Pakistani authorities on Thursday deployed special constabulary forces to a strategically important district only 70 miles from the capital, Islamabad, that has come under the effective control of the Taliban in the last several days, police and residents said.
Post a Comment »Read All Comments (129) »Four platoons of the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary police force, moved into the district on Thursday at the request of the civilian commissioner of the area, following four platoons that arrived Wednesday. At least one officer was killed and another was seriously wounded in a clash with Taliban militants during the deployment, police said.
The fall of the district, known as Buner, did not mean that the Taliban could imminently threaten Islamabad. But it was another indication of the gathering strength of the insurgency, and it raised new alarm about the ability of the government to fend off an unrelenting Taliban advance toward the heart of Pakistan.
The chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday for the second time in two weeks, reflecting the sense of alarm in the Obama administration. Admiral Mullen was scheduled to meet with Pakistan’s top military and intelligence commanders.
Buner, home to about one million people, is a gateway to a major Pakistani city, Mardan, the second largest in the North-West Frontier Province after Peshawar. The deploying platoons, each with about 40 officers, will increase the Pakistani security presence in the region. But the underpaid, poorly trained force was not expected to immediately challenge the Taliban militants, who are armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers and have erected checkpoints. Intimidated by the militants, the local police have retreated into their stations, residents said.
There are some 400 to 500 Taliban fighters in the district, local authorities said.
The Taliban has pushed into the district from the neighboring Swat Valley, where the Pakistani Army agreed to a truce in mid-February and remains in its barracks.
“They take over Buner, then they roll into Mardan and that’s the end of the game,” a senior law enforcement official in North-West Frontier Province said. He asked that his name be withheld because was not authorized to speak to the news media.
In another sign that the Taliban are consolidating control of Buner, residents said that Taliban militants held a meeting, or jirga, with local elders and the local administration on Thursday. They said the meeting yielded a truce agreement similar to the one reached in Swat.
The Taliban pledged to local leaders that they would not interfere with nongovernmental organizations or government installations, nor openly display their weapons. Negotiations would be used to sort out friction with local residents, and there would be forgiveness for those who killed Taliban fighters in earlier combat.
Representatives of Mualana Sufi Mohammed, the Taliban leader who brokered the peace deal in Swat, were present at the meeting, the results of which will be announced at a public rally on Sunday, according to a resident in Daggar, Buner’s main city.
Pakistani television news reports indicated Thursday that Taliban militants were also crossing into Shandla, another district bordering Buner and Swat.
On Wednesday, officials and residents said heavily armed Taliban militants were patrolling villages, and the local police had retreated to their station houses in much of Buner. Staff members of local nongovernmental organizations had been ordered to leave, and their offices were looted, residents said. Pakistani television news channels showed Taliban fighters triumphantly carrying office equipment out of the offices of the organizations.
“They are everywhere,” one resident of Daggar said by telephone. “There is no resistance.”
The Taliban advance has been building for weeks, with the assistance of sympathizers and even a local government official who was appointed on the recommendation of the Taliban, the senior official said.
It also comes 10 days after the government of President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to the imposition of Islamic law, or Shariah, in Swat, as part of the deal with the Taliban.
A local politician, Jamsher Khan, said that people were initially determined to resist the Taliban in Buner, but that they were discouraged by the deal the government struck with the Taliban in Swat.
“We felt stronger as long we thought the government was with us,” he said by telephone, “but when the government showed weakness, we too stopped offering resistance to the Taliban.”
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was concerned that Pakistan’s government was making too many concessions to the Taliban, emboldening the militants and allowing them to spread by giving in to their demands.
“I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists,” Mrs. Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill.
She added that the deterioration of security in nuclear-armed Pakistan “poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world.”
A senior American official said Mrs. Clinton’s remarks were prompted in part by news of the Taliban takeover in Buner. The officials said that the further erosion of government authority in an area so close to the capital ought to stir concern not only in Pakistan but also among influential Pakistanis abroad.
) »The takeover of Buner (pronounced boo-NAIR) is particularly significant because the people there have tried in the past year to stand up to the Taliban by establishing small private armies to fight the militants. Last year when the militants encroached into Buner, killing policemen, the local people fought back and forced the militants out.
But with a beachhead in neighboring Swat, and a number of training camps for fresh recruits, the Taliban was able to carry out what amounted to an invasion of Buner.
“The training camps will provide waves of men coming into Buner,” the senior law enforcement official said.
The Taliban expansion into Buner has begun to raise alarm among the senior ranks of the Pakistani Army, said a Western official who was familiar with the Pakistani military.
