White House Debate Led to Plan to Widen Afghan Effort

Why is an expanded military effort in Afghanistan and Pakistan a good idea when and expanded war effort in Iraq was a bad idea?

The same Democratic Party that didn't see how it was feasible to establish a stable, Western-style government in a fairly sophisticated country like Iraq now sets its sights on the backwaters of Afghanistan and Western Pakistan for bigger military involvement. Even Joe Biden has his reservations, but it looks as if the bad Bush idea is now a brilliant Obama idea. Just saying....

White House Debate Led to Plan to Widen Afghan Effort

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President Obama announced a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan in Washington on Friday.

By HELENE COOPER and ERIC SCHMITT

Published: March 27, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s plan to widen United States involvement in Afghanistan came after an internal debate in which Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned against getting into a political and military quagmire, while military advisers argued that the Afghanistan war effort could be imperiled without even more troops.

John Moore/Getty Images

American Marines patrolled at a bazaar on Friday in the southwestern Afghanistan town of Delaram. The Marines have tightened security after recent bombings.

All of the president’s advisers agreed that the primary goal in the region should be narrow — taking aim at Al Qaeda, as opposed to the vast attempt at nation-building the Bush administration had sought in Iraq. The question was how to get there.

The commanders in the field wanted a firmer and long-term commitment of more combat troops beyond the 17,000 that Mr. Obama had already promised to send, and a pledge that billions of dollars would be found to significantly expand the number of Afghan security forces.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pressed for an additional 4,000 troops to be sent to Afghanistan — but only to serve as trainers. They tempered the commanders’ request and agreed to put off any decision to order more combat troops to Afghanistan until the end of this year, when the strategy’s progress could be assessed.

During these discussions, Mr. Biden was the voice of caution, reminding the group members that they would have to sell their plans to a skeptical Congress.

This article is based on interviews with half a dozen officials who were involved in the debate. All requested anonymity because they were discussing meetings that involved classified material and the shaping of policy.

Mr. Obama left a final White House meeting in the Situation Room last Friday signaling to participants that he was close to a decision, but that he wanted to get comfortable with what he was going to do. He mulled the issue while at the Camp David presidential retreat over the weekend. On Wednesday, he told his top aides that he had made up his mind.

In announcing a plan on Friday that could be his signature foreign policy effort, Mr. Obama said that he would send more troops — some 4,000 — but stipulated that they would not carry out combat missions, and would instead be used to train the Afghan Army and the national police. He left himself open to the possibility of sending more as the situation warrants.

The debate over the past few weeks offered a glimpse into how Mr. Obama makes decisions. In this case, he chose a compromise between his political and military advisers that some critics say includes some strategic holes, such as a reliance on the same sort of vague guidelines that proved difficult to carry out in Iraq. It also offers insight into the role of Mr. Biden and other members of a foreign policy team that includes many powerful figures vying for Mr. Obama’s attention.

In the end the plan is a compromise that reflected all of the strains of the discussion among his advisers, one that is markedly different, though perhaps no less difficult, from the goals his predecessor set for the region. In speaking of Afghanistan and Iraq, President Bush spoke of lofty goals that included building nations that could stand as models of democracy in the Muslim world.

By contrast, at a White House news conference in which he invoked concerns of another possible terrorist attack on United States soil, Mr. Obama framed the issue as one that relies on one central tenet: protecting Americans from attacks like the one that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.

To do so, he said he would increase aid to Pakistan and would, for the first time, set benchmarks for progress in fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban in both countries. “The United States of America did not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama said Friday in announcing his decision. “Nearly 3,000 of our people were killed on Sept. 11, 2001, for doing nothing more than going about their daily lives.

“So let me be clear: Al Qaeda and its allies — the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks — are in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he said. “We have a clear and focused goal to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future.”

Even as the White House emphasized its intention to create benchmarks to measure progress made by the Afghan and Pakistani governments in combating Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups, some Congressional officials briefed on the plan voiced skepticism about how realistic those goals were.

Part of Mr. Obama’s plan includes sending hundreds of additional diplomats and civilian experts into the region.

