US General to visit Pakistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior U.S. military commander will visit Pakistan this month in what could be an important step in healing the rift between the two nations, officials said Tuesday.

Gen. James Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, will meet with Pakistani Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to talk about the U.S. investigation into airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in a Nov. 26 exchange of fire at the border with Afghanistan.

Mattis would be the first high-ranking official to visit since the strikes that sent relations between Washington and Islamabad to a new low and prompted Pakistan to close its border to NATO war supplies headed for Afghanistan, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive matter publicly. News of the planned visit came as Pakistan's defense minister said Tuesday the country should reopen its Afghan border crossings to NATO troop supplies after negotiating a better deal with the coalition.

Without providing details, Pakistan Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar told the private Geo TV that the government should negotiate new "terms and conditions" with NATO, then reopen the border.

Mattis will be presenting the Central Command investigation that found a combination of mistrust and bad maps led to the airstrikes on two Pakistani outposts in the November incident. The Defense Department said the investigation found U.S. forces — given what information they had available to them at the time — reacted in self-defense and with appropriate force after being fired upon from the direction of the Pakistani border.

Pakistan refused to participate in the investigation and has rejected its conclusions. The U.S. expressed regret, but did not apologize, despite the embarrassing series of communications and coordination errors. The State Department is supporting a proposal circulating in the administration to issue a formal apology for the Pakistan soldiers' deaths, according to the New York Times, which first reported the planned Mattis visit in Tuesday editions.

Often difficult U.S.-Pakistani relations have taken a number of especially hard hits in the past year, including fallout from the U.S. military assault in Pakistan last May that killed Osama bin Laden. Pakistani leaders have also complained about repeated U.S. drone strikes in their country, largely by the CIA, that have targeted militants who launch attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan. But the final straw was the Nov. 26 cross-border attack.

Islamabad has said it is re-evaluating its relationship with Washington and the Pakistani parliament is working out new guidelines to define the U.S.-Pakistan alliance. The parliament is expected to vote on a revised framework for relations in mid-February. That could pave the way for the government to reopen the supply line.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said last week that she didn't think it would be much of a problem to reopen the route after the parliament vote. And the defense minister Tuesday echoed this view, saying "I think the people who are deciding, who are giving recommendations, will make the right decision."

For most of the 10-year war in Afghanistan, 90 percent of supplies shipped to coalition forces came through Pakistan, via the port of Karachi. But over the past three years, NATO has increased its road and rail shipments through an alternate route that runs through Russia and Central Asia. The northern route is longer and more expensive, but provided a hedge against the riskier Pakistan route.

Before the Nov. 26 airstrikes, about 30 percent of non-lethal supplies for U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan traveled through Pakistan. The U.S. has since increased the amount of supplies running through the north, but the cost is much greater. Pentagon figures provided to the AP show it is now costing about $104 million per month to send supplies. That is $87 million more per month than when the cargo moved through Pakistan.

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Associated Press writers Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

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US Marines to visit New Zealand next year (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – U.S. Marines will visit New Zealand next year for the first time in at least 25 years, a sign of continuing thawing in the countries' military relations.

Prime Minister John Key made the announcement after visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Washington on Thursday.

The Marines' visit will mark the 70th anniversary of their arrival in New Zealand to offer military support during World War II in case of an attack in the South Pacific. Key has also invited the U.S. Coast Guard to send a ship.

Military relations between the countries soured 25 years ago when New Zealand banned nuclear weapons from the country, preventing U.S. warships from visiting. Relations have improved in recent years, and New Zealand special forces have been active in Afghanistan.

The nuclear weapons ban is popular among the general public in New Zealand but remains a sticking point for the U.S. in resuming a full military relationship.

Among the details yet to be worked out for next year's visit are the number of Marines, how many will be veterans and how many active service, and whether they will arrive by plane or ship.

Stephen Hoadley, an associate professor of political studies and a foreign policy specialist at the University of Auckland, said the visit will "resonate very favorably" with older New Zealanders, some of whom remember the Marines' arrival in 1942.

"It was a tremendous emotional event," said Hoadley, noting that New Zealanders felt an enormous sense of relief at the U.S. presence.

