Posts Tagged ‘congress’

Taliban stronger than before troop surge: US lawmakers

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A Black Hawk helicopter of the US Army’s Task Force Lift “Dust Off”, Charlie Company 1-71 Aviation Regiment performs exercise at Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. — Photo by AP

WASHINGTON: The Taliban is stronger now than before President Barack Obama ordered a surge of US troops to Afghanistan, two senior US lawmakers said on Sunday, contradicting the administration’s assessment of the insurgency.

“I think we both say that what we found is the Taliban is stronger,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein told “Fox News Sunday” in an interview that included House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who agreed with her statement. The two lawmakers returned last week from a trip to Afghanistan.

The Defense Department said last week in a report to Congress that its surge of 33,000 extra troops in Afghanistan ordered in late 2009 had weakened the Taliban but that the insurgency remained resilient.

The report said overall insurgent attacks declined in 2011 for the first time in five years, even though violence increased in areas surrounding the Taliban’s southern stronghold of Kandahar, a region where US efforts have been focused since 2009.

Feinstein, a Democrat, said radical Islamist religious schools in Pakistan were providing new recruits to the Afghan insurgency.

“So an insurgency which one can expect will burn itself out after a period of time will not necessarily burn out,” she said.

Obama traveled to Kabul last week to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The deal sets out a long-term US role in Afghanistan, including aid and advisers, after most American and Nato combat soldiers withdraw by the end of 2014.

Rogers said there was a danger that Obama’s announcement of a date of withdrawal of US combat forces in Afghanistan and Washington’s decision to hold talks with the Taliban could undermine the US objective of denying a safe haven to terrorists.

“The first priority is to deny safe haven and that means a strategic defeat of the Taliban and we have to also defeat the safe havens in the tribal areas of Pakistan,” said Rogers, a Republican.

The Obama administration is due to pull the last of its 33,000 surge troops from Afghanistan by this fall, leaving around 68,000 US soldiers there.

Rogers and Feinstein both said the United States should designate the Haqqani network, an Afghan insurgent group believed to be based in Pakistan, as a terrorist organization.

“They’ve killed nearly 500 US troops. They are based in Miram Shah (in Pakistan) … This is something we have to be very aggressive to put an end to,” Rogers said.

The United States has repeatedly urged Pakistan’s military to launch a major offensive in North Waziristan to go after the Haqqanis, which have links to al Qaeda. Pakistan says it is already stretched fighting homegrown Taliban militants elsewhere near the Afghan border.

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Via DAWN.com

9/11 ‘mastermind’ back before Guantanamo judge

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Self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Muhammad—AP Photo

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE: The self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks declined to respond to a judge’s questions Saturday and his co-defendant was briefly restrained at a military hearing as five men charged with the worst terror attack in US history appeared in public for the first time in more than three years.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants appeared for arraignment at a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay on charges that include 2,976 counts of murder for the 2001 attacks.

The hearing quickly bogged down before they could be arraigned.

Mohammed repeatedly refused to respond to questions from the judge, Army Col James Pohl; prisoner Walid bin Attash was put in a restraint chair for unspecified reasons and then removed from it after he agreed to behave; and lawyers for all defendants complained that the prisoners were prevented from wearing the civilian clothes of their choice.

Mohammed wore a white turban in court; his flowing beard, which had appeared to be graying in earlier hearings and photos, was streaked with red henna.

Mohammed’s civilian lawyer, David Nevin, said he believed Mohammed was not responding because he believes the tribunal is unfair. Pohl warned he would not permit defendants to block the hearing and would continue without his participation.

”One cannot choose not to participate and frustrate the normal course of business,” Pohl said.

In the past, during the failed first effort to prosecute them at the US base in Cuba, Mohammed has mocked the tribunal and said he and his co-defendants would plead guilty and welcome execution.

But there were signs that at least some of the defense teams were preparing for a lengthy fight, planning challenges of the military tribunals and the secrecy that shrouds the case.