On Wednesday, one of the highest-ranking army officers traveled from Islamabad to Peshawar and met with the officers of the 11th Corps, the army division based in Peshawar, to discuss the “overall situation in Buner,” the official said.
One of the major concerns is that from the hills of Buner the Taliban has access to the flatlands of the district of Swabi, which lead directly to the four-lane highway that connects Islamabad and Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province.
The Pakistani military does not have a presence in Buner, Pakistani and Western officials said. The main government authority in Buner is the police, who have become demoralized by their low pay and lack of equipment compared with the Taliban, Pakistani police officials say.
The Taliban has set up checkpoints in a number of villages in Buner, intimidating policemen and forcing them into their police stations, residents in Daggar said by telephone.
The militants were patrolling the bazaar in Daggar, residents said. Women, who used to move freely around the bazaars, were scarcely to be seen, they said. Those who did venture out were totally covered.
One of the big attractions of Buner for people from all over Pakistan, the shrine of the Sufi saint Pir Baba, was now in the control of the militants, the senior law enforcement official said.
Last year, the villagers around the shrine kept the Taliban at bay when the militants threatened to take it over.
But in the last 10 days, the Taliban closed the shrine and said it was strictly off limits to women, the senior official said. The militants are now patrolling it.
Taliban control in Buner came swiftly in the last few days, officials said.
The militants were helped by the actions of the commissioner of Malakand, Javed Mohammad, who is also the senior official in Swat and who was appointed on the recommendation of the Taliban, the senior law enforcement official said.
The Taliban began their assault on Buner in early April, when a battalion of the Taliban militia with heavy weaponry crossed over the hills from Swat to Buner, according to an account in the newspaper Dawn that appeared on Saturday.
The Taliban then captured three policemen and two civilians, and killed them, the newspaper said.
Infuriated by the killings, people in lower Buner and Sultanwas assembled a volunteer force and killed 17 Taliban fighters, the account said.
But soon after that, Mr. Mohammad tried to persuade the local elders to allow the Taliban to enter Buner, the newspaper said.
Soon afterward, Mr. Mohammad ordered the local armies to dissolve, the senior law enforcement official said. The order led many of those who had been willing to stand up to the Taliban to either flee or give up, the official said. Among those who are reported to have fled is Fateh Khan, a wealthy Buner businessman. Mr. Khan had been one of the main organizers and financiers of the private armies in Buner.
In a show of strength, the militants held a feast in the home of a local Taliban sympathizer two weeks ago, and since then have fanned out into the district, the senior official said.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Obama gets high marks in polls
Approaching his 100th day in the White House at a time of economic turmoil, President Obama holds the approval of nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed for the job that he is performing – and seven in 10 say they like Obama, the man.
Most say they approve of the president's overall handling of the economy, while the effects of his policies remain uncertain.
Obama's job approval as president stands at 63% in a poll released this morning by the Washington-based Pew Research Center – with just 26% saying they disapprove of the way he is handling his job.
The president draws a similar rating, 64%, in a new poll conducted by the Associated Press and GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media. That survey also finds, for the first time in five years, more Americans saying the nation is headed in the right direction than those who say it is not.
The president's job approval also stands at 64% in the latest Gallup Poll daily tracking survey.
In a reversal of the way that voters traditionally view leaders of the two major political parties, the Democratic president draws better ratings in the Pew survey for his handling of foreign policy and terrorism than for his handling of domestic issues, such as health care, taxes or the budget deficit.
Nevertheless, 60% of those surveyed by Pew say they approve of Obama's overall handling of the economy.
First Lady Michelle Obama is having a honeymoon of her own with the public, with 76% of those surveyed voicing a favorable view of her – up from 62% in January, when the Obamas moved into the White House.
This is particularly true among Republican women, whose opinion of the first lady has grown by 21 points since January, to 67% approval in the newest survey. Among Republicans in general, the first lady holds the approval of 60%.
The Pew poll, like others, reveals a wide disparity between Democrats and Republicans in the way they rate the new president's performance – with 93% of Democrats surveyed voicing approval and just 30% of Republicans agreeing.
The Pew survey of 1,507 adults was conducted April 14-21 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The AP-GfK poll survey of 1,000 adults was run April 16-20, with a 3.1% margin of error.
Among those surveyed by AP-GfK, 48% said the country is headed in the right direction, up from 40% in February. And 40% still said the nation is headed in the wrong direction. Not since January 2004 has an AP survey found more "right direction'' sentiment than "wrong direction'' concern.
