With 400 to 500 Taliban fighters newly in control of a strategically important district just 70 miles from here, Pakistani authorities have deployed only a poorly paid and equipped constabulary force — numbering just several hundred — to the area.
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The Taliban appeared to be consolidating control in the district, Buner, on Thursday after moving in and establishing checkpoints on Wednesday. Residents said Taliban militants held a meeting, or jirga, with local elders and the local administration on Thursday. The residents said the meeting yielded a truce similar to the one reached with local leaders in the Swat Valley, which resulted in the agreement by the government of President Asif Ali Zardari to allow the imposition of Islamic law there 10 days ago.
“This concession represents a serious development and reflects both the growing strength of the Pakistani Taliban and the inability of the Pakistani army to conduct successful counterinsurgency operations,” said Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat on the Armed Services Committee who just returned from his fifth visit to Pakistan.
The fall of Buner has raised new international alarm about the ability of the Pakistani government to fend off an unrelenting Taliban advance from the Swat Valley, where as part of the truce agreement, the Pakistani Army remains in its barracks. The Taliban have moved to within a few hours’ drive of Islamabad, the capital of this country, and the neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The Pakistani military does not have a presence in Buner, Pakistani and Western officials said. From the hills of the district, the Taliban have 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, where much of the Pakistani Taliban operate.
On Thursday, four platoons of the paramilitary police constabulary force moved into Buner (pronounced boon-AIR), which is home to about a million people and is a gateway to another major Pakistani city, Mardan. Four platoons had arrived Wednesday.
Each platoon has about 40 officers. They face Taliban militants armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Intimidated by the militants, the local police have retreated into their stations, residents said. At least one constabulary officer had been killed and another seriously wounded already, the police said Thursday.
"The news over the past several days is very disturbing," Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, told reporters. "The administration is extremely concerned."
Reflecting the deep concerns of the Obama administration, the chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, was in Islamabad for the second time in two weeks to meet with Pakistan’s top military and intelligence commanders.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been underlining the alarm over the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. On Wednesday she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the deterioration of security in nuclear-armed Pakistan “poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world.”
On Thursday, she said referring to the country’s nuclear arsenal: “You know, we spend a lot of time worrying about Iran — Pakistan already has them. And they are widely dispersed in the country.”
On Thursday morning, the administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, called Mr. Zardari, “to get his personal judgment and hear what his strategy is,” Mr. Holbrooke said. He did not disclose what the answer was.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, visiting Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., who are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, also urged Pakistan’s leaders to act swiftly to a profound danger.
“My hope is that there will be an increasing recognition on the part of the Pakistani government that the Taliban in Pakistan are in fact an existential threat to the democratic government of that country,” Mr. Gates said. “I think that some of the leaders certainly understand that. But it is important that they not only recognize it, but take the appropriate actions to deal with it.”
At the Pentagon, several senior uniformed and civilian officials also expressed worry.
One senior Defense Department official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on policy matters, called the deployment of the constabulary force “a cosmetic effort.”
A senior counter-terrorism official called the fast-moving Taliban operations "frightening."
The Taliban told the local Buner 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.
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Post a Comment »Read All Comments (322) »Last year when the militants encroached into Buner, killing policemen, the local people fought back and forced the militants out. But now, 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. A local politician, Jamsher Khan, said by telephone: “We felt stronger as long as we thought the government was with us, but when the government showed weakness, we too stopped offering resistance to the Taliban.”
The advance had been building for weeks, with the assistance of sympathizers and even a local government official who was appointed on the recommendation of the militants, a senior law enforcement official said. But Buner’s final capitulation was rapid.
On Wednesday, officials and residents said that heavily armed Taliban militants had begun patrolling villages and that the local police had retreated to their station houses in much of the district. 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.
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.
“They are everywhere,” one resident of Daggar said by telephone. “There is no resistance.”
A Western official who was familiar with the Pakistani military said that, on Wednesday, one of the highest-ranking Pakistani 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.”
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. Pakistani television news reports indicated Thursday that Taliban militants were also crossing into Shandla, another district bordering Buner and Swat.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
U.S. Is Said to Push Chrysler to Prepare for Chapter 11
The Treasury Department is directing Chrysler to prepare a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that could come as soon as next week, people with direct knowledge of the action said Thursday.
-
Chrysler's Lenders Prepare a Counteroffer (April 23, 2009) The Treasury has an agreement in principle with the United Automobile Workers union, whose members’ pensions and retiree health care benefits would be protected as a condition of the bankruptcy filing, said these people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Moreover, Fiat of Italy would complete its alliance with Chrysler while the company is under bankruptcy protection.
The only major question that remains unresolved is what happens to Chrysler’s lenders, who hold $6.9 billion in company debt. The government’s most recent offer, presented Wednesday, would give the company’s lenders about 22 cents on the dollar, or $1.5 billion, and a 5 percent equity stake in a reorganized Chrysler. Earlier this week, a steering committee of the lenders proposed that they receive 65 cents on the dollar, or $4.5 billion, and a 40 percent equity stake.