The arraignment is ”only the beginning of a trial that will take years to complete, followed by years of appellate review,” attorney James Connell, who represents defendant Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, told reporters gathered at the base to observe the hearing.

”I can’t imagine any scenario where this thing gets wrapped up in six months,” Connell said.

Defendants in what is known as a military commission typically do not enter a plea during their arraignment. Instead, the judge reads the charges, makes sure the accused understand their rights and then moves on to procedural issues.

Lawyers for the men said they were prohibited by secrecy rules from disclosing the intentions of their clients.          Jim Harrington, a civilian attorney for Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni prisoner who has said at one hearing that he was proud of the Sept 11 attacks, said he did not think that any of the defendants would plead guilty, notwithstanding their earlier statements.

Army Capt. Jason Wright, one of Mohammed’s Pentagon-appointed lawyers, declined to comment on the case.

As in previous hearings, a handful of people who lost family members in the attacks were selected by lottery to travel to the base to watch the proceedings. Other family members were gathering at military bases in New York and across the East Coast to watch the proceedings live on closed-circuit video.

Family members at Guantanamo said they were grateful for the chance to see a case they believe has been delayed too long.

Cliff Russell, whose firefighter brother Stephen died responding to the World Trade Center, said he hoped the case would end with the death penalty for the five Guantanamo Prisoners.

”I’m not looking forward to ending someone else’s life and taking satisfaction in it, but it’s the most disgusting, hateful, awful thing I ever could think of if you think about what was perpetrated,” Russell said.

Suzanne Sisolak of Brooklyn, whose husband Joseph was killed in his office in the trade center’s north tower, said she is not concerned about the ultimate outcome as long as the case moves forward and the five prisoners do not go free.         ”They can put them in prison for life.

They can execute them,” Sisolak said. ”What I do care about is that this does not happen again. They need to be stopped.

That’s what I care about because nobody deserves to have this happen to them.”

The arraignment for the five comes more than three years after President Barack Obama’s failed effort to try the suspects in a federal civilian court and close the prison at the US base in Cuba.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced in 2009 that Mohammed and his co-defendants would be tried blocks from the site of the destroyed trade center in downtown Manhattan, but the plan was shelved after New York officials cited huge costs to secure the neighborhood and family opposition to trying the suspects in the US

Congress then blocked the transfer of any prisoners from Guantanamo to the US, forcing the Obama administration to refile the charges under a reformed military commission system.

New rules adopted by Congress and Obama forbid the use of testimony obtained through cruel treatment or torture.

Gen Mark Martins, the chief prosecutor, said the commission

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Via DAWN.com

US intelligence, military at odds on Afghanistan: congressman

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. — Photo by AP

WASHINGTON: US military and intelligence officials are at odds about how the 11-year war in Afghanistan is faring as President Barack Obama presses ahead with a gradual withdrawal of US troops out of the country, a leading Republican lawmaker said Friday.

The US military is more optimistic about the state of the battle against Taliban insurgents than are intelligence officials on the ground in Afghanistan, said House intelligence committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who returned this week from a visit to the country.

“My biggest take away from the trip was the huge difference between what the military says…they believe the state of affairs is or our intelligence community believes the state of affairs is,” said Rogers, referring to officials he met during his visit to Afghanistan.

His comments came days after Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to sign a strategic pact with Kabul and deliver an election-year message to Americans on the anniversary of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s death.

The partnership pact sets out a long-term role for the United States in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when most Nato combat troops are scheduled to leave. The war started in the month after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

But Rogers said Afghanistan’s fate after 2014 is far from clear.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty. There is no certain plan yet about what it looks like when the drawdown happens,” he said.

“Nobody knows…the military didn’t know, the intelligence folks didn’t know, nobody had a good feeling about what happens next,” he added.

Other US and counterterrorism officials have said that counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan have recently showed success in pacifying swaths of territory where American and allied troops maintain a significant presence.

