school and dredge the town's irrigation canals. But they complain that business was better before troops descended on the area five months ago and drove the militants away. DOD to offer longer civilian tours in South Korea Defense Department civilians will now be able to serve tours of up to three years with their families in most parts of South Korea, officials said Monday.
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