If no agreement is reached between the government and Chrysler’s lenders, a nasty legal fight could emerge in bankruptcy. The creditors’ claims are backed by most of the company’s collateral, including plants, brands and equipment, and the senior lenders will argue that they have first claim on those assets — even over and above the government’s debt.
"In a negotiation like this, everything is speculation until there’s a deal,” said an administration official who did not want to be named because the talks are private. “It should surprise no one that the administration is planning on contingencies, but we remain focused on the goal and engaged with all stakeholders to bring Chrysler and Fiat to a working partnership.”
A Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment.
A bankruptcy filing by Chrysler would be the first among Detroit’s troubled automakers, who have been mired in a devastating sales slump since last fall. Treasury is also working with General Motors to prepare a possible bankruptcy case, and the terms of a Chrysler filing might offer a glimpse into the shape of G.M.’s own filing.
Some analysts questioned whether the Treasury’s steps to prepare a bankruptcy case were an effort to put more pressure on lenders, with which it has exchanged proposals meant to reduce Chrysler’s debt. Chrysler faces an April 30 deadline from the Treasury, while G.M. faces a June 1 deadline in its own efforts to draft a new restructuring plan.
Under the most likely assumptions, Treasury will provide the financing that Chrysler needs to operate while under bankruptcy protection. The Canadian government is also expected to participate in backing the company.
The Globe and Mail of Toronto reported the Canadian government’s role on Thursday.
Last month, the Obama administration told Chrysler it would provide up to $6 billion in financing if Chrysler and Fiat could complete a deal by the end of this month. Fiat originally agreed to take 35 percent of Chrysler, but the stake was subsequently reduced to 20 percent. The administration said it would provide up to $6 billion in financing if the two companies agreed, on top of $4 billion in federal assistance that Chrysler has already received.
Although the two companies have been holding discussions on an out-of-court agreement, a bankruptcy case would allow Fiat to more easily select the assets of Chrysler that it wants to preserve, such as dealerships, factories and the company’s product development operations, these people said. The approach, which relies upon Section 363 of the federal bankruptcy code, is somewhat similar to what the government is planning in the case of G,M..
Then, Chrysler could sell or jettison any assets it does not want to keep, and cancel franchise agreements with superfluous car dealers.
“Chrysler has consistently said that its viability will be enhanced through an alliance with Fiat, as it represents a change in the company’s business model that expands its global competitiveness,” said Lori McTavish, Chrysler’s vice president of communications. “As we move forward in this process, we believe it’s important to keep all options open.”
Ms. McTavish said Chrysler would continue to work through the end of the month, based on direction given by the President’s auto task force, “to secure the support of the necessary stakeholders and reach a successful conclusion that the administration and U.S. Treasury deems appropriate.”
The U.A.W., Chrysler and Treasury have reached agreements in principle that would protect workers’ benefits, people with knowledge of the negotiations said, and a similar agreement is expected to be reached as soon as this weekend with the Canadian Auto Workers union.
Once Chrysler emerges from bankruptcy protection, it would largely be owned by Fiat, the U.A.W., the Treasury and its lenders, these people said. A bankruptcy filing would likely wipe out existing equity stakeholders, notably Cerberus Capital Management, which took over the carmaker from Daimler in 2007.
Ron Gettelfinger, the U.A.W.’s president, issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the union was “continuing to work toward an agreement that will be in the best interest of Chrysler workers, retirees and the communities where the company does business.”
People close to the talks said Wednesday that the U.A.W. had tentatively agreed to accept Chrysler stock to finance half of the company’s $10.6 billion obligation to the health care trust. The balance would be paid in cash over the next decade. That money presumably could come from either the Treasury, or from Chrysler’s profits, once it emerges from bankruptcy protection.
Chrysler has a $9.3 billion pension shortfall, or 34 percent of its total liability, according to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The agency said earlier this month that it would assume $2 billion of the shortfall in the event Chrysler terminates its pension plans.
If that happened, retirees would receive sharply lower benefits than they normally would expect. But Chrysler is not obligated to terminate its pension plans while in bankruptcy, particularly if it received federal assistance to fund them.
It was not clear Thursday where Chrysler would file its bankruptcy case. On Wednesday, Mike Cox, the attorney general of Michigan, urged General Motors and Chrysler to consider filing in the state, rather than Delaware or New York. He said a locally administered case would be more convenient for creditors in Michigan
-
Chrysler's Lenders Prepare a Counteroffer (April 23, 2009) The Treasury has an agreement in principle with the United Automobile Workers union, whose members’ pensions and retiree health care benefits would be protected as a condition of the bankruptcy filing, said these people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Moreover, Fiat of Italy would complete its alliance with Chrysler while the company is under bankruptcy protection.