Admiral Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, submitted a classified review to the president, and among its 13 recommendations were to increase the number of American ground forces, with significant emphasis on “enablers,” such as the new training teams. He also called for rapidly expanding Afghanistan’s forces to take over security operations from the United States and NATO, as well as to expand the counternarcotics effort in Afghanistan and increase the ability of Pakistan’s military to carry out counterinsurgency operations.

During the 90-minute debate last Friday afternoon, Mr. Obama, flanked by his national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, on his left, and Mr. Biden on his right, went around the table to elicit the final views of his national security team.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Richard C. Holbrooke, the president’s top aide on Afghanistan and Pakistan, favored wide-ranging coordinated efforts which would concentrate on corruption in Afghanistan as well as focus on training local officials and transforming agriculture in the country away from the notorious poppy fields that have been used to fuel the Taliban insurgency.

During the debate, the senior administration officials said, Mr. Biden sought to put strict parameters on the size of the additional force deployed to Afghanistan and to ensure there was a specific mission for them. Mr. Biden also cast the debate in terms of what was achievable in Mr. Obama’s first term, administration officials said.

Mr. Biden, White House officials said, was heavily influenced by the trip he took to Afghanistan and Pakistan just before the inauguration in January. He observed to Mr. Obama that if you asked 10 people on the ground what American objectives were, he would get 10 different answers. That observation, aides said, carried weight with Mr. Obama and helped to lead to his decision to narrow the American goal in Afghanistan.

Mr. Obama is dispatching Admiral Mullen and Mr. Holbrooke to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India next week to explain his new strategy to leaders there.

Chief among the aims of the two men will be to try to get Pakistani and Indian officials, in particular, to turn down the volume in their never-ending conflict, in the hopes that the Pakistani military can turn its attention to the fight against insurgents in border regions, and away from fighting India.

Afghan Soldier Kills 2 G.I.’s

An Afghan Army soldier shot dead two United States servicemen and wounded a third before killing himself in northeast Afghanistan on Friday, the United States military said.

The Afghan soldier fired at the American troops, killing one and wounding two others, one of whom died later, the military said.

Thom Shanker and Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting.

U.S. Markets Soar on Treasury's Plan for Banks

When something seems too good to be true... it probably is. The following article explains that Wall Street is excited because of a plan to have investors buy "toxic" assets from banks and then auction them off to the highest bidders.

If I were an investor, I would certainly not be willing to buy these assets anywhere near what they were originally book at by the bank. In order to expect a profit from an auction, I would have to seriously discount assets so that there was room for bidders at an auction to purchase these assets at a lower price than they could purchase them through normal channels. That $600,000 home that now has a market value of $300,000 might have to be sold to investors at $200,000 so that a bidder at an auction could purchase it at $250,000 and walk away satisfied that their bid was worthwhile.

So would someone please explain why this is such a good idea? If it is such a good idea, why aren't the banks simply auctioning off those assets and eliminating the middle man?

U.S. Markets Soar on Treasury's Plan for Banks
Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, March 18, 2009 in New York. (AP
By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009; 4:57 PM

A last-minute surge sent stock markets up about 7 percent today following the Treasury Department's announcement of a new plan to help banks cleanse their balance sheets of toxic assets.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was up 6.8 percent, or 497 points, to 7776, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 7.1 percent, or 54 points, to 823. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 6.8 percent, or 99 points, to 1556.

The gains amount to a vote of confidence by investors in the program to purchase toxic assets, known as the Public Private Investment Plan. It calls for the government to partner with private investors to buy between $500 billion and $1 trillion in troubled real estate-related loans and securities that have poisoned financial institutions and destroyed investor confidence. Those assets will then be auctioned to the highest bidder, removing them from banks' balance sheets.

"I've heard the secret to success in business is to make plan C work, and I think that's essentially what we have here," said Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments for PNC Wealth Management.

The financial sector has been leading the charge with a nearly 10 percent gain. Citigroup was up 19.5 percent and Bank of America shot up 26 percent amid heavy trading late afternoon trading. Wells Fargo was up 23.9 percent, and J.P. Morgan rose 24.7 percent.

Energy stocks also rose sharply, gaining more than 8 percent, on news of a $15.6 billion merger between Canadian giants Suncor Energy and Petro-Canada that will create the country's largest energy firm. Shares of Petro-Canada on the New York Stock Exchange jumped 22 percent.

