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Tuesdsay, April 17, 2012 - 8A
Romne pursues
Possibilities
Soon-to-be
Republican
nominee proceeding
with caution
BOSTON (AP) - Don't look
for a vice presidential shocker
from Mitt Romney. His choice
of a running-mate - a search
he announced yesterday he has
begun - will be guided by both
his methodical, risk-averse corpo-
rate training and the lessons his
party learned from Sarah Palin's
selection.
Preparedness to serve and
loyalty to Romney are likely to
trump other credentials as the
all-but-sure. Republican nomi-
nee looks to avoid the blowback
John McCain faced four years
ago with his surprise choice of
the little-known, first-term Alas-
ka governor for the GOP ticket.
Questions about Palin's readi-
ness to serve, McCain's decision-
making and his advisers' vetting
came to define the Arizona sena-
tor's flawed campaign.
Mindful of that, Romney will
put experience at the top of his
list of .qualities as he chooses a
No. 2, according to senior advisers
and GOP operatives familiar with
his thinking. They spoke on the
condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to speak
candidly about a process Romney
himselfis tryingto keep as private
as possible as he works to narrow
a field that may begin with as
many as a dozen prospective can-
didates.
"The hallmark for Governor
Romney's candidacy, and how
he would be as president, is that
he approaches these decisions in
a well-thought-out methodical
way," said Steve Duprey, a former
McCain adviser and current New
Hampshire-based member of the
Republican National Committee.
"It won't be like the McCain cam-
paign where there was a big sur-
prise and effort to create a game
changer.".
For all the secrecy surround-
ing the process, the former Mas-
sachusetts governor did give a
few hints about his plans yes-
terday, disclosing that he had
chosen his former chief of staff
and 2008 presidential campaign
manager, Beth Myers, to lead
the vetting and analysis of pro-
spective running mates. Several
other members of the tight-knit
cadre that has surrounded Rom-
ney for years also are likely to be
involved.
Romney was largely tight-
lipped beyond the staffing
announcement. He said the
selection would certainly happen
before the Republican National
Convention in late August. But
he wouldn't provide any more
guidance on any internal dead-
line his team has set. And when
asked about potential choices -
and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio,
specifically - Romney hedged,
as he has consistently in recent
months.
"Well I think he's one of the
terrific leaders in our party, but I
think it's way too early to begin
narrowing down who the poten-
tial vice presidential nominees
might be," Romney said in an
interview with Diane Sawyer:of
ABC News outside Fenway Park in
Boston. "Butwe're beginningthat
process, we'll talk about a lot of
folks, and then go through he kind
of vetting and review process that
you have to go through to make
sure whoever you select will pass
the evaluation that's required by
the American people.".
In addition to his running mate
being prepared to assume the
presidency, Romney has laid out
only one other public criterion:
that he or she oppose abortion
rights. The condition could help
reassure social conservatives that
Romney is serious about his oppo-
sition to abortion - a sore point
because he supported abortion
rights when he ran for the Senate
in 1994.
Several Republicans familiar
with Romney's thinking down-
play the importance of choosing
a running mate from a particular
battleground state or an impor-
tant voting demographic.
Romney also is expected to
avoid a candidate with the kind
of star power that might distract
too much attention from the
party's main campaign themes
- Republicans are working to
make the election a referendum
on President Barack Obama - or
overshadow the GOP presidential
nominee himself.
Rubio, 40, is one such celebrity
candidate. And the junior Florida
senator also has little experience,
in the midst of only his second
year on Capitol Hill.
a
HElKO JUNGE
Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, who is facing terrorism and premeditated murder charges, reacts as a video presented by the prosecution is shown in court,
Oslo, Norway, yesterday. Breivik confessed to killing 77 people in a bomb-and-shooting massacre and went on trial in Norway's capital yesterday.
Norway's -mass killer cries at
hearing tears no'utofpity'
Unrepentant killer
denies authority of
judge in case
OSLO, Norway (AP) -Anders
Behring Breivik shed tears as he
went on trial yesterday for kill-
ing 77 people - but not for his
victims. The emotional display
came when prosecutors showed
his anti-Muslim video.