But even optimistic officials fear that any stability that currently exists in those areas could well deteriorate rapidly after US and allied troops permanently withdraw.

The US military sees the current situation as one in which the Taliban lose every battle fought against US forces.

“The Taliban have never won an engagement against the United States military, never, not one, zero,” Rogers said. “The military’s perspective is ‘Hey, they have never won a fight with us yet.’ True they have not.”

Taliban: Stronger today

But intelligence officials see the Taliban adjusting to avoid casualties and having strong recruiting, so they believe “the Taliban are stronger today than they were even a couple of years ago,” Rogers said.

“The Taliban have a clear political aim: to run the country. They want back,” Rogers said.

Counterterrorism officials say that the prospects for a stable, credible, and non-corrupt civilian government in Afghanistan remain poor for the long-term, and there is little optimism about what might happen after scheduled large-scale US withdrawals.

For military planners, the key question is whether Afghan security forces are up to the task of fighting the Taliban and providing sufficient security after Nato troops leave.

Rogers said Afghan special forces “are good” but it will be different without Nato support.

“The concern is when we don’t have this big footprint to help them be successful can they do it on their own? The consensus I got when I walked out of there was probably not,” he said.

With the US troop drawdown coming, “what worries everybody is this notion that it’s just going to be a special forces fight. That’s not sustainable,” Rogers said.

“That’s like going to Brooklyn saying we’re taking all the cops off the street but we’re going to have the best SWAT team in there. That’s probably not going to work. That SWAT team will be awful damn busy,” he said.

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Via DAWN.com

Romney, Santorum in fence-mending meet

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US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney — Photo Reuters

WASHINGTON: Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum met Friday to do some fence mending after a bitter campaign, but Romney said he is not expecting his former rival’s formal backing just yet.

“I don’t think we have plans for an endorsement today,” Romney told Fox news when asked about the private tete-a-tete in Pittsburgh, but he added that “I think all the Republicans will come together and support my candidacy.”

The two Republican stars jousted for months on the campaign trail over who was the truer conservative, and it got heated on several occasions, with ex-senator Santorum accusing Romney of tacking to the right in order to win over core conservatives, with whom Santorum has tremendous sway.

The pair met alone in the office of senior Santorum strategist John Brabender, who said there was no formal agenda for their talk.
“A lot of it will be a casual conversation,” he told AFP before the meeting.

Brabender dismissed the possibility that Santorum would emerge from the talks and immediately endorse his former rival, stressing that there would be no negotiations Friday over a possible cabinet post in a Romney presidency.

“I can assure you there won’t be any discussion on a position on his team,”he said. “But there will be some discussion of issues that the senator is passionate about.”Arch-conservative Santorum spoke repeatedly at campaign events about social themes like abortion and gay rights, two bedrock conservative issues on which Romney has changed his position over the years.

When Santorum dropped out of the race April 10 after a surprisingly strong grass roots campaign that began last year in a pick-up truck, he did not mention Romney’s name.

But the Republicans must close ranks if they want to keep President Barack Obama from winning re-election in November.
Two weeks ago on CNN Santorum sidestepped efforts by host Piers Morgan to get him to endorse Romney, but said a Republican win in November was paramount.

“It’s very clear that he’s going to be the Republican nominee,” Santorum said.

“I’m going to be for the Republican nominee. We’re going to do everything we can to defeat Barack Obama.”

Experts have spoken of lingering bad blood between the two Republicans, and Democrats were giddy Friday in using Santorum’s own words against Romney, a millionaire former businessman.

Democratic National Committee communications director Brad Woodhouse cited Santorum’s campaign comment in which he said “if Mitt Romney’s an economic heavyweight, we’re in trouble, because he was 47th out of 50 in job creation in the state of Massachusetts when he was governor.”

Newt Gingrich, a diehard challenger for the Republican nomination, officially quit the campaign this week and endorsed Romney.