For a president whose Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, presented himself as a more seasoned expert on foreign affairs, the Democrat has gained respect at home for his work on the foreign stage. Most Americans surveyed by Pew, 57%, said Obama is striking the right balance in pressing American interests while taking into the account the interests of U.S. allies.
The public also is taking a more positive view of Obama's decision to close the U.S. military-run detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – with 51% approving – than it did when the president announced his intention to close the facility within a year in January, when 38% approved.
The president, who traveled across Europe and to Baghdad earlier this month, draws strong approval for his overall handling of foreign policy in the Pew survey – 61%.
Although 60% approve of Obama's overall handling of the economy, Pew found, most also say that it is too early to tell whether the president's economic policies have had an effect. Just 26% said his policies have made conditions better.
Most support the extent of the agenda that Obama is tackling early in his presidency, with 56% saying he is handling things right and 34% say he is taking on too much.
The president's campaign promise of change and his pledge to set a new tone in Washington are still resonating with most Americans, the Pew poll suggests, with 63% of those surveyed saying that Obama has demonstrated a new approach to politics and just 27% calling his approach business as usual.
However, among the younger voters surveyed, that enthusiasm apparently has waned somewhat, with 61% of those under 30 saying the president brings a new approach to politics, down from 73% in February.
While the president has held the public's approval after three months in office, Vice President Joe Biden has lost some support.
About half of those surveyed by Pew, 51%, said they have a favorable view of Biden – down 12 percentage points from January. It is largely among Democrats and independents that Biden's standing has slipped, Pew found, with Republicans holding roughly steady in their views of the vice president.
Most say they approve of the president's overall handling of the economy, while the effects of his policies remain uncertain.
Obama's job approval as president stands at 63% in a poll released this morning by the Washington-based Pew Research Center – with just 26% saying they disapprove of the way he is handling his job.
The president draws a similar rating, 64%, in a new poll conducted by the Associated Press and GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media. That survey also finds, for the first time in five years, more Americans saying the nation is headed in the right direction than those who say it is not.
The president's job approval also stands at 64% in the latest Gallup Poll daily tracking survey.
In a reversal of the way that voters traditionally view leaders of the two major political parties, the Democratic president draws better ratings in the Pew survey for his handling of foreign policy and terrorism than for his handling of domestic issues, such as health care, taxes or the budget deficit.
Nevertheless, 60% of those surveyed by Pew say they approve of Obama's overall handling of the economy.
First Lady Michelle Obama is having a honeymoon of her own with the public, with 76% of those surveyed voicing a favorable view of her – up from 62% in January, when the Obamas moved into the White House.
This is particularly true among Republican women, whose opinion of the first lady has grown by 21 points since January, to 67% approval in the newest survey. Among Republicans in general, the first lady holds the approval of 60%.
The Pew poll, like others, reveals a wide disparity between Democrats and Republicans in the way they rate the new president's performance – with 93% of Democrats surveyed voicing approval and just 30% of Republicans agreeing.
The Pew survey of 1,507 adults was conducted April 14-21 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The AP-GfK poll survey of 1,000 adults was run April 16-20, with a 3.1% margin of error.
Among those surveyed by AP-GfK, 48% said the country is headed in the right direction, up from 40% in February. And 40% still said the nation is headed in the wrong direction. Not since January 2004 has an AP survey found more "right direction'' sentiment than "wrong direction'' concern.
For a president whose Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, presented himself as a more seasoned expert on foreign affairs, the Democrat has gained respect at home for his work on the foreign stage. Most Americans surveyed by Pew, 57%, said Obama is striking the right balance in pressing American interests while taking into the account the interests of U.S. allies.
The public also is taking a more positive view of Obama's decision to close the U.S. military-run detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – with 51% approving – than it did when the president announced his intention to close the facility within a year in January, when 38% approved.
The president, who traveled across Europe and to Baghdad earlier this month, draws strong approval for his overall handling of foreign policy in the Pew survey – 61%.
Although 60% approve of Obama's overall handling of the economy, Pew found, most also say that it is too early to tell whether the president's economic policies have had an effect. Just 26% said his policies have made conditions better.
Most support the extent of the agenda that Obama is tackling early in his presidency, with 56% saying he is handling things right and 34% say he is taking on too much.
The president's campaign promise of change and his pledge to set a new tone in Washington are still resonating with most Americans, the Pew poll suggests, with 63% of those surveyed saying that Obama has demonstrated a new approach to politics and just 27% calling his approach business as usual.
However, among the younger voters surveyed, that enthusiasm apparently has waned somewhat, with 61% of those under 30 saying the president brings a new approach to politics, down from 73% in February.
While the president has held the public's approval after three months in office, Vice President Joe Biden has lost some support.
