Free Republic

WASHINGTON - Two years after the nation's commando forces were given broad authority to attack terrorist networks, the elite units remain hampered by uncertainty over coordination, says the admiral chosen to head the U.S. Special Operations Command. Navy Vice Adm. Eric Olson said that while the command has the lead for "synchronizing" the Bush administration's global war on terror, enforcement of that expanded jurisdiction has been difficult. The command's "ability to drive behavior within (the Defense Department) is limited due to unclear definition of authorities," Olson said in a written response to a question from the Senate Armed Services Committee....

At Least 4 Killed, 27 Missing After Mudslide Covers Town LOS ANGELES -- Scattered rain showers lashed waterlogged Southern California again Tuesday, hampering efforts to find survivors buried by a mudslide in a coastal community and prompting hundreds to flee a mountain town below a rain-swollen reservoir and along rising streams. The succession of storms that have brought heavy snow to the mountains of Northern California and astonishing amounts of rain in the south was blamed for the deaths of at least 19 people. The National Weather Service said Tuesday that downtown Los Angeles had recorded its wettest 15 consecutive...