Libertarian-leaning congressman Ron Paul remains in the race but he has no chance of defeating Romney.

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Via DAWN.com

Pen friends: Rohrabacher writes letter to Gilani, calls Pakistan a ‘failed state’

WASHINGTON: US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has written a letter to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, condemning the recent violence in Balochistan and has dubbed Pakistan a “failed state.”

According to a copy of the letter received from the Congressman’s Washington DC press office, Representative Rohrabacher cites media reports that policemen killed four people in “unprovoked and
indiscriminate” firing during a raid on a house in Balochistan. Rep. Rohrabacher called it “yet another example in a seeming never ending line of stat sponsored violence targeting the Balochi people.”

Congressman Rohrabacher, who is also the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, in his letter, adds, “it has become increasingly clear to members of the US Congress that Pakistan is a failed state and no amount of US aid money will ever change that.”

Rep. Rohrabacher warned that US aid assistance for Pakistan will dry up once US forces leave Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s leverage over the US will diminish as a result. “It is clear that the Pakistani military and intelligence services have for years diverted money intended to help the people of Balochistan, and the other provinces of Pakistan, into funding terrorism and buying weapons to repress their own people.”

In his letter, Rep. Rohrabacher says that until Pakistan’s government and military deny ethnic groups in the country their right to self-determination, the country’s future will “remain bleak and marred by political violence”. He added that he has long held India to the same standard as well.

The Congressman’s letter to PM Gilani says, “the Baloch people have a right to choose their own political structure and America will no long (sic) play a willing role in helping your government to oppress them.”

Prior to this letter, Rep. Rohrabacher had introduced a house concurrent resolution, asking for the Baloch people to be given the right to self-determination. He has also introduced bills asking for Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped CIA confirm Osama’s presence at the Abbottabad complex, to be given US citizenship and be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Rep. Rohrabacher also chaired a Congressional hearing on the human rights situation in Balochistan in
February this year, where-in he called for the Baloch to be given their right to self determination.

NATO supply routes closure causing massive equipment backlog: US DoD

WASHINGTON: The US Department of Defense’s (DoD) semi-annual Afghanistan report says the closure of the Nato supply routes in Pakistan has led to the backlogging of thousands of tons of equipment.

In the report on progress towards Afghanistan’s stability and security that is based on events from October 2011 to March 2012 and has been submitted to Congress, the Department of Defense says that the closure of the Pakistan Ground Lines of Communication (GLOCs) remains a strategic concern. “Failure to settle the GLOC issue will also significantly degrade redeployment and retrograde operations in support of the drawdown of coalition forces.”

The report cites the impact the closure of the Nato supply routes has had on equipment needs for Afghan forces. The Nato supply routes were closed in October 2011, after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a Nato strike on the Pak-Afghan border.

The Afghan National Police remains under-equipped, says the report, and there will be shortages of equipment especially vehicles for Afghan National Army (ANA) units due to the closure of the GLOCs. Over 4000 vehicles meant to be used for the ANA, said the DoD report, remain stranded in Pakistan. “Reopening the GLOCs would improve the US and coalition forces’ mission flexibility and build capacity.”

US forces in Afghanistan have been relying primarily on the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) through Central Asian nations for sending supplies to forces. The report says that it has “ensured the sustainment needs of coalition forces and allowed initial proof of principle shipments for retrograding material from Afghanistan to the United States” through the NDN.

However, “the closure of the GLOCs has had a more limited effect on communications equipment and weapons, the delivery of which continues via air lines of communication (ALOCs). Fielding priorities for the next 180 days are expected to be met if Pakistani GLOCs are restored.”

The closure of the GLOCs has also had an impact on the completion of the Kandahar-Helmand Power Plant program, and has created a backlog of electrical materials required for the project, says the report. DoD says that unless the border reopens or alternate routes are used, which will increase the cost of the project, the US could see a “potentially one-year delay in getting Kandahar distribution upgrade materials in the country.”