Even then there were tensions, however, and in 1943 a riot involving more than 1,000 troops broke out in Wellington between American and New Zealand servicemen.

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Sudan president visit to China delayed

Omar al-Bashir is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.NEW: Sudanese president's plane left Iran for China but turned back, Sudanese officials sayNEW: There were fears that some countries would act while his plane was above their airspace, the officials sayThe Sudanese president was scheduled to visit China

Beijing (CNN) -- The Sudanese president was scheduled to arrive in China on Monday, but the visit has been delayed without official explanation, Chinese ministry officials said.

Omar al-Bashir is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the region of Darfur, where war has continued since 2003.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it had no information about why al-Bashir's arrival has been delayed. The Sudanese Embassy in Beijing said it did not know how the delay would affect his schedule.

Al-Bashir left Tehran, Iran on Sunday to attend a conference on combating terrorism, the state-run news agency in Sudan reported.

His plane left Iran to go to China but returned to Iran because of concerns over attempts to enforce the international court's warrant, senior government officials in Sudan said.

There were fears that countries that recognize the International Criminal Court would take action if al-Bashir's plane crossed their airspace on its way from Iran to China, the officials said.

China voted against the statute that created the International Criminal Court and is not among more than 100 countries that recognize it.

Prior to his trip, the Sudanese leader gave an interview with China's state-run news agency, Xinhua, in which he touted the longstanding ties between the two nations.

"We regard China as the strategic partner for Sudan in various fields, including the political, economic, commercial and cultural," al-Bashir said in the interview, published Sunday by Xinhua. "China does not interfere in the internal affairs of others. The success of the Sino-Sudanese cooperation has pushed the African countries to search for the real and loyal partner."

Last week, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch called China's invitation to al-Bashir "an affront to victims of heinous crimes committed in Darfur."

"Al-Bashir's flouting of international arrest warrants should be cause for condemnation, not for an invitation," said Richard Dicker, the group's international justice director. "Beijing should instead be using its influence to press for justice in Darfur."

The Sudanese president has deflected opposition to him, telling Xinhua in a story posted Saturday that Western nations went after him and his forces in order to "cover up the acts committed in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Al-Bashir, who became Sudan's president in 1993, is scheduled to be in China through Thursday at the invitation of its president Hu Jintao, according to Xinhua.

This will be his fourth visit to the Asian nation, after trips there in 1990, 1995 and 2006, when he attended a Sino-Africa Cooperation Forum summit in Beijing.

CNN's Nima Elbagir contributed to this report

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Obama to visit Fort Drum after announcing troop withdrawal

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama goes on the road Thursday to sell his plan to withdraw 33,000 U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

He will meet with soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York -- many of whom have recently returned from Afghan deployments.

France announced on Thursday that it would follow suit, saying it "will initiate a progressive withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan, and will follow a timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said the withdrawal will be done in consultation with NATO allies and the Afghan government.

All French soldiers could be out of Afghanistan by 2013, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told France Info radio Thursday.

Obama announced Wednesday night that all the additional U.S. forces he ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 will be home within 15 months.

In a nationally televised address from the East Room of the White House, Obama said 10,000 of the "surge" forces would withdraw by the end of this year, and the other 23,000 would leave Afghanistan by September 2012.

Calling the deployment of the surge "one of the most difficult decisions that I've made as president," Obama said the military campaign was "meeting our goals" in Afghanistan and the drawdown would begin "from a position of strength."

"Al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11," Obama said. "Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda's leadership. And thanks to our intelligence professionals and special forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al Qaeda had ever known. This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11."

At the same time, Obama said the Afghanistan drawdown and the simultaneous winding down of the war in Iraq would help the United States begin to refocus attention and resources on efforts to resolve economic and other problems and to unify a politically divided nation.

"America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home," the president said.

Afghanistan's defense ministry said Thursday it "respects the decision of the U.S. government and the U.S. people" and is ready to take up the slack as U.S. forces begin to pull out.

"Based on quantity and quality developments, the ... Afghan National Army is ready to cover the gap," the ministry said.

The Taliban called Obama's announcement "only ... a symbolic step which will never satisfy the war weary international community or the American people."