About half of those surveyed by Pew, 51%, said they have a favorable view of Biden – down 12 percentage points from January. It is largely among Democrats and independents that Biden's standing has slipped, Pew found, with Republicans holding roughly steady in their views of the vice president.
Barclays expects 'deep' recession
The UK recession will be "deep and prolonged", the chief executive of Barclays told shareholders at the bank's annual general meeting.
"It seems likely that we're going to be living in difficult times, at least for another year," John Varley said.
The warning is in contrast with the chancellor's forecast that economic recovery will begin later this year.
Barclays also said it aims to help UK households and businesses by increasing its lending by £11bn this year.
Mr Varley said: "We acknowledge the role we can play in helping restore sustainable growth to the UK economy, including by supplying credit, appropriately, to customers affected by the withdrawal of certain lenders from the market."
'Thunder and lightning'
In Wednesday's Budget, the Treasury predicted that the economy would shrink by 3.5% this year, but would grow by 1.25% in 2010.
But Mr Varley warned the banking industry could face more troubled times.
"Although it seems the worst of the financial crisis in the banking sector is now behind us, there will no doubt be further thunder and lightning from time to time," he said.
However, he added that Barclays had had a "good start to the year" and that its financial performance in the first quarter was "well ahead" of the first three months of last year.
Board re-election
At the meeting, the entire board stood for re-election.
Shareholders voted to re-elect all board members, while 83.7% voted in favour of re-electing chairman Marcus Agius.
Your board is keenly aware that relations with a number of Barclays' larger shareholders... have been put under strain during the year as a result of the capital raising
Marcus Agius, Barclays chairman
All directors offered themselves for re-election in November, rather than just a third of them as would normally occur, after announcing a plan to rise £7bn from Middle Eastern investors.
However, the fundraising plan was controversial as the high-yielding securities, offered to Middle Eastern investors, were not initially made available to other institutional investors.
Some shareholders expressed their anger by voting against the chairman's re-election.
Mr Agius acknowledged at the meeting that relations with a number of shareholders had been "put under strain" as a result of the capital raising.
Pay review
Meanwhile, the chairman of the bank's remuneration committee, Sir Richard Broadbent, said pay policies do not appear to have affected banks' experiences.
"The different experience of different banks in the current crisis does not seem closely related to remuneration policies," he said.
"Strategy, operational management and risk control all appear to play a much larger role."
Barclays is currently reviewing its remuneration policy for 2009.
In 2008, Barclays' profits fell by 14% while variable remuneration fell by 48%, he said, meaning that Barclays employees at all levels lost in total £2bn of personal wealth in 2007 and 2008
"It seems likely that we're going to be living in difficult times, at least for another year," John Varley said.
The warning is in contrast with the chancellor's forecast that economic recovery will begin later this year.
Barclays also said it aims to help UK households and businesses by increasing its lending by £11bn this year.
Mr Varley said: "We acknowledge the role we can play in helping restore sustainable growth to the UK economy, including by supplying credit, appropriately, to customers affected by the withdrawal of certain lenders from the market."
'Thunder and lightning'
In Wednesday's Budget, the Treasury predicted that the economy would shrink by 3.5% this year, but would grow by 1.25% in 2010.
But Mr Varley warned the banking industry could face more troubled times.
"Although it seems the worst of the financial crisis in the banking sector is now behind us, there will no doubt be further thunder and lightning from time to time," he said.
However, he added that Barclays had had a "good start to the year" and that its financial performance in the first quarter was "well ahead" of the first three months of last year.
Board re-election
At the meeting, the entire board stood for re-election.
Shareholders voted to re-elect all board members, while 83.7% voted in favour of re-electing chairman Marcus Agius.
Your board is keenly aware that relations with a number of Barclays' larger shareholders... have been put under strain during the year as a result of the capital raising
Marcus Agius, Barclays chairman
All directors offered themselves for re-election in November, rather than just a third of them as would normally occur, after announcing a plan to rise £7bn from Middle Eastern investors.
However, the fundraising plan was controversial as the high-yielding securities, offered to Middle Eastern investors, were not initially made available to other institutional investors.
Some shareholders expressed their anger by voting against the chairman's re-election.
Mr Agius acknowledged at the meeting that relations with a number of shareholders had been "put under strain" as a result of the capital raising.
Pay review
Meanwhile, the chairman of the bank's remuneration committee, Sir Richard Broadbent, said pay policies do not appear to have affected banks' experiences.
"The different experience of different banks in the current crisis does not seem closely related to remuneration policies," he said.