Safe havens in Pakistan

The DoD report says that the insurgent safe havens in Pakistan including the Haqqani network’s presence in North Waziristan are among the reasons why the security situation in eastern Afghanistan remains volatile.

The report also said that while attacks decreased by eight percent as opposed to the same time last year, 34% of all attacks in the country were in eastern Afghanistan, which had increased by 3% as opposed to the same period last year.

The report also calls safe havens in Pakistan and the “limited capacity of the Afghan government” as the biggest risks to Afghanistan’s security and transforming the state into a durable and sustainable one. Additionally, the report says that Kandahar remains a contested province in Afghanistan, partly due to the “insurgent safe havens and freedom of movement across the border in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.”

“The insurgency benefits from safe havens inside Pakistan with notable operational and regenerative capacity. The insurgency remains a resilient and determined enemy and will likely attempt to regain lost ground and influence this spring and summer through assassinations, intimidation, high-profile attacks, and the emplacement of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Additionally, the Afghan Government continues to face widespread corruption that limits its effectiveness and legitimacy and bolsters insurgent messaging.”

“Pakistan’s selective counterinsurgency operations, passive acceptance – and in some cases, provision – of insurgent safe havens, and unwillingness to interdict material such as IED components, continue to undermine security in Afghanistan and threaten ISAF’s campaign.”

While citing meetings between Afghanistan and Pakistan’s leadership, the report says, “pervasive mistrust, long-standing tensions, and divergent strategic interests continue to make genuine cooperation difficult.”

“Pakistan continues to seek a stable, secure Afghanistan, an Afghan government with primacy for Pashtuns, and limited Indian influence. To this end, Pakistan has allowed an insurgent sanctuary in its border areas to persist, offering a safe haven to Afghan Taliban and associated militant groups including the Haqqani Taliban Network in North Waziristan Agency. Pakistani leaders have tolerated this due to their concerns that Pakistan will be left alone to confront an unstable, an unfriendly, or an Indian-influenced Afghanistan on its borders. Accordingly, Pakistan seeks to play a key role in the peace and reconciliation process to advance a political settlement that considers Pakistani interests.”

Al Qaeda relying on Haqqani leaders 

The Department of Defense report also says that even though al Qaeda has been degraded, it is increasingly relying on a “shrinking cadre of experienced leaders primarily inside a Haqqani-facilitated safe haven in North Waziristan.”

“The insurgency’s funding comes “from a variety of external sources, including Persian Gulf-based donors, state and non-state actors in Pakistan and Iran, and various transnational and criminal enterprises, but remains dependent on poppy cultivation and the narcotics trade as its primary source of revenue. Insurgents suspend operational efforts to provide labour for the poppy harvest, which typically begins in April and continues to June, as revenue from the poppy harvest is critical to insurgent operations throughout the year.”

Pakistan-based outfits, said the report, also support the insurgency through sanctuary, training infrastructure, and financial and operational support. “The insurgency also receives material support from Iran, although to a lesser degree than from Pakistan.” The report cites the corridor from Pakistan’s Kurram Agency through Azra District as the most vulnerable area in the east of Afghanistan.

The report says that the implementation of the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement has not been realised due to political tensions between Pakistan and India.

Cricket comes before politics for me: Tendulkar

“I don’t think I will stop cricket and go into politics. Cricket is my life and will always be.” -Photo by AFP

NEW DELHI: Batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar said Tuesday he was “honoured” to be nominated to India’s parliament but stressed that cricket would remain his priority as long as he keeps playing.

Last week, Tendulkar was offered one of the 12 seats in the upper house of parliament that are reserved for those who have distinguished themselves in various fields such as the arts, sciences or social services.

“When you get nominated because of your contribution in your field, it’s an honour. I was excited to be nominated,” Tendulkar, 39, told a televised press event in Pune in western India.

“I don’t think I will stop (playing) cricket and go straight into politics.
I will keep playing cricket. Cricket is my life and will always be,” he added.