"The assertion of American leaders about making headway in Afghanistan and Obama's proclamation of them being in a stronger position are nothing more than baseless claims and propaganda," the group said in a statement released Thursday.

The troop withdrawals from Afghanistan will begin next month, as Obama promised when he ordered the surge in a speech 18 months ago at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

After the departure of all the surge forces, the total U.S. military deployment in Afghanistan will be slightly fewer than 70,000 troops.

Obama's time frame will give U.S. commanders another two "fighting" seasons with the bulk of U.S. forces still available for combat operations.

It also will bring the surge troops home before the November 2012 election in which Obama will seek a second term.

Initial reaction was varied, with outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates supporting Obama's decision while congressional leaders were divided between those who wanted a faster withdrawal and others calling for caution in leaving Afghanistan.

"It's important that we retain the flexibility necessary to reconsider troop levels and respond to changes in the security environment should circumstances on the ground warrant," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in a statement. "Congress will hold the administration accountable for ensuring that the pace and scope of the drawdown does not undermine the progress we've made thus far."

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was more blunt, saying: "This is not the 'modest' withdrawal that I and others had hoped for and advocated."

Democratic colleagues of Obama expressed support for starting the withdrawal but said more troops should be included and they should depart faster than the president announced.

"It has been the hope of many in Congress and across the country that the full drawdown of U.S. forces would happen sooner than the president laid out -- and we will continue to press for a better outcome," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said in a statement.

Two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination to run against Obama next year expressed reservations about the withdrawal strategy, but differed in their reasoning.

"We all want our troops to come home as soon as possible, but we shouldn't adhere to an arbitrary timetable on the withdrawal" from Afghanistan, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said in a statement. "This decision should not be based on politics or economics."

In his own statement, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who was Obama's ambassador to China until recently, called for shifting the Afghanistan mission to "a focused counterterror effort which requires significantly fewer boots on the ground than the president discussed tonight."

"We need a safe but rapid withdrawal, which encourages Afghans to assume responsibility, while leaving in place a strong counterintelligence and special forces effort proportionate to the threat," Huntsman said.

The killing of bin Laden in early May and the success in reversing Taliban momentum in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar enabled the beginning of a troop withdrawal that will culminate with handing over security responsibilities to Afghan forces in 2014, the senior administration officials said on condition of not being identified.

Gates -- along with Afghan war commander Gen. David Petraeus -- had pushed for an initial drawdown of 3,000 to 5,000 troops this year, according to a congressional source. Gates also urged the president to withdraw support troops only -- not combat troops.

Obama, however, ultimately decided to adopt the more aggressive withdrawal plan. The senior administration officials said Obama's withdrawal schedule fell within the range of options presented to him by Petraeus.

In a statement after Obama's speech, Gates said it was "critical" that U.S. forces continue to "aggressively" carry out the surge strategy of degrading the capability of the Taliban while bolstering Afghan security forces.

"I support the president's decision because it provides our commanders with enough resources, time and, perhaps most importantly, flexibility to bring the surge to a successful conclusion," Gates said, signaling Pentagon control in deciding which U.S. forces to withdraw.

Public exhaustion with the conflict is reflected in recent public opinion polls. Nearly three-quarters of Americans support the United States pulling some or all of its forces from Afghanistan, according to a June 3-7 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey.

That figure jumped 10 points since May, likely as a result of the death of bin Laden, pollsters said.

The United States has spent roughly $443 billion on the war in Afghanistan, according to budget analysts. According to Travis Sharp, a researcher at the Center for a New American Security, the troop reductions Obama announced would bring a savings of about $7 billion in fiscal year 2012.

Senior administration officials told CNN that planning for the announcement began in January, when the president summoned top members of his national security team into the Oval Office and tasked them with coming up with a plan for the drawdown.

The calculations that went into the drawdown decision included the fact that "remarkable" and "unexpected" progress had been made degrading al-Qaeda's infrastructure in its bases in the tribal regions of Pakistan over the prior 18 months, one of the officials said.

Additionally, the Taliban have been rolled back from their heartland regions in southern and southwestern Afghanistan, both in northern and southern Helmand Province and around the key city of Kandahar, which had been their de facto capital. This progress fulfilled the administration's pledge to reverse the momentum of the Taliban, which had been one of the key rationales for the surge.