Dressed in a dark suit and
sporting a thin beard, the right-
wing fanatic defended the July
22 massacre as an act of "self-
defense" in his professed civil
war, and sat stone-faced as pros-
ecutors described how he killed
each of his victims.
But he was gripped by emo-
tion when they showed a video
warning of a Muslim takeover
of Europe and laden with cru-
sader imagery that he posted
on YouTube before the attacks.
Suddenly, the self-styled "resis-
tance" fighter's eyes welled up.
He cringed his face and wiped
away tears with trembling
hands.
"Nobody believes that he
cried out of pity for the victims,"
said Mette Yvonne Larsen, a
lawyer representing survivors
and victim's families in the
court proceedings.
Breivik showed no signs of
remorse on the first day of a trial
that is expected to last 10 weeks.
After being uncuffed, he extend-
ed his right arm in a clenched-
fist salute. He refused to stand
when the judges entered the
room.
"I don't recognize Norwe-
gian courts because you get your
mandate from the Norwegian
political parties who support
multiculturalism," Breivik said
the first time he addressed the
court.
The 33-year-old Norwegian
also announced he doesn't rec-
ognize the authority of Judge
Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen
because he said she is friends
with the sister of former Nor-
wegian Prime Minister and
Labor Party leader Gro Harlem
Brundtland.
Eight people were killed in
Breivik's bombing of Oslo's gov-
ernment district and 69 were
slain in his shooting massacre
at the left-leaning Labor Party's
youth camp on Utoya island out-
side the capital.
Breivik has said the attacks
were necessary to protect Nor-
way from being taken over by
Muslims and that he deliber-
ately targeted the governing
Labor Party, which he claims
has betrayed Norway with lib-
eral immigration policies.
"I admit to the acts, but not
criminal guilt," he told the
court, insisting he had acted in
self-defense.
While Norway has a legal
principle of preventive self-
defense, that doesn't apply to
Breivik's case, said Jarl Borgvin
Doerre, a legal expert who
has written a book on the con-
cept. "It is obvious that it has
nothing to do with preventive
self-defense," Doerre told The
Associated Press.
The key issue to be resolved
during the trial is Breivik's
mental state, which will decide
whether he is sent to prison or
into psychiatric care. Anxious
to prove he is not insane, Breivik
will call right-wing extremists
and radical Islamists to testify
during the trial, to show that
others also share his view of
clashing civilizations.
One mental examination
found him legally insane, while
another said he wasn't sick
enough to be committed to psy-
chiatric care instead of prison.
If deemed mentally competent,
Breivik would face a maximum
prison sentence of 21 years or
an alternate custody arrange-
ment under which the sentence
is prolonged for as long as an
inmate is deemed a danger to
society.
Breivik did not appear to
have any family or support-
ers in court. His parents, who
are divorced, did not attend the
hearing. His father, Jens Breivik,
answered when The Associated
Press called his home in France
onyesterday.
"I don't want to comment on
anything," he said before hang-
ing up:
Anne Marita Milde, a psy-
chology professor at the Uni-
versity of Bergen, said Breivik's
tears during the- video show
he's not completely "flattened"
emotionally - even though they
didn't come when you might
have expected them.
"He may in many areas be
emotionally flattened, that he
doesn't display emotion and so
on, but it's not all or nothing
here -there are facets within
behavior," she said.
EPanetta calls for new steps
to stop assaults in military
CAROLYN KASTER/AP
President Barack Obama, left, listens to Colombian singer Shakira during a land titling event for Afro-Colombian communi-
ties in Cartagena, Colombia, Sunday.
FolloWing Latin American summit, Obama
looks to domestic issues, presidential race
Defense Department
says 86 percent
of sexual assaults
unreported
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Defense Secretary Leon Panet-
ta on yesterday announced new
steps to combat sexual assaults
in the military, with serious
offenses such as rape and forc-
ible sodomy subject to a court-
martial review at the authority
level of Army colonel or Navy,
captain.
"Sexual assault has no place
in the military. It is'a violation
of everything that the U.S. mili-
tary stands for," Panetta told a
Capitol Hill news conference
after a closed-door, meeting
with members of the House
Armed Services Committee
who have pushed for the Penta-
gon to take aggressive steps to
stop sexual assaults. '
The Pentagon said Friday
that the number of reported
sexual assaults had increased
slightly last year, with 3,192
cases involving service mem-
bers as either victims or per-
petrators. But the Defense
Department also has esti-
mated that 86 percent of sex-
ual assaults go unreported, a
reflection of the fear some have
for the prosecutorial system or
their own standing in the ser-
vice.