Tendulkar has not formally accepted his nomination, but such honours are rarely handed out without the prior agreement of the nominee.

It is unclear exactly when Tendulkar might take up his seat.

The “Little Master’s” nomination has raised eyebrows in India, with questions over how the cricketer, who has previously steered clear of politics, could balance his sporting commitments with his duties as an MP.

Some former players have also wondered if the batsman may lose his universal popularity in India as the proposal to nominate him came from the ruling Congress party.

Opposition parties were quick to criticise the move as an attempt by the beleaguered government to distract attention from its difficulties over a series of graft scandals and accusations of policy paralysis.

“What is Tendulkar going to do in the Rajya Sabha? He has no scope there,”Bal Thackeray, head of the regional Shiv Sena party, told reporters in Mumbai.

Tendulkar, however, stressed that his nomination had nothing to do with politics.

“I have played cricket for 22 and a half years. And I understand that I was nominated because of this reason. I am not a politician,” he said.

“There are many responsibilities on me. I would definitely like to contribute in the field of sports because that is my expertise,” the player added.

Tendulkar has played more Tests (188) and one-day internationals (463) than any other player since his debut in 1989.

He is the highest run-getter in both forms of the game and in March became the first batsman to complete 100 international centuries – 51 in Tests and 49 in one-dayers.

The batsman is currently playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, a franchise-based Twenty20 competition.

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Storm clouds gather over India economy

This file picture taken on April 25, 2012 shows a building under-construction in a business district of Mumbai. Standard and Poor on April 25, 2012 downgraded India’s credit outlook to negative as a weakening economy and gaping fiscal deficit put the country’s prized investment-grade rating at risk. – AFP

NEW DELHI: India’s economic star is fading fast as a spluttering economy and reform paralysis put the country’s prized investment-grade rating at risk and spook foreign investors.

The latest bad news came Wednesday when Standard & Poor’s cut India’s credit outlook to negative, saying the nation’s investment grade rating faced a one-in-three chance of being downgraded to junk.

It isolated “political gridlock” as a key factor behind the warning.

But with Premier Manmohan Singh’s unruly coalition hobbled by graft scandals and infighting, analysts are deeply sceptical the Congress-led government can set the economy to rights.

Nobody should “hold their breath for a born-again government,” said Rajeev Malik, economist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

“Coming from the most conservative of the rating agencies, it’s a wake-up call for the government to do something meaningful soon,” he said of the S&P announcement.

But given government “policy paralysis”, the situation “is unlikely to change substantially”, he added.

In 2007 S&P raised India’s credit rating to BBB-, the lowest investment grade, a landmark that allowed the country to tap new sources of capital by clearing the way for global funds to invest in New Delhi’s debt.

But now “there’s at least a one-in-three chance we may move the rating down in the next 24 months” if “growth prospects diminish” or reforms remain stalled, said S&P credit analyst Takahira Ogawa.

Growth in Asian rival China is also slowing but ratings agencies have kept their outlook on Beijing’s A ratings positive thanks to its strong fiscal position.

Investors have been waiting for India to reduce the role of the state, ease red tape on business and open its doors wider to foreign investment.

But elections are due within two years and Kotak Mahindra Bank economist Indranil Pan said that “given the political scenario, any big-ticket reforms will be difficult”.

Stubborn inflation is also likely to keep interest rates high, weighing on growth.

A sovereign credit downgrade to junk status – which means a higher default risk – would force India to pay higher interest rates on international borrowings and discourage foreign investment urgently needed to upgrade its shabby roads, ports and other infrastructure.

Until recently, the country of 1.2 billion people was a must-have in foreign investor portfolios. But interest has waned with investors jittery about graft and policy U-turns, as well as infrastructure bottlenecks and slowing growth.

The economy grew by 6.9 per cent in the last fiscal year, the second slowest pace in a decade, while the fiscal deficit was a record 5.9 per cent of gross domestic product and the trade deficit was up by 57 per cent.

