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News in Brief: Admiral Says 2011 Could Be Bloodiest Year in Afghanistan Yet, and More

Admiral Says 2011 Could Be Bloodiest Year in Afghanistan Yet

Admiral Says 2011 Could Be Bloodiest Year in Afghanistan Yet

A top military official has cast doubts about the war in Afghanistan in the next year, saying the conflict could be bloodier than it was in 2010, and it is uncertain how many troops will come home during a planned drawdown this summer, according to AFP. United States Adm. Mike Mullen told the press that the US-led coalition has made some gains, but 2011 will to be more violent than 2010. More NATO and US troops were killed in 2010 than any other year of the war.

Auto Profits Will Trickle Down to Workers

Good news is coming out of the auto industry for both for the bosses and workers in the rust belt city of Detroit, according to The New York Times. The surprising recovery of the auto industry has Ford and GM negotiating new contracts with unions, and both companies announced profit-sharing checks for workers this month. Ford, for example, will issue payments that could top out at $5,000.

FBI Infiltrated Twin City Activist Groups Before Raids

Attorneys representing Twin Cities activists in Minnesota, who had their homes raided by the FBI in September, have discovered that a paid informant had infiltrated their anti-war organizing group in the months leading up to protests of the 2008 Republican National Convention, according to local City Pages. The infiltrator, who went by the name “Karen Sullivan,” won the activists’ sympathy by explaining that she was a lesbian who didn’t want to share much about her personal life because of a strained relationship with her daughter’s father. Several activists associated with the Anti-War Committee and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization in the Twin Cities had their homes raided last year because of alleged connections to overseas terrorist groups.

Kerry Warns About Global Warming

Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and other advocates of climate change legislation say that 2010 tied with 2005 as the warmest year on record, according to The Hill. “Will we find common ground and adult leadership or keep piling the science on a shelf to collect dust?” Kerry said. The senator co-authored the historic cap-and-trade climate legislation that narrowly lost traction in the Senate last year.

Biden to Iraq: Your Success Is Our Top Priority

Vice President Joseph Biden made a surprise visit to Iraq today after completing a whirlwind tour of Pakistan and war-torn Afghanistan, according to Politico. Biden took the opportunity to tell top Iraqi officials how proud the United States is of their fledgling democracy. “The single best thing that can happen to the United States, literally, is for you to be a free, prosperous democracy in the middle of this part of the world,” said Biden. “It’s the single most significant strategic thing that can happen to the United States in this region.”

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