Another factor favoring the drawdown was the growth in Afghan army and police forces of 100,000 men in the past year, the officials said.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne, Barbara Starr, Ted Barrett, Deirdre Walsh, Tom Cohen, Alan Silverleib and Brianna Keilar, Ben Brumfeld and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen contributed to this report.

CNN

Michelle Obama to visit southern Africa

Michelle Obama will visit South Africa and Botswana during the weeklong trip that starts Monday.Michelle Obama's first stop will be in Pretoria to meet South African President Jacob Zuma The first lady will highlight the benefits of education and wellness to youth She will also visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was detained for almost 27 years

(CNN) -- First lady Michelle Obama's official trip to southern Africa this week will focus on youth leadership and education and will include meetings with key figures in the anti-apartheid struggle.

Obama will make stops in South Africa and Botswana during the weeklong visit that starts Monday.

She will highlight the benefits of education and wellness and urge youth in the continent to be part of the national dialogue, according to the White House.

"The trip is a continuation of Mrs. Obama's work to engage young people, especially girls and young women, at home and abroad," the White House said.

The first lady's first stop will be in Pretoria, where she will meet with South African President Jacob Zuma.

Before heading to Johannesburg and Cape Town, she will take a tour of an apartheid museum with Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel.

She will also visit Robben Island, where Mandela was held for the majority of the 27 years he was in detention for fighting apartheid.

The schedule released by the White House did not mention a meeting with the 92-year-old former president.

The latter part of the trip includes a meeting with Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and a visit to Soweto and the site of the 2010 World Cup.

Her visit to neighboring Botswana will include a tribute to girls overcoming hurdles to success.

In addition to visits with top leaders, she will also attend a series of public events, meet embassy officials and take part in community service projects in both countries.

After a safari, she will depart from the Botswana capital of Gaborone on Sunday.

Her visit marks the second to sub-Saharan Africa by a member of the Obama family since the president took office more than two years ago.

President Barack Obama went to Ghana in 2009. The first lady made similar trips to Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. She will be accompanied by her mother, Marian Robinson, and two daughters, Sasha and Malia.

CNN

Angelina Jolie to visit Syrian refugees

Actress Angelina Jolie is a longtime goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency.Jolie will arrive in Istanbul and head to HatayMore than 8,000 Syrians have fled their country for TurkeyJolie is a U.N. refugee agency goodwill ambassador

(CNN) -- Actress Angelina Jolie, a longtime goodwill ambassador for the United Nations' refugee agency, will be headed to Turkey this week to visit Syrian refugees, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Jolie is expected to arrive in Istanbul and head to Hatay on Friday, according to the ministry, which accepted an application for her visit on Wednesday.

More than 8,000 Syrians have fled their country for Turkey to escape violence, including a military offensive in the Jisr al-Shugur area.

Jolie was named a goodwill ambassador for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in early 2001 and has visited more than 20 countries "to highlight the plight of millions of uprooted people and to advocate for their protection."

The U.N. office said her interest in "humanitarian affairs was piqued in 2000 when she went to Cambodia to film the adventure film 'Tomb Raider.' "

Jolie has won numerous acting awards, including a best supporting actress Academy Award for her performance in 1999's "Girl, Interrupted."

CNN's Yesim Comert contributed to this report

CNN

Pakistan plays China card with Prime Minister's visit (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) – Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's visit to China from Tuesday allows Islamabad to show it has another major power to turn to just as relations with the United States have turned increasingly strained after the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The visit is part of long-planned celebrations for 60 years of diplomatic ties but the vows of support from Beijing will be especially timely for Islamabad.

"This visit will be a show for the U.S., the Pakistani public and the wider world that Pakistan has other options," said Andrew Small, a researcher at the German Marshall Fund think tank in Brussels who has studied China's role in Pakistan.

"There's no impression that China could step into the United States' shoes, but it's a useful bargaining chip."

An already tense relationship with the United States, Pakistan's major donor, was badly bruised after U.S. forces on May 2 killed bin Laden in Pakistan where he appears to have been in hiding for several years.