New plans to impose capital gains tax liabilities for foreign firms have also disheartened investors.

The new US ambassador to India, Nancy Powell, told a business audience in New Delhi on Friday curbs on foreign investment and other policies had caused “significant concern and dampen sentiment about India’s investment climate”.

Ratings agency Moody’s has kept its outlook stable for India.

But Moody’s Analytics economist Glenn Levine said the government does not have the “leaders to push through tough-minded reforms needed to drive the next wave of growth”.

Even before the S&P warning, foreign portfolio investment was showing a net outflow. Direct investment is also sluggish while traders expect the rupee to hit new lifetime lows against the dollar in coming months.

Some see a return to junk status as inevitable.

“India has no light on the horizon,” Cyrus Daruwala, managing director at IDC Financial Insights, told CNBC.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee says the government is “confident of overcoming difficulties” and “there is no need for panic”.

At the same time, he has repeatedly said he should not be blamed if he is unable to boost the economy, citing “the political situation on the ground”.

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US found Zia ‘most patriotic liar’ on nukes, reveal declassified memos

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Photo of former Pakistani military ruler Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. “Either he (Zia) really does not know or is the most superb and patriotic liar I have ever met,” US diplomat Vernon Walters wrote to the State Department, as revealed in secret US diplomatic memos declassified Thursday.—File Photo

WASHINGTON: US officials concluded in the 1980s that Pakistan was lying about its nuclear program but muted criticism due to Islamabad’s support against the Soviets in Afghanistan, declassified documents showed.

The memos released Thursday reveal some of the behind-the-scenes drama between the United States and Pakistan during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, foreshadowing current-day debates in the uneasy war partnership.

The documents included an account of a secret mission in June 1982 by a US envoy who confronted Pakistani military ruler Mohammed Zia ul-Haq with a letter from Reagan and said the United States had “incontrovertible” proof that Pakistan was seeking nuclear weapons.

The emissary, veteran US diplomat and translator Vernon Walters, said that Zia was “extraordinarily courteous, relaxed” and explained that he had no knowledge of nuclear weapons development but would check with his subordinates.

“Either he really does not know or is the most superb and patriotic liar I have ever met,” Walters wrote to the State Department.

The documents, some obtained after requests under the US Freedom of Information Act, were released to the ,National Security Archive at George Washington University,, which made them available to AFP in advance.

Pakistan tested an atomic bomb in 1998, days after tests by neighbouring India. The United States banned assistance to Pakistan in 1990 – soon after the Soviets left Afghanistan – after concluding that it was developing nuclear weapons.

But Reagan exempted Pakistan from a law requiring sanctions, named after then senator Larry Pressler, even though the memos said that officials knew that the country was moving toward nuclear weapons.

The documents showed that the Reagan administration was genuinely concerned about Pakistan’s nuclear program, fearing it would trigger instability, and repeatedly warned Zia that Congress could cut off assistance.

“There is overwhelming evidence that Zia has been breaking his assurances to us. We are absolutely confident that our intelligence is genuine and accurate,” then secretary of state George Shultz wrote in a November 1982 memo to Reagan.

But Shultz recalled the “essential role” played by Zia in Afghanistan, where US and Pakistani agents funneled weapons to Islamic guerrillas who successfully fought a Soviet invasion.

“A rupture of our relationship would call into question a central tenet of this administration’s foreign policy – strong support for our friends,” Shultz wrote, calling the Afghan effort “the most visible evidence of the US commitment to counter Soviet military thrusts worldwide.” The memos said that as far back as 1982, US intelligence detected that Pakistani agents were seeking suspicious items from countries including Belgium, Finland, Japan, Sweden and Turkey.

Years later, such efforts were discovered to be the work of scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb. He is also accused of running a vast international black market of nuclear goods.

One secret assessment said that Pakistan was already believed to have enough for one nuclear weapon by October 1985 with assistance from China.