"Strategy, operational management and risk control all appear to play a much larger role."
Barclays is currently reviewing its remuneration policy for 2009.
In 2008, Barclays' profits fell by 14% while variable remuneration fell by 48%, he said, meaning that Barclays employees at all levels lost in total £2bn of personal wealth in 2007 and 2008
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Taliban Seize Vital Pakistan Area Closer to the Capital
Taliban militants have established control of a strategically important area only 70 miles from the capital, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The move is part of an unrelenting push by the Taliban toward the heart of Pakistan.
PakistanHeavily armed militants were patrolling villages and local police had retreated to their station houses in much of the city of Buner, a rural area adjacent to Swat, where the Taliban seized control from the Pakistani army in February, they said. Buner is a gateway to a major Pakistani city, Mardan.
“They take over Buner, then they roll into Mardan and that’s the end of the game,” a senior law enforcement official in the North West Frontier Province said.
The expansion of the Taliban into Buner comes 10 days after the government of President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to the introduction of Sharia law in Swat, a move that the Obama administration has criticized as too much of a concession to the Taliban.
On Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was concerned that Pakistan was allowing the Taliban to spread and emboldening the militants by giving into their demands.
In testimony on Capitol Hill, Mrs. Clinton criticized Pakistan for being too lenient toward the Taliban. “I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists,” she said.
Adding to the sense of alarm in the Obama administration, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, arrived in Islamabad Wednesday for the second time in two weeks. He was scheduled to meet with Pakistan’s top military and intelligence commanders.
The takeover of Buner is particularly significant because the people there have tried in the past year to stand up to the Taliban by establishing small private armies to fight the militants. Last year when the militants encroached into Buner, killing policemen, the local people fought back and forced the militants out.
But with a beachhead in neighboring Swat, and a number of training camps for fresh recruits, the Taliban were able to carry out what amounted to an invasion of Buner.
“The training camps will provide waves of men coming into Buner,” the senior law enforcement official said.
The Pakistani army, which called for a truce with the Taliban in mid-February, remains in barracks in Swat. There was little expectation that the army would take on the militants in Buner, the official said.
PakistanHeavily armed militants were patrolling villages and local police had retreated to their station houses in much of the city of Buner, a rural area adjacent to Swat, where the Taliban seized control from the Pakistani army in February, they said. Buner is a gateway to a major Pakistani city, Mardan.
“They take over Buner, then they roll into Mardan and that’s the end of the game,” a senior law enforcement official in the North West Frontier Province said.
The expansion of the Taliban into Buner comes 10 days after the government of President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to the introduction of Sharia law in Swat, a move that the Obama administration has criticized as too much of a concession to the Taliban.
On Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was concerned that Pakistan was allowing the Taliban to spread and emboldening the militants by giving into their demands.
In testimony on Capitol Hill, Mrs. Clinton criticized Pakistan for being too lenient toward the Taliban. “I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists,” she said.
Adding to the sense of alarm in the Obama administration, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, arrived in Islamabad Wednesday for the second time in two weeks. He was scheduled to meet with Pakistan’s top military and intelligence commanders.
The takeover of Buner is particularly significant because the people there have tried in the past year to stand up to the Taliban by establishing small private armies to fight the militants. Last year when the militants encroached into Buner, killing policemen, the local people fought back and forced the militants out.
But with a beachhead in neighboring Swat, and a number of training camps for fresh recruits, the Taliban were able to carry out what amounted to an invasion of Buner.
“The training camps will provide waves of men coming into Buner,” the senior law enforcement official said.
The Pakistani army, which called for a truce with the Taliban in mid-February, remains in barracks in Swat. There was little expectation that the army would take on the militants in Buner, the official said.
GM to shut many U.S. plants up to 9 weeks, AP reports
General Motors Corp. is planning to temporarily close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles, two people briefed on the plan said today.
The exact dates of the closures are not known, but both people said they will occur around the normal two-week shutdown in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.
GM spokesman Chris Lee would not comment other than to say the company notifies employees before making any production cuts public.
One of the people briefed on the plan said a few plants that make more popular models could remain open for part of the shutdown period, but at reduced assembly line speeds.
Thousands of workers could be laid off but would still get most of their pay because their United Auto Workers union contract requires the company to make up much of the difference between state unemployment benefits and their wages.
GM is living on $13.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to cut its debt, reduce labor costs and take other restructuring steps. If it doesn't meet the deadline, the company's CEO has said it will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
UAW officials at several factories said they have meetings scheduled Thursday and Friday with plant managers and GM human resource officials to discuss production changes.
