The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • A3

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: ASEC DATE: 08-09-2007 EDITION: FLA ZONE: FLA PAGE: A3.0 DEADLINE: 20.6 OP: kchan COM POSETIME: 22.10 CMYK THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2007 A3 Orlando Sentinel NATION WORLD U.S. attack kills 32 in Shiite stronghold 'Threats' may spur Pakistan to declare state of emergency Officials blamed U.S. sentiment and failing law and order near the Afghan border. By MATTHEW PENNINGTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ISLAMABAD, Pakistan The government of embattled Pakistani President Gen. Per-vez Musharraf said Thursday that it may impose a state of emergency because of "external and internal threats" and deteriorating law and order in the volatile northwest near the Afghan border.

Tariq Azim, minister of state for information, said some sentiment coming from the United States, including from Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, over the possibility of U.S. military action against al-Qaeda in Pakistan "has started alarm bells ringing and has upset the Pakistani public." But it appeared the motivation for a declaration of an emergency would be the domestic political woes of Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the war During a state of emergency, the government can restrict the freedom to move, rally, engage in political activities or form groups and impose other limits such as restricting the parliament's right to make laws or even dissolving parliament. Musharraf is under growing American pressure to crack down on militants at the Afghan border because of fears that al-Qaeda is regrouping there. The Bush administration has also not ruled out unilateral military action inside Pakistan but, like Obama, has stressed the need to work with Musharraf.

Under Pakistan's Constitution, the head of state the president can declare a state of emergency if it is deemed that the country's security is "threatened by war or external aggression, or by internal disturbance beyond" the government's authority to control. If a state of emergency is to be extended beyond two months, it must be approved by a joint sitting of parliament, the constitution says. MASSOUD HOSSAINI FOR AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEGETTY IMAGES Pakistani representatives arrive Wednesday at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Tribal elders, Islamic clerics and other Pakistani and Afghan leaders will meet today to tackle a rising Taliban threat. The military says it targeted militants bringing money and bombs from Iran.

By DAMIEN CAVE THE NEW YORK TIMES BAGHDAD, Iraq A U.S. raid and airstrike killed 32 people in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City on Wednesday, in what U.S. military officials described as an assault on a militant network bringing in money and bombs from Iran. The U.S. attack coincided with an expanded curfew across Baghdad for a Shiite religious festival welcoming tens of thousands to the capital, and with a trip to Iran by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for discussions about security.

Hospital officials in the Sadr City district of Baghdad said the U.S. airstrike killed or wounded several civilians, though the military disputed that account. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S.

military spokesman, said the airstrike was called in against suspected gunmen who were surrounding a vehicle and who were moving toward U.S. troops who had been taking fire. He said 30 people around the vehicle were killed, and two more died during the raid, all of them combatants. "They called in an airstrike on a tactical formation of individuals, on people who were operating as a tactical unit," Garver said. "Those are the ones who were hit." U.S.

military raids causing Iraqi deaths, particularly in Sadr City, frequently lead to conflict ing stories. Residents describe some or all of the victims as innocent, while U.S. military statements typically label everyone killed by U.S. weapons as militants. Garver said intelligence indicated that at least one of the intended targets of the raid in which 12 people were detained acted as a liaison between the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Shiite Iraqi militias responsible for killing U.S.

troops with roadside bombs. "As we exploit information and we're ready to release information, we will," he said. In Tehran, al-Maliki began a three-day visit to hold talks on reining in violence in Iraq and to seek Iran's assistance to help bring Sunni Iraqis into the government, the Fars News Agency reported. Iraqi authorities, meanwhile, banned driving in the capital as thousands of Shiite pilgrims began moving toward a shrine in northern Baghdad to mark the anniversary of the death of a revered figure, Imam Moussa al-Kadhim. Soldiers were deployed about 100 yards apart on streets in parts of the capital.

Traffic was barred by barbed wire and warning signs. Army Lt. Col. Steven Miska, deputy commander of the brigade responsible for the area around the shrine, said U.S. troops were working carefully to protect pilgrims and reduce tensions with Iraqi security forces.

"Thank God security is OK so far I put it all in God's hands," said Muhammed Jabar, 47, who had walked to the shrine Wednesday from a nearby area. came hours after Musharraf abruptly announced he was canceling a planned trip today to Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was to attend a U.S. -backed tribal peace council aimed at curtailing cross-border militancy by the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The decision to cancel the trip appeared linked to the government's deliberations over declaring a state of on terrorism who took power in a 1999 coup. His popularity has fallen and his standing has been badly shaken by a failed bid to oust the country's chief justice an independent-minded judge likely to rule on expected legal challenges to Musharraf's bid to seek a new five-year presidential term this fall.

