World briefs: 2/5/12
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MUNICH, Germany -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to reassure Europe on Saturday that, despite budget cuts in Washington and the coming withdrawal from the continent of about 6,000 to 7,000 U.S. troops, the United States was not abandoning its allies.
"Europe remains America's partner of first resort," Ms. Clinton said, and Mr. Panetta described Europe as the United States' "security partner of choice for military operations and diplomacy around the world."
Mr. Panetta, however, drew another strong line against the prospect of about $500 billion in additional U.S. defense cuts over the next decade, calling them "crazy." So far the Pentagon is planning for only $487 billion in reductions over the next 10 years, which in his view is enough.
FORT HOOD, Texas -- A 49-year-old brigadier general died Friday in Afghanistan of apparent natural causes, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. soldier to die there, the military said Saturday.
Fort Hood announced Brig. Gen. Terence Hildner's death in a statement posted on its website. Gen. Hildner had commanded the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command at Fort Hood since August 2010. He left for Afghanistan in December to support the NATO mission there.
CAIRO -- The death toll from street fighting between protesters and Egyptian police rose to 12 Saturday as a daylong attempt at truce in the streets of Cairo collapsed into the third night of clashes set off by a deadly soccer riot in Port Said.
Health ministry officials said seven protesters had now died in Suez and five in Cairo, raising the total body count from five the day before.
First Published February 5, 2012 12:00 am