The automaker's sales were down 49 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, and GM had a 123-day supply of cars and trucks at the end of March, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. That's down from 162 days worth in January.
But as of March 31, the automaker had a more than six-month supply of several models including the Pontiac G5 compact and Chevrolet Silverado hybrid pickup truck. The lengthy shutdown likely means that GM doesn't see its sales rebounding anytime soon, said Tom Libby, an independent Detroit-area auto industry analyst.
"They must be forecasting a sales level that is low enough between now and the summer that they see their inventories building," he said. "It's sort of an ominous comment on what they see for the industry."
The company could be seeing sales decline because of talk about a potential bankruptcy, Libby added.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson has said the company would prefer to restructure outside of court, but it is preparing for a prearranged bankruptcy as well as one in which good assets would be separated from underperforming ones.
"Just using the word bankruptcy, their (market) share is down a lot just because of this talk," Libby said. "They may be counting on a further decline."
Libby, however, said GM should be applauded for not building too many vehicles and then having to spend big on rebates and other incentives to move them, something the Detroit Three have been guilty of in the past.
Some GM dealers said a shutdown of up to nine weeks is jarring, but not unexpected given the sales slump.
"Nine weeks seems like an awful long time, but the way business is, not an awful lot of cars are being sold anyway," said George Tasker, fleet manager at Martin Chevrolet in Torrance, Calif.
Tasker said the move wouldn't affect business, as dealers would "get together and trade more easily" to find the exact car a customer wanted.
Earlier this year Chrysler LLC, also subsisting on government loans, closed all 30 of its manufacturing plants for a month in an effort to counter the auto sales downturn. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker extended its traditional two-week holiday shutdown period further into January in order to adjust production to slowing demand and conserve cash.
The exact dates of the closures are not known, but both people said they will occur around the normal two-week shutdown in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.
GM spokesman Chris Lee would not comment other than to say the company notifies employees before making any production cuts public.
One of the people briefed on the plan said a few plants that make more popular models could remain open for part of the shutdown period, but at reduced assembly line speeds.
Thousands of workers could be laid off but would still get most of their pay because their United Auto Workers union contract requires the company to make up much of the difference between state unemployment benefits and their wages.
GM is living on $13.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to cut its debt, reduce labor costs and take other restructuring steps. If it doesn't meet the deadline, the company's CEO has said it will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
UAW officials at several factories said they have meetings scheduled Thursday and Friday with plant managers and GM human resource officials to discuss production changes.
The automaker's sales were down 49 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, and GM had a 123-day supply of cars and trucks at the end of March, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. That's down from 162 days worth in January.
But as of March 31, the automaker had a more than six-month supply of several models including the Pontiac G5 compact and Chevrolet Silverado hybrid pickup truck. The lengthy shutdown likely means that GM doesn't see its sales rebounding anytime soon, said Tom Libby, an independent Detroit-area auto industry analyst.
"They must be forecasting a sales level that is low enough between now and the summer that they see their inventories building," he said. "It's sort of an ominous comment on what they see for the industry."
The company could be seeing sales decline because of talk about a potential bankruptcy, Libby added.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson has said the company would prefer to restructure outside of court, but it is preparing for a prearranged bankruptcy as well as one in which good assets would be separated from underperforming ones.
"Just using the word bankruptcy, their (market) share is down a lot just because of this talk," Libby said. "They may be counting on a further decline."
Libby, however, said GM should be applauded for not building too many vehicles and then having to spend big on rebates and other incentives to move them, something the Detroit Three have been guilty of in the past.
Some GM dealers said a shutdown of up to nine weeks is jarring, but not unexpected given the sales slump.
"Nine weeks seems like an awful long time, but the way business is, not an awful lot of cars are being sold anyway," said George Tasker, fleet manager at Martin Chevrolet in Torrance, Calif.
Tasker said the move wouldn't affect business, as dealers would "get together and trade more easily" to find the exact car a customer wanted.
Earlier this year Chrysler LLC, also subsisting on government loans, closed all 30 of its manufacturing plants for a month in an effort to counter the auto sales downturn. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker extended its traditional two-week holiday shutdown period further into January in order to adjust production to slowing demand and conserve cash.
'Deeper' recession ahead says IMF
The global economy is set to decline by 1.3% in 2009, in the first global recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.
In January, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 0.5% in 2009.
It now projects that the UK will see its economy shrink by 4.1% in 2009, and by a further 0.4% in 2010.
But other major economies are predicted to shrink even more, with Germany declining by 5.6%, Japan by 6.2%, and Italy by 4.4% in 2009.