Senior U.S. Senator John Kerry, speaking in Islamabad on Monday, warned that members of U.S. Congress were asking "tough questions" about aid to Islamabad over bin Laden, though he said ties were too important to be unraveled by the incident.

HANDSHAKES AND SMILES

In Beijing, Gilani has no worry of any public upbraiding.

"At least, this way Pakistan can tell the United States that it still has China to turn to, and China does indeed have to show support for Pakistan to help it get past its current hardships," said Hu Shisheng, an expert on China's relations with South Asian countries at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a government think tank in Beijing.

In an address to the nation about bin Laden's death, Gilani described China as an "all-weather friend" for Pakistan where the United States is widely distrusted despite the billions of dollars it spends there in aid, in large part to sustain the Pakistani military in the war against Islamist militants.

But Pakistan's government and military are too reliant on U.S. security and economic aid -- about $20 billion in the past 10 years -- to risk that alliance.

Nor does Beijing want to wade into volatile Pakistani politics, risking its own interests and alienating India, a big but wary trade partner, said several observers.

A STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVE? NOT YET

Chinese officials and state media have indicated that they will use the four-day visit to cast Beijing as a steadfast partner -- unlike Washington, described in one editorial as a fickle and demanding interloper.

"U.S. opinion has not only failed to criticize its own unilateralism in this action (against bin Laden) violating Pakistani territorial sovereignty, it has vilified Pakistan as a scapegoat for its own rough going in its war against terror," said an editorial on Monday in the overseas edition of the People's Daily, China's main official newspaper.

Business with China has been increasingly important for Pakistan's troubled economy. China has also been crucial to Pakistan's nuclear energy expansion, despite jitters in Washington, New Delhi and other capitals.

Beijing's support for Pakistan reflects its worries about instability spilling into its own western regions, especially heavily Muslim Xinjiang, said Hamayoun Khan, an lecturer at the National Defense University in Islamabad who studies China.

"Pakistan is a strategic ally of China, in terms of real politik," said Khan. "It's a counter-weight to India, and it's a counterweight to the U.S. interests in the region."

(Additional reporting by Sanjeev Miglani and John Chalmers in Singapore and Rebecca Conway in Islamabad. editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

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Queen's historic visit divides Irish

(CNN) -- It is a state visit that many in Ireland believed would never happen. But when the UK's Queen Elizabeth II lands in Dublin on Tuesday it will mark the reconciliation between two neighboring countries that once viewed each with suspicion and hostility.

Ireland's fight to free itself from its former imperial master is likely to form much of the narrative of the visit, the first by a UK monarch to the republic since it gained independence in 1921.

There will be constant reminders of the violent past. Her plane will touch down for example at Casement Aerodrome, a military airfield named after Roger Casement, who was executed for treason in 1916 for conspiring with the Germans. His fate was sealed when the queen's grandfather George V refused to commute his death sentence.

Like all foreign heads of state, the queen will then go to Dublin's Garden of Remembrance where she will pay her respects alongside Irish President Mary McAleese to "all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom."

Ireland battens down ahead of queen's visit

She will travel to another nationalist shrine, Croke Park, where British troops opened fire on a crowd watching a Gaelic football match in November 1920, killing 14. The massacre was sparked by the murder of 14 British intelligence officers by the IRA.

The Irish war of Independence that the killing was a part of directly led to partition of Ireland in 1921. The majority of the island gained independence but six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster chose to stay in the United Kingdom, eventually becoming the country of Northern Ireland.

When I was there the IRA cease-fire had collapsed, there was violence and killings, no surrender, no compromise. In those days there was no likelihood of the queen ever visiting.
--Journalist Toby Harnden

In the late 1960s the conflict between mainly Protestant unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK and largely Roman Catholic nationalists who want the North to be reunited with the rest of Ireland exploded into a political and sectarian war, known as the Troubles.

The three decades of ensuing violence between the IRA and loyalists claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, most of them north of the border, and while the Good Friday Agreement effectively ended the conflict, suspicions remain, and for this reason the queen's state visit is more than symbolic.

Under the terms of the landmark accord, terrorist groups on both sides dumped their weapons, and their political allies now work together in Northern Ireland's power-sharing government.