Investors also got an unexpected boost from news this morning that existing home rose sales 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.72 million in February compared to the previous month. Many analysts had expected the rate would fall. Still, home sales are still down about 5 percent from a year ago as prices continue to tumble throughout the country, but particularly in the west.

"The market's really trading more on psychology now than fundamentals," said Matthew Eads, portfolio manager and securities analyst for Atlanta-based Eads & Heald Investment Counsel. "Investors are really looking for anything to grab on that's a sign of good news."
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Across the world, stock markets also rallied on the Treasury Department's announcement. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 3.4 percent, or 270 points, to 8216, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 4.8 percent, or 614 points, to 13,447. In London, the FTSE 100 closed up 2.9 percent, or 110 points, to 3953.

U.S. stock markets have fluctuated wildly this month, hitting 12-year-lows before rallying over the past two weeks -- the first time since May that stock markets have had two consecutive positive weeks.

Bank robbery suspect drives himself to police station

By Gina Damron • Free Press Staff Writer • March 13, 2009

A man who allegedly robbed a bank in Lathrup Village was arrested today after he drove into a circle driveway in front of the Southfield municipal complex — where the Southfield Police Department is located.

Southfield police said they arrested the 24-year-old Detroit man, who had been carrying a loaded handgun.

Southfield Lt. Nick Loussia said the man robbed the Chase bank at 11 Mile and Southfield roads and then drove away, heading the wrong way on the eastbound I-696 service drive. Loussia was heading back from lunch when he heard a call about the robbery come over the radio. Then, as he drove east on the service drive he saw a “silver Monte Carlo flying right at me.”

He said the Monte Carlo clipped a patrol car on Evergreen. Loussia said the man then made his way to Central Park Boulevard and onto Civic Center Drive, which crosses Evergreen and ends at Southfield’s municipal complex.

The man pulled into the circle drive outside of the complex’s front entrance and police cars blocked him in, Loussia said.

He said the gun was recovered from the car.

Loussia said that, in addition to charges for allegedly robbing the bank, the man also faces fleeing and eluding charges. Loussia said the man will likely be arraigned Saturday.

31 Jobs Equals $76 Million?

The Obama stimulus plan will spend about 100,000 times more... so can we expect a total of 3,100,000 jobs to be created? The question is whether or not the "colossal waste of taxpayer funds" experienced in D.C. is a model for the U.S. From The Washington Post:

31 Jobs Equals $76 Million?

D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols is recommending that the city end the Certified Capital Companies program, which is run by the District Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, after concluding that it created just 31 jobs after $76 million in expenditures.

The program was created in 2004 to "stimulate the growth of small and start-up businesses in the District of Columbia," according to a report by Nichols. Increased income tax revenues generated by salaries from the newly created jobs were supposed to offset the insurance premium taxes used to fund the progam. With 31 jobs created, that repayment was a failure, according to the report.

Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) said she plans to take immediate action after an oversight hearing of DISB today.

"As Chairman of the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs the committee that has oversight of DISB, I will hold this agency accountable for this colossal waste of taxpayer funds," she said in a statement.

Arpaio allies outraged by feds' actions

Arpaio allies outraged by feds' actions
by JJ Hensley - Mar. 12, 2009 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

She was fighting mad.

The woman had seen enough of people speaking out against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's enforcement of immigration laws.

So, despite the presence of nearly 50 protesters and a phalanx of media outside the Sheriff's Office on Wednesday morning in downtown Phoenix, she made her way to the front of the scrum and let loose.

"He's the only one who upholds the law. . . . If you don't believe in the law, change it," said the woman, who was on her way to court and who would identify herself only as "a U.S. citizen."

Arpaio's supporters, from politicians to police officers to members of the public, were defending their sheriff, one day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it was launching an investigation into allegations that sheriff's deputies rely on racial profiling to root illegal immigrants out of the Valley. On Wednesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., also announced he would hold hearings into the complaints against the sheriff.

Arpaio's critics say the problems are with deputies unlawfully detaining U.S. citizens, not with the practice of handing over illegal immigrants for deportation.

"Up until this investigation, who was holding Arpaio accountable? Nobody," said Randy Parraz, an organizer with the Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability.

Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, predicted nothing will come out the Justice investigation, in part because Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials reviewed and approved Arpaio's use of the program that trains deputies to enforce immigration law.

The entire affair, Pearce said, is politically motivated.

"It stinks from high heaven," Pearce said. "This is outrageous conduct on the part of the federal government. They're violating their own laws. When you impede the enforcement of their own laws, it's a violation of their own laws."

Even those who question Arpaio's tactics were hard pressed to disagree with the notion that politics are playing a role.

Thomas Attwell, a Mesa resident, said that Arpaio played the politics card first and that his opponents are responding in kind.

"It means the Democrats are running Washington," Attwell said. "Isn't Arpaio the one who made it political? It's not like he went about his job quietly."

The way Arpaio goes about his work has won plenty of support in Maricopa County, where voters elected the sheriff to his fifth consecutive term in November by a wide margin.

The sheriff's efforts against illegal immigration are working, said Mark Spencer, a Phoenix police officer and Arpaio supporter who is president of a group that has pushed Phoenix police to adopt policies similar to Arpaio's.

"We do pro-active enforcement in all sorts of areas, whether they're narcotics or prostitution," Spencer said. "Just as important are maintaining and protecting a person's civil rights. If there are valid complaints that a department and/or an officer are violating a person's civil rights, I think that warrants attention to make sure that type of conduct ceases."

Arpaio has promised to not change his tactics, no matter who is calling for inquiries or conducting an investigation, a prospect that leaves critics with the prospect of learning to live with his brand of enforcement.

Donovan Morgan, who moved to Maricopa County from Gary, Ind., in the past year, said police there use "gang ordinances" to detain people who dress a certain way.

"You see a certain demographic and you pretty much go after them a certain way," said Morgan, 23. "They pull you over in Gary for wearing your hat cocked."

Gallup Poll: New high - 41% of Americans ‘now say global warming is exaggerated’

One degree of warming may not be enough in some places.


From Watts Up With That?

Young people are least likely to question "scientific" pronouncements. Perhaps that his because of their lack of "real-world" experience.

Gallup Poll: New high - 41% of Americans ‘now say global warming is exaggerated’
11 03 2009

EXCERPTS FROM GALLUP - complete poll story here

PRINCETON, NJ — Although a majority of Americans believe the seriousness of global warming is either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated, a record-high 41% now say it is exaggerated. This represents the highest level of public skepticism about mainstream reporting on global warming seen in more than a decade of Gallup polling on the subject.

As recently as 2006, significantly more Americans thought the news underestimated the seriousness of global warming than said it exaggerated it, 38% vs. 30%. Now, according to Gallup’s 2009 Environment survey, more Americans say the problem is exaggerated rather than underestimated, 41% vs. 28%.

The trend in the “exaggerated” response has been somewhat volatile since 2001, and the previous high point, 38%, came in 2004. Over the next two years, “exaggerated” sentiment fell to 31% and 30%. Still, as noted, the current 41% is the highest since Gallup’s trend on this measure began in 1997.

…

Notably, all of the past year’s uptick in cynicism about the seriousness of global warming coverage occurred among Americans 30 and older. The views of 18- to 29-year-olds, the age group generally most concerned about global warming and most likely to say the problem is underestimated, didn’t change.

Worst crisis since 1930s says Fed

The obvious has finally dawned on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. The question is whether it will become obvious to the rest of the government.

When you siphon off the manufacturing capabilities, the jobs, and the money to other nations, why would you be surprised?

Worst crisis since 1930s says Fed

Mr Bernanke says policymakers are ready to take additional steps.

US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke says the world is suffering from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Mr Bernanke argues that the roots of the current global economic downturn stem from global imbalances in trade and flows of capital in the late 1990s.

In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, he argues that the US and its trading partners did not do enough to redress these imbalances.

He also says future economic recovery depends on financial stability.

'Chronic' imbalances

Until we stabilise the financial system, a sustainable economic recovery will remain out of reach Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman

Mr Bernanke says the imbalances "reflect a chronic lack of saving relative to investment in the US and some other industrial countries, combined with an extraordinary increase in saving relative to investment in many emerging markets."