The prospects for the advanced economies are not much brighter in 2010, with an overall forecast of zero growth.
IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard on the bleak economic outlook
The IMF says this represents "by far the deepest post-World War II recession" with an actual decline in output in countries making up 75% of the world economy.
Currently, output is falling by an "unprecedented" 7.5% annual rate in the rich countries in the last quarter of 2008, and the IMF expects the same rate of decline in the first quarter of this year.
Only a recovery in developing and emerging market countries will propel the world economy back into positive growth in 2010, albeit at a relatively weak level of 1.9%.
The prospects for world trade are even gloomier, with the IMF now forecasting world trade volumes to decline by 11% in 2009, and barely grow at all in 2010.
After 60 years as the engine of world growth, the sharp fall in trade is now hitting many of the leading exporting nations, particularly in Asia.
Gloomy UK
The IMF says that "the recession is expected to be... quite severe in the United Kingdom, which is being hit by the end of the boom in real estate and financial services".
ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST 2009
UK: -4.1%
US: -2.8%
Germany: -5.6%
France: -3.0%
Japan: -6.2%
source: IMF
It is predicting that UK unemployment will rise to 9.2% by the end of 2010, compared to 6.7% at the moment.
And it is warning that the UK budget deficit will rise to 11% of GDP, "reflecting mainly automatic stabilisers and asset-price related revenue shortfalls rather than discretionary stimulus".
The UK is also facing the cost of paying for the banking bail-outs, which the IMF estimated in an earlier report at 9.4% of GDP, or £130bn, after correcting an earlier figure of £200bn.
Financial problems
At the heart of the crisis is the continuing overhang of losses in the financial sector, which the IMF now estimates at $4tn, four times higher than it projected just one year ago.
And it warns that the current outlook is "exceptionally uncertain, with risks still weighting on the downside."
It says the main risk is that "policies may be insufficient to arrest the negative feedback between deteriorating financial conditions and weakening economies in the face of limited public support for policy actions."
Developed economies such as Japan, the US and UK are in recession
Among the risks are that rising household and corporate debt cause further falls in asset prices and losses by financial institutions.
And it says that any recovery will be slower than in the past.
There will be a smaller financial sector, with financing harder to come by than in the past, especially for developing countries, which will cramp their growth.
And rich countries will face the burden of reducing their budget deficits which have soared during the crisis, at a time when their ageing populations means they will have lower tax revenues.
In addition, households may be reluctant to resume their previous spending habits, as saving rates have risen sharply in the US and the UK.
The IMF says it is important to take urgent action to shore up the banks, and to continue with short-term fiscal stimulus plans, in order to shorten the length of the recession
In January, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 0.5% in 2009.
It now projects that the UK will see its economy shrink by 4.1% in 2009, and by a further 0.4% in 2010.
But other major economies are predicted to shrink even more, with Germany declining by 5.6%, Japan by 6.2%, and Italy by 4.4% in 2009.
The prospects for the advanced economies are not much brighter in 2010, with an overall forecast of zero growth.
IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard on the bleak economic outlook
The IMF says this represents "by far the deepest post-World War II recession" with an actual decline in output in countries making up 75% of the world economy.
Currently, output is falling by an "unprecedented" 7.5% annual rate in the rich countries in the last quarter of 2008, and the IMF expects the same rate of decline in the first quarter of this year.
Only a recovery in developing and emerging market countries will propel the world economy back into positive growth in 2010, albeit at a relatively weak level of 1.9%.
The prospects for world trade are even gloomier, with the IMF now forecasting world trade volumes to decline by 11% in 2009, and barely grow at all in 2010.
After 60 years as the engine of world growth, the sharp fall in trade is now hitting many of the leading exporting nations, particularly in Asia.
Gloomy UK
The IMF says that "the recession is expected to be... quite severe in the United Kingdom, which is being hit by the end of the boom in real estate and financial services".
ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST 2009
UK: -4.1%
US: -2.8%
Germany: -5.6%
France: -3.0%
Japan: -6.2%
source: IMF
It is predicting that UK unemployment will rise to 9.2% by the end of 2010, compared to 6.7% at the moment.
And it is warning that the UK budget deficit will rise to 11% of GDP, "reflecting mainly automatic stabilisers and asset-price related revenue shortfalls rather than discretionary stimulus".
The UK is also facing the cost of paying for the banking bail-outs, which the IMF estimated in an earlier report at 9.4% of GDP, or £130bn, after correcting an earlier figure of £200bn.
Financial problems
At the heart of the crisis is the continuing overhang of losses in the financial sector, which the IMF now estimates at $4tn, four times higher than it projected just one year ago.