The only major question that remains unresolved is what happens to Chrysler’s lenders, who hold $6.9 billion in company debt. The government’s most recent offer, presented Wednesday, would give the company’s lenders about 22 cents on the dollar, or $1.5 billion, and a 5 percent equity stake in a reorganized Chrysler. Earlier this week, a steering committee of the lenders proposed that they receive 65 cents on the dollar, or $4.5 billion, and a 40 percent equity stake.
If no agreement is reached between the government and Chrysler’s lenders, a nasty legal fight could emerge in bankruptcy. The creditors’ claims are backed by most of the company’s collateral, including plants, brands and equipment, and the senior lenders will argue that they have first claim on those assets — even over and above the government’s debt.
"In a negotiation like this, everything is speculation until there’s a deal,” said an administration official who did not want to be named because the talks are private. “It should surprise no one that the administration is planning on contingencies, but we remain focused on the goal and engaged with all stakeholders to bring Chrysler and Fiat to a working partnership.”
A Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment.
A bankruptcy filing by Chrysler would be the first among Detroit’s troubled automakers, who have been mired in a devastating sales slump since last fall. Treasury is also working with General Motors to prepare a possible bankruptcy case, and the terms of a Chrysler filing might offer a glimpse into the shape of G.M.’s own filing.
Some analysts questioned whether the Treasury’s steps to prepare a bankruptcy case were an effort to put more pressure on lenders, with which it has exchanged proposals meant to reduce Chrysler’s debt. Chrysler faces an April 30 deadline from the Treasury, while G.M. faces a June 1 deadline in its own efforts to draft a new restructuring plan.
Under the most likely assumptions, Treasury will provide the financing that Chrysler needs to operate while under bankruptcy protection. The Canadian government is also expected to participate in backing the company.
The Globe and Mail of Toronto reported the Canadian government’s role on Thursday.
Last month, the Obama administration told Chrysler it would provide up to $6 billion in financing if Chrysler and Fiat could complete a deal by the end of this month. Fiat originally agreed to take 35 percent of Chrysler, but the stake was subsequently reduced to 20 percent. The administration said it would provide up to $6 billion in financing if the two companies agreed, on top of $4 billion in federal assistance that Chrysler has already received.
Although the two companies have been holding discussions on an out-of-court agreement, a bankruptcy case would allow Fiat to more easily select the assets of Chrysler that it wants to preserve, such as dealerships, factories and the company’s product development operations, these people said. The approach, which relies upon Section 363 of the federal bankruptcy code, is somewhat similar to what the government is planning in the case of G,M..
Then, Chrysler could sell or jettison any assets it does not want to keep, and cancel franchise agreements with superfluous car dealers.
“Chrysler has consistently said that its viability will be enhanced through an alliance with Fiat, as it represents a change in the company’s business model that expands its global competitiveness,” said Lori McTavish, Chrysler’s vice president of communications. “As we move forward in this process, we believe it’s important to keep all options open.”
Ms. McTavish said Chrysler would continue to work through the end of the month, based on direction given by the President’s auto task force, “to secure the support of the necessary stakeholders and reach a successful conclusion that the administration and U.S. Treasury deems appropriate.”
The U.A.W., Chrysler and Treasury have reached agreements in principle that would protect workers’ benefits, people with knowledge of the negotiations said, and a similar agreement is expected to be reached as soon as this weekend with the Canadian Auto Workers union.
Once Chrysler emerges from bankruptcy protection, it would largely be owned by Fiat, the U.A.W., the Treasury and its lenders, these people said. A bankruptcy filing would likely wipe out existing equity stakeholders, notably Cerberus Capital Management, which took over the carmaker from Daimler in 2007.
Ron Gettelfinger, the U.A.W.’s president, issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the union was “continuing to work toward an agreement that will be in the best interest of Chrysler workers, retirees and the communities where the company does business.”
People close to the talks said Wednesday that the U.A.W. had tentatively agreed to accept Chrysler stock to finance half of the company’s $10.6 billion obligation to the health care trust. The balance would be paid in cash over the next decade. That money presumably could come from either the Treasury, or from Chrysler’s profits, once it emerges from bankruptcy protection.
Chrysler has a $9.3 billion pension shortfall, or 34 percent of its total liability, according to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The agency said earlier this month that it would assume $2 billion of the shortfall in the event Chrysler terminates its pension plans.
If that happened, retirees would receive sharply lower benefits than they normally would expect. But Chrysler is not obligated to terminate its pension plans while in bankruptcy, particularly if it received federal assistance to fund them.
It was not clear Thursday where Chrysler would file its bankruptcy case. On Wednesday, Mike Cox, the attorney general of Michigan, urged General Motors and Chrysler to consider filing in the state, rather than Delaware or New York. He said a locally administered case would be more convenient for creditors in Michigan
Pakistan Sends Special Police to Taliban-Held Area
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.
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.
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.
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