As a result, saving flowed into developed economies for more than a decade, despite low interest rates, he argues.

Risk management systems in the private sector and government regulation then failed to "ensure that the inrush of capital was prudently invested," he says.

Forceful action

Mr Bernanke calls for "forceful, coordinated" action to combat the financial crisis.

"Until we stabilise the financial system, a sustainable economic recovery will remain out of reach," he says.

Well-capitalised financial institutions are essential for any such recovery, he adds, before reiterating the Fed and the US Treasury's determination to "take any necessary and appropriate steps" to ensure that such organisations can function properly.

He outlines four areas that need to be addressed to ensure that a similar crisis does not develop in the future.

• The problem, often referred to as 'too big to fail', whereby an institution gets so big that its failure has serious consequences for the whole financial system.

• Financial rules and conventions - on trading, payments and clearing, for example - that underpin the financial system

• Regulation and accounting policies

• The creation of an authority to monitor and address systemic risk

Stimulus package

The US government has already taken a number of measures to combat the economic downturn sparked by the financial crisis.

Last month, the new Obama administration signed into law an economic stimulus plan worth about $787bn (£548bn).

The package included tax cuts, additional spending on infrastructure and aid to US states, which are having their own budget difficulties.

The Fed has also cut US interest rates down to between zero and 0.25% to try and stimulate consumer spending.

Mr Bernanke will be meeting other G20 finance ministers and central governors in the UK this weekend to try and agree a collective response to the economic crisis, ahead of the London G20 summit in April.

The problem is our government's response:

State: Detroit Public Schools current on reports

The Detroit Public Schools system is the model for how not to run a school system; inept, corrupt, and stupid.

State: Detroit Public Schools current on reports
2/26/2009, 1:48 p.m. EST
The Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan education officials say the Detroit Public Schools is up to date on documents required under a state-mandated consent agreement.

Education department spokeswoman Jan Ellis said Thursday the cash-strapped district has been able to prove it submitted the reports by mail or e-mail. The state initially believed a small number of the records had not been turned in.

Ellis says the documents included reports on district outsourcing, a facilities list, Council of the Great City Schools Implementation Report and service consolidation.

The state says the district is in a financial emergency and has appointed an outside manager to oversee its finances.

The district faces a budget shortfall of about $139 million for this fiscal year.

And now that system wins big thanks to Obama:

Michigan schools set to win big in stimulus

Granholm, lawmakers still debating final choices; utilities, cities want help too

BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF • FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU CHIEF • March 6, 2009

LANSING — Detroit Public Schools stands to reap $530 million — $355 million with no strings attached — from the federal stimulus package that will hand Michigan nearly $7 billion over two or three years.

That appears to make the district, which has an estimated $150-million deficit and finances so tangled the state recently appointed a manager to take the financial reins, the biggest Michigan winner in the stimulus sweepstakes.

I'm all for supporting better education... but no strings attached?

U.S. Unemployment Rate Jumps to 8.1 Percent

This marks a return to posting after 3-weeks of travel....

In Michigan the rate was 11.6% in January and going up from there. That's still a far cry from the Great Depression level of 24.9% in 1933... for the whole U.S. Still, it is not a rosy picture in "The Great Lakes State."

Now we have the Great Depression Party [aka Democratic Party] trying to push through the final nail in the Michigan manufacturing coffin... California emission and mileage standards. Given the low volume of domestic cars sold in California, the domestic manufacturers should simply inform their California dealers that they should plan on shutting their doors and, if they don't like that option, talk with their Governor and U.S. Congress-people about unemployment statistics and loss of state tax revenues. And with GM on the brink of bankruptcy, California's action will ensure that.

Of course, the California agenda is not set by rational people. Hope you like your "air cars."

Gallery

Long Lines of Job Seekers Continue as the Unemployment Rate Rises

People across the country search for jobs as, for the first time on record, all 50 states report increased unemployment rates.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

By Debbi Wilgoren

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 6, 2009; 1:27 PM

The nation's unemployment rate climbed above 8 percent last month and the economy shed 651,000 jobs, new data show, further evidence of the deepening recession that has devastated the stock market and home prices and triggered the largest government recovery effort since the Great Depression.