The change has been so rapid that even as recently as the late 1990s one journalist said he could never have imagined a state visit by the queen. Toby Harnden, who covered Ireland for the Daily Telegraph, said while some people on both sides still have their doubts over it -- for different reasons -- more significant is the peaceable language used in the debate.

"Some Catholics will see this as Britain cementing its claim over the Irish territory of the six counties of Northern Ireland," Harnden told CNN. Meanwhile "the Protestants will see the queen's visit as ratification of a state that they believe is constitutionally hostile to any British presence in Ireland. So on both sides there'll be qualms."

But the comment by Gerry Adams -- a pivotal figure in Northern Irish history as long-time leader of Sinn Fein, the IRA's political allies -- who said the queen's visit was "premature" speaks volumes, Harnden said, compared to incendiary language he had used in the past. For instance, "when the queen's cousin Lord Mountbatten was killed by the IRA in 1979 (Adams) said it was an execution that was fully justified."

"When I was there the IRA cease-fire had collapsed, there was violence and killings, no surrender, no compromise. In those days there was no likelihood of the queen ever visiting."

The spur for the change, Harnden believes, was the establishment in 1998 by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair of a public inquiry into the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, in which British troops shot dead 13 people at a civil rights march in Londonderry. The death of another man four and a half months later was also attributed to the injuries he received on that day.

"Bloody Sunday was a running sore, so the fact that Blair had a full inquiry was a surprise. And to have Conservative prime minister (David Cameron) stand up in parliament (in 2010) and apologize for what happened in 1972 was a significant moment in Irish history. The Catholic community didn't think there would be such a comprehensive dig back into history."

Given these conditions imposed by our friends in Europe, the British look like better friends than the Germans these days.
--Roy Foster, professor of Irish history at Oxford University

Without denying the benefits of peace, others in Ireland believe the queen's visit is long overdue, with the two countries having enjoyed good relations for many years.

They believe the visits by the queen and U.S. President Barack Obama the following week, security for which will cost 30 million euros ($42 million), is a distraction for a nation that has suffered a brutal downturn since the collapse of the "Celtic Tiger" economy in 2007.

Roy Foster, professor of Irish history at Oxford University, said the queen may even ask some pointed questions to Irish leaders about their handling of the recession.

"I think the visit is overdue and it seems to be the right time now," Foster told CNN. "Ireland needs some type of distraction, if not bread and circuses. The country is in a bad state: thanks to incompetent, corrupt and compromized politicians, criminal bankers and supine government regulators, we are now in hock to European financial institutions.

"I think the queen famously asked some representatives of the city of London, why did you not see all this financial meltdown happening, it would be quite amusing if she asked one of the Irish politicians that."

Foster said amid the recession London seemed friendlier than countries in mainland Europe. "The Irish look grimly at the French and Germans now because they imposed such conditions for the so-called bail-out which was an extremely hard bargain driven by powerful financial interest which will mark and I think cripple the Irish economy for years to come.

"Given these conditions imposed by our friends in Europe, the British look like better friends than the Germans these days," Foster added.

CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report.

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Ireland: What Queen Elizabeth II's First-Ever Visit Means (Time.com)

In the coming weeks, Ireland will host two of the world's most recognizable VIPs: Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama. And as the country gets ready, the taxi drivers of Dublin are seeing the careful - and sometimes inconvenient - preparations up close. "The police have been down every manhole in Dublin twice at this stage," says one, describing the increase in security that includes the inspection of the city's sewers for bombs.

Ireland is taking no chances with its high-profile guests: reports say that around 10,000 police officers and military personnel will be deployed over the course of the two visits. But it is the Queen's arrival in Dublin on Tuesday that makes the Irish police force most nervous. Not everyone in Ireland is happy to see the Queen, whose four-day visit - the first ever by a British monarch to the Republic - has put into action the state's biggest-ever security operation. (See pictures of the world's most beautiful tiaras.)