Panetta said that as Pen-
tagon chief he would issue a
directive changing the way
cases are handled. A higher
authority within the military
now will review the most seri-
ous cases, ensuring that cases
remain within the chain of the
command and leaders are held
responsible.
He said he would work with
Congress on legislation imple-
menting several other initia-
tives, including creation of
special victims units within
the services, allowing National
Guard' and reserve members
to remain on active duty after
they file a complaint and an
explanation of sexual assault
policies to all service members.
within 14 days of their entry in
the military.
These initiatives are likely
to be included in the sweep-
ing defense bill that the House
Armed Services panel will be,
craftig beginning next week.
"This is a strong package. It
is essential, we believe, to being
able to prevent and respond to
the crime of sexual assault,"
Panetta said. "There's no sil-
ver bullet when it comes to this
issue. But what is required is
that everyone, from the secre-
tary to the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs all the way down, every
the command level, be sensitive
to this issue, be aware that they
bear the responsibility to take
action on these cases. The most
important thing we can do is
prosecute the offenders."
Panetta, who was joined by
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey,
the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, mentioned the
steps the Pentagon has taken
previously, including the cre-
ation of a 24/7 hotline and the
selection of a two-star general
to head the Sexual Assault Pre-
vention and Response Office.
"Our men and women in
uniform should not fear their
fellow service members," Rep.
Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told
reporters at the news con-
ference. Rep. Niki Tsongas,
D-Mass., talked of a "renewed
commitment to address this
grievous issue." Rep. Loretta
Sanchez, D-Calif., focused on
treating victims with respect.
In its annual report to Con-
gress, the Defense Department
said there were 3,192 reports
of sexual assault involving ser-
vice members as either victims
or perpetrators at the end of
September 2011, a 1 percent
increase over the previous year.
The number of reported cases
in 2010 was 3,158 assaults, in
the previous year it was 3,230.
The report also found that
courts martial were used more.
frequently now in disciplining
offenders. Of the 791 military
sexual offenders punished last
year, 62 percent faced a court
martial. That compares with
52 percent in 2010 and 30 per-
cent in 2007. The proportion
of cases in which less severe
forms of discipline are pursued,
such as administrative actions
and discharges, has declined in
that same period.
"Sexual assault is a crime
that has no place in the Depart-
ment of Defense, and the
department's leadership has a
zero-tolerance policy against
it," the report said.
Trip marred by
allegations against
Secret Service
WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi-
dent Barack Obama is returning
to his familiar agenda of righting
the U.S. economy and winning a
second term, wrapping up three
days of Latin American summitry
that yielded mixed results and
were clouded by a Secret Service
scandal
Domestic issues are imme-
diately on tap, with the Senate
scheduled to vote Monday on
Obama's proposal to increase
taxes on millionaires. The pro-'
posal stands little chance of pass-
ing Congress, but Obama has cast
it as an election-year theme as
he seeks to paint sharp contrasts
between himself and his likely
Republican challenger, Mitt
Romney.
Obama returned to Washing-
ton late Sunday with a key free
trade deal with Colombiaready to
be fully enforced next monthand"
with important face time with'
Latin American leaders that can-
not hurt his diplomatic outreach.
But the weekend trip to Carta-
gena, Colombia, for the sixth
Summit of the Americas also
underscored old and new fissures
that exist between the United
States and its southern neighbors,
from the U.S. isolation of Cuba
to calls by some Latin American
leaders to defang the violent drug
cartels by legalizing drugs.
The trip was clouded by
unseemly allegations against
Secret Service personnel and
military service members work-
ing on security in Cartagena
ahead of Obama's arrival. Obama,
at a press conference in Carta-
gena, said that if the accusations,
proved true "of course I'll be
angry."
The Secret Service sent 11
agents home and placed them on
leave for misconduct as the agen-
cy investigates what happened.
Five members of the military
working with the Secret Ser-
vice were confined to quarters,
pending an investigation into an
alleged prostitution scandal.
,