This Story

• U.S. Unemployment Rate Jumps to 8.1 Percent
• Jobless Rate 8.1 Percent, Biggest Bolt Since '83
• Small Firms Hiring Contractors at Lower Salaries
• Markets Lose Morning Gains After Jobs Report
• Friday, March 6, 1:30 p.m.ET: Economic Downturn Continues

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the jobless rate rose from 7.6 percent in January to 8.1 percent in February, the highest rate in more than 25 years. An estimated 12.5 million Americans were unemployed in February, the data show, an increase of 851,000 since January. More than 4.4 million people have lost their jobs since the recession began in December 2007, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said.

The government revised sharply upward the number of jobs the economy lost in December and January, showing a staggering 1.99 million jobs disappearing in the past three months.

More jobs were lost in each of those months than in any single month since October 1949, when the country was just pulling out of a painful recession (economists say direct comparisons to that era are difficult, however, because of changes in the labor force).

December had the most job losses, according to the revised figures, with 681,000 -- significantly more than the previous estimate of 524,000. The number of jobs lost in January rose to 655,000, up from a prior estimate of 598,000. An additional 651,000 jobs disappeared last month, the government said, illustrating the profound challenges of launching an economic recovery as employers continue to slash payrolls in a desperate effort to control costs.

The unemployment rate has shot up 3.2 percent since the recession began and is higher now than at any time since December 1983. Nearly 3 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or more.

The Obama administration has moved to stifle the job losses, primarily by approving an ambitious fiscal stimulus plan designed to plow money back into the economy. But the allocation of the money is just beginning, and the full effect of the spending probably will not be seen for some time.

Speaking to a group of newly minted police officers in Columbus, Ohio this morning, President Obama said the expensive and broadly drawn plan to invest in government and private sector jobs and infrastructure is a necessary response to a deep and dire recession.

"So many of you have been watching jobs disappear since even before this recession began," Obama said. "That is not a future I accept for the United States of America . . .

"Throughout our history we have met every great challenge through bold action and big ideas. That's what has fueled a shared and lasting prosperity . . . We have a responsibility to ourselves and to our children to do it again."

In an e-mailed statement, Solis said the government would "continue to do whatever is necessary to break the destructive cycle of job loss in this country and put Americans back to work."

The U.S. stock market opened higher this morning, then fell slightly, after sustaining sharp losses yesterday., Asian markets fell overnight.

The February data showed profound losses in the professional and business services sector, with 180,000 jobs gone. Some 168,000 jobs were lost in the manufacturing industry, with most of the decline in the durable goods sector. There were 104,000 construction jobs lost as projects stalled due to the collapse of the real estate industry and the ongoing credit crisis. The financial sector shed 44,000 jobs, retail lost 40,000 jobs and the leisure and hospitality industry reported 33,000 fewer jobs. Job growth continued, however, in the health-care sector.

Analysts say the pace of job cuts is likely to remain brisk for at least a few more months, because the demand for goods and services seems likely to remain very low as more consumers find themselves out of work. According to newly released data, the nation's productivity, a measure of goods and services produced per hour, fell at the end of last year. That suggests that demand for goods has dropped even faster than employers have been shedding jobs. Those who have lost their jobs are not eager to open their wallets, analysts say, while many of those who remain employed are cutting back because of fears about job security.

The new jobless numbers show that blacks and Hispanics are unemployed at higher rates than the national average. About 13.4 percent of blacks and 10.9 percent of Hispanics were looking for work in February, compared with 12.6 percent of blacks and 9.7 percent of Hispanics in January. The unemployment rate for whites rose to 7.3 percent, up from 6.9 percent the previous month. An estimated 6.9 percent of Asians were unemployed in February, up from 6.2 percent in January.

The number of people working part time because they cannot find full-time employment rose by 767,000 in February to 8.6 million, the government said.

The unemployment rate does not reflect people who say they would like to work full-time, but can only find part-time jobs, or who would like to be working but have given up finding employment because of the depressed market. When those categories are added to the number of unemployed -- technically those people who are actively seeking but unable to find jobs -- the government's "labor underutilization" rate measures 14.8 percent, up from 13.9 percent last month and 9.5 percent a year ago.

The average length of the workweek remained at a relatively low 33.3 hours for the third consecutive month.