The reluctance of the Queen and her father King George VI before her to visit England's closest neighbor stems from centuries of British occupation of Ireland. While the Republic of Ireland fought its way to independence with the founding of the Free State in 1922 and establishment of the Republic in 1937, Northern Ireland stayed under British rule. Sectarian tensions between Catholic republicans and Protestant unionists in the region grew, until they erupted into three decades of violence, during which over 3,600 people were killed.

The Troubles, as they are called, ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. But until recently, the historical unrest made a visit by the Queen to the Republic seem an impossibility. So the announcement last month of her visit was viewed by some as a sign of political maturity. But the symbolism of the visit has also stirred up deep resentment among some Irish. On Easter Monday, a representative of the splinter sectarian group called the Real IRA appeared in a video statement wearing a balaclava and military clothing and referred to the visit as "the upcoming insult" and the government's invite as unrepresentative of the wishes of the Irish people. "The Queen of England is wanted for war crimes in Ireland and not wanted on Irish soil," he said. "We will do our best to ensure she and the gombeen [corrupt] class that act as her cheerleaders get that message." The statement also included a threat to kill more Northern Irish police officers just weeks after the murder of Catholic police officer Ronan Kerr in Omagh. (Read "Tragic but Not Troubled: The Murder of a Northern Irish Policeman.")

Meanwhile, the republican group Eirigi (Rise Up) has placed a countdown timer on its website, calling for the Queen's visit to be met with "widespread opposition and protest." The group is asking those against the visit to occupy the Garden of Remembrance, a memorial park in Dublin dedicated to those who fought for Irish freedom, which is part of the Queen's official itinerary. She will also go to Croke Park Stadium, the headquarters of Ireland's two national sports, Gaelic football and hurling, and the site of one of the bloodiest days of the War of Independence, when 14 civilians were killed by British forces retaliating the killing of British undercover agents earlier in the day.

For supporters, the Queen's visit is a chance to show how the U.K. and Ireland have "moved on" - a term that galls some Irish. But even Sinn Fein, Ireland's most staunchly republican political party, seems to have relaxed its earlier outright opposition. In a statement on the party's website on Saturday, leader Gerry Adams said, "I am for a new relationship between ... the people of Ireland and Britain based on equal and mutual respect. I hope this visit will hasten that day, but much will depend on what the British monarch says." (See more on Ireland's recent election.)

But given that the Irish are living under tight austerity measures after getting a $96 billion bailout from the E.U. and the International Monetary Fund, can the country even afford its famous guests? Security costs for the visits by the Queen and Obama a week later will reach an estimated $42 million, according to unconfirmed reports.

James Connolly Heron, the great grandson of James Connolly, an icon of the Irish struggle for independence, questions the appropriateness of spending taxpayers' money to play host when the country is broke. "It appears no consideration was given to paring down the visit as regards to where we are economically," he says, adding that he feels talk of Ireland "moving on" is nonsense given the level of security required during the Queen's time in the country. (See pictures of the British army leaving Northern Ireland.)

But Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has called both visits "an investment for the future," citing the benefits they will bring in the way of tourism and business. Given all the bad news surrounding the country of late, Kenny added, they could also be good for Ireland's image. And many Irish hope he's right. "The eyes of the world are going to be on Ireland, so hopefully the Queen's visit will showcase the country," says taxi driver Stuart Batt. "It's an opportunity for the world to view us positively in these negative times."

See TIME's complete coverage of the royal wedding.

See pictures of new hope for Belfast.

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Newlyweds William and Catherine to visit California in July

Prince William and Catherine, the newly wed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will visit California in early July.Prince William and Catherine will visit CaliforniaIt will be the her first visit to the United StatesWilliam and Catherine were married April 29

London (CNN) -- The newly wed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit California in July following their first official tour as a married couple in Canada, the royal family announced Thursday.

Prince William and Catherine are scheduled to be in California from July 8-10, Clarence House and St. James' Palace said in a statement.

The prince has never visited the United States in an official capacity, although he has come on a private trip. This will be the duchess' first time ever to come to the United States, the royal statement explained.

The couple married April 29, in an event watched by an estimated 2 billion viewers around the globe.

Prince William's father, Prince Charles, is currently in the United States. Wednesday, he visited a farm near Washington and met with President Barack Obama at the White House. Prince Charles is a longtime public advocate of sustainable and organic agriculture.

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