And it warns that the current outlook is "exceptionally uncertain, with risks still weighting on the downside."
It says the main risk is that "policies may be insufficient to arrest the negative feedback between deteriorating financial conditions and weakening economies in the face of limited public support for policy actions."
Developed economies such as Japan, the US and UK are in recession
Among the risks are that rising household and corporate debt cause further falls in asset prices and losses by financial institutions.
And it says that any recovery will be slower than in the past.
There will be a smaller financial sector, with financing harder to come by than in the past, especially for developing countries, which will cramp their growth.
And rich countries will face the burden of reducing their budget deficits which have soared during the crisis, at a time when their ageing populations means they will have lower tax revenues.
In addition, households may be reluctant to resume their previous spending habits, as saving rates have risen sharply in the US and the UK.
The IMF says it is important to take urgent action to shore up the banks, and to continue with short-term fiscal stimulus plans, in order to shorten the length of the recession
Clinton concern for Pakistan fate
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Taleban are "within hours of Islamabad"
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban by allowing them to control parts of the country.
Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan posed a "mortal threat" to the security of the US and the world.
She said extremists were being allowed to control territory such as the Swat Valley, in north-western Pakistan.
She also called Pakistan's judicial system corrupt, adding that it has only limited power in the countryside.
Earlier this month, Pakistani President Ali Zardari signed a law implementing Islamic law - or Sharia - in the Swat Valley region as part of a deal to end a two-year Taleban insurgency there.
Once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, the Swat Valley is now mostly under Taleban control.
Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed as a result of a Taleban-led insurgency.
The Swat Valley is only about 100km (62 miles) from Islamabad, and reports suggest the Taleban are trying to expand the area under their control.
'Existential threat'
Giving evidence in Washington to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world".
"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taleban and the extremists," she said.
She called on the Pakistani people to speak out "forcefully" against their government's policy, in what the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington called an unusual move.
The government's policy was conceding "more and more territory to the insurgents , to the Taleban, to al-Qaeda, to the allies that are in this terrorist syndicate", Mrs Clinton said.
US President Barack Obama has put new emphasis on trying to resolve the security problems in Pakistan, our correspondent says, offering billions of dollars in aid but demanding greater co-operation from the government.
Using stark language, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan needed urgent attention.
"I think that we can not underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan," she said, describing the rebels as a "loosely-confederated group of terrorists and others seeking to overthrow the Pakistani state".
The presidents of both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan - where international forces are battling the Taleban - are due to come to Washington for talks next month.
During her hearing Mrs Clinton also answered questions on Cuba and Iran, warning that Tehran faces "very tough sanctions" if it rejects offers of engagement over its nuclear programme.
The US was "laying the groundwork" for such measures if Iran refused dialogue or the process failed, said Mrs Clinton.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban by allowing them to control parts of the country.
Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan posed a "mortal threat" to the security of the US and the world.
She said extremists were being allowed to control territory such as the Swat Valley, in north-western Pakistan.
She also called Pakistan's judicial system corrupt, adding that it has only limited power in the countryside.
Earlier this month, Pakistani President Ali Zardari signed a law implementing Islamic law - or Sharia - in the Swat Valley region as part of a deal to end a two-year Taleban insurgency there.
Once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, the Swat Valley is now mostly under Taleban control.
Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed as a result of a Taleban-led insurgency.
The Swat Valley is only about 100km (62 miles) from Islamabad, and reports suggest the Taleban are trying to expand the area under their control.
'Existential threat'
Giving evidence in Washington to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world".
"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taleban and the extremists," she said.
She called on the Pakistani people to speak out "forcefully" against their government's policy, in what the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington called an unusual move.
The government's policy was conceding "more and more territory to the insurgents , to the Taleban, to al-Qaeda, to the allies that are in this terrorist syndicate", Mrs Clinton said.
US President Barack Obama has put new emphasis on trying to resolve the security problems in Pakistan, our correspondent says, offering billions of dollars in aid but demanding greater co-operation from the government.
Using stark language, Mrs Clinton said the situation in Pakistan needed urgent attention.
"I think that we can not underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan," she said, describing the rebels as a "loosely-confederated group of terrorists and others seeking to overthrow the Pakistani state".
The presidents of both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan - where international forces are battling the Taleban - are due to come to Washington for talks next month.
During her hearing Mrs Clinton also answered questions on Cuba and Iran, warning that Tehran faces "very tough sanctions" if it rejects offers of engagement over its nuclear programme.
The US was "laying the groundwork" for such measures if Iran refused dialogue or the process failed, said Mrs Clinton.
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