The Pakistani government's comments on a possible emergency declaration NEWS AT A GLANCE Iraq's deputy foreign minister, Labid Abbawi, urged neighboring countries to support its efforts to bolster security, and said he hoped a new regional body that was meeting for the first time would produce real results. But Saudi Arabia, a key regional player, was absent from the two-day meeting in Damascus, Syria, of the Security Committee for Coordination and Cooperation on Iraq, casting doubt on how effective it would be. Two Marines who pleaded guilty in the case of a slain Iraqi civilian have been released from military prison four months early. Pvts. Tyler Jackson and Jerry Shumate Jr.

were each sentenced to 21 months in prison as part of plea deals in which they admitted to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The two men were released to "ensure fair treatment," the Marine Corps said. A British serviceman has been killed in southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defense said Wednesday. The soldier from 1 Squadron, RAF Regiment the ground defense unit of the Royal Air Force was killed by small-arms fire in Basra late Tuesday. A total of 166 British personnel have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS Gainesville soldier killed in Baghdad had local ties JUSTIN LANEEFE A man views destruction from Wednesday's storm in Brooklyn, N.Y.The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in Brooklyn, where winds downed trees, tore off rooftops and wrapped signs around posts. The rare twister had winds as high as 1 35 mph. Storm cripples New York mass transit Thousands struggle to get to work as torrential rain floods subways, tunnels, runways brother, Eric, answered the door. Because of Army protocols requiring that parents or spouses be notified first, it was hours before the officers reached the Neibergers at the camp to tell them. "Of course, I assumed the worst," said Eric Neiberger, 23.

"But I didn't know for sure until five hours after they came here." After returning to Gainesville, Richard and Mary Neiberger drove back to the Orlando area Tuesday to break the news to their son's grandmother. Friends and family members filed into the Neibergers' home in Gainesville with casserole dishes and condolences for the soldier's three siblings. Army life suited Neiberger well, his family told the Sun. The last time they spoke with him by the phone a few weeks ago, he talked about seeking an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point after returning from Iraq and making the Army a career.

"The last time we talked, it seemed that he was really satisfied with his life," Neiberger-Miller said of her brother. "I think he was getting tired of being over there, but he felt a tremendous sense of camaraderie with his fellow soldiers, and he really felt like what he was doing over there was making a difference." COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS BAGHDAD, Iraq U.S. casualties in Iraq this month include an Army infantryman from Gainesville whose parents were in the Orlando area when they got the news that their son had been killed. The Defense Department said Army Spc. Christopher T.

Neiberger, 22, of Gainesville died Monday in Baghdad from wounds caused by a roadside bomb. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Schweinfurt, Germany. The former Eagle Scout had been on a 15-month deployment in Iraq since September, according to the Gainesville Sun. News about Neiberger's death trickled down to family members slowly, Ami Neiberg-er-Miller, Neiberger's older sister, told the Sun. His father, Richard Neiberger, is a pediatric nephrologist at Shands at the University of Florida.

He and Neiberger's mother, Mary, were volunteering at Camp Boggy Creek, a Paul Newman camp for chronically ill children in Eustis, when two Army representatives knocked on the door of their northwest Gainesville home Monday morning. Chris Neiberger's older By VERENA DOBNIKand DAVID CARUSO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK A torrential downpour sent water surging through New York's subway system and highway tunnels and across airport runways Wednesday, leaving thousands of commuters stranded and one big question: How could 3 inches of rain bring the nation's largest mass-transit system to a halt? The storm, which also spawned a rare tornado, hit just before dawn. By rush hour, the subway system was virtually paralyzed when pumping stations became overwhelmed. Bedlam resulted from too much rain, too fast; some suburban commuters spent a half-day just getting to work. "One big rain and it all falls apart," said Ruby Russel, 64, as she sat waiting on a train in Brooklyn.

She had been trying to get to Manhattan for three hours. The failure renewed a debate about whether the network of pumps, sewers and drains that protects the city's subways from flooding needs an overhaul. Every line experienced some sort of delay as track beds turned into streams gurgling with millions of gallons of rainwater. The washout was the third time in seven months that the subways were disrupted by rain. Metropolitan Transit Authority engineers were asked to report back to Gov.

Eliot Spitzer within 30 days with sugges-tions about how to deal with the chronic flooding. The National Weather Service said a tropical air mass dumped an extraordinary amount of rain in a short period of RICHARD DREWTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS During morning rush hour Wednesday, commuters on Manhattan's Upper West Side wait for a full New York City crosstown bus to open its doors which it never did. Most subway lines in the city experienced delays or diversions after torrential rain caused flooding. time. In one three-hour period, 2.5 inches fell on Central Park, while Kennedy International Airport recorded almost 3.5 inches.

In Manhattan, Times Square was one huge mess Wednesday, packed with many of the 4 million riders who rely on the subway system daily. Thousands waited for hours for any means of transportation, jostling one another to get on the few buses that arrived. The storms also created problems for the region's airports, where delays of up to an hour were reported. The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in Brooklyn, where winds downed trees, tore off rooftops and wrapped signs around posts. Tornadoes have hit New York City before, but not often.

The National Weather Service had records of at least five, plus sketchy detail on the previous reported tornado sighting in Brooklyn, in 1889. None was as strong as Wednesday's twister, which had winds as high as 135 mph. COLORSTRIP: I.