The US memos acknowledged that Pakistan was unlikely to comply with US pleas on its nuclear program in light of its concern over India, which has fought three full-fledged wars with Pakistan since independence in 1947.

The documents said that the United States was also urging “restraint” from India, which had strained relations with Washington during the 1980s.

Despite the criticism of its nuclear program, the United States resumed assistance to Pakistan to the tune of nearly $20 billion after it again offered support in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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Indian legend Tendulkar offered political role

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Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar reacts after scoring his hundredth century during the one day international (ODI) Asia Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. – Photo by AFP

NEW DELHI: India’s prime minister has put forward batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar for membership of the upper house of parliament, reports said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has written a letter to the president recommending the cricketer be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the NDTV news channel quoted sources as saying.

Tendulkar, who turned 39 this week, was in New Delhi to play an Indian Premier League match for the Mumbai Indians against the Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, Tendulkar and his wife had called on ruling Congress party president Sonia Gandhi at her residence — a meeting described as a “courtesy visit” by the local media.

The vast majority of the 250 seats in the upper house of India’s parliament are filled by members elected by the legislatures in their home states.

But 12 seats lie in the favour of the president and are normally awarded to people who have excelled in such fields as the arts, science and sport.

Tendulkar’s name is among four that the government has recommended to the president to fill seats currently lying vacant, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

Tendulkar made his international debut in 1989 and has played more Tests (188) and one-day internationals (463) than any other player.

He is the highest run-getter in both forms of the game and last month became the first batsman to complete 100 international centuries — 51 in Tests and 49 in one-dayers.

Reports of his Rajya Sabha nomination are likely to spark fresh speculation about his immediate future, although Tendulkar himself has dismissed talk of retirement anytime soon.

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US eyes options to restart Afghan peace talks

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US President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in New York September 20, 2011. – Photo by Reuters

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s administration, seeking to revive stalled Afghan peace talks, may alter plans to transfer Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison after its initial proposal fell foul of political opponents at home and the insurgents themselves.

As foreign forces prepare to exit Afghanistan, the White House had hoped to lay the groundwork for peace talks by sending five Taliban prisoners, some seen as among the most threatening detainees at Guantanamo, to Qatar to rejoin other Taliban members opening a political office there.

In return, the Taliban would make its own good-faith gestures, denouncing terrorism and supporting the hoped-for talks with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

While that plan has not been scotched entirely, several sources familiar with preliminary discussions within the US government said the United States may instead, as an initial gesture meant to revive diplomacy, send one of those detainees directly to Afghan government custody.

The sources identified the detainee as a former Taliban regional governor named Khairullah Khairkhwa, who is seen by American officials as less dangerous than other senior Taliban detainees now held at the US military prison in Cuba.

No final decision appears to have been made on Khairkhwa’s fate.

A senior Obama administration official, while not disputing that Khairkhwa’s unilateral transfer had been suggested, cautioned that it was still at a “brainstorming” level. The onus was still on the Taliban to show it is interested in Afghan reconciliation, he said.

“It’s most definitely not policy,” said the senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “At the moment we’ve made clear what we expect from reconciliation … and the Taliban understand that, full stop.”

More than a year ago, the White House launched what began as a secretive diplomatic bid to coax the Taliban, the Islamist group that ruled Afghanistan until 2001, into peace talks. That campaign has become central to US strategy as officials conclude the Afghan war will not end on the battlefield alone.

It remains far from clear whether the Taliban would embrace sharing power in Afghanistan and whether the militants are cohesive enough to agree on a joint diplomatic approach.

But Washington’s strategy, before a May summit of Nato leaders in Chicago, is to build on what officials see as military progress against the Taliban, and encouraging signs from the Afghan and Pakistani governments, to heap pressure on the group.

“As we head into Chicago obviously we’ll continue to highlight each of those (areas) and we’ll continue to work with Congress,” the US official said.

The Chicago summit is expected to further detail plans for the withdrawal of most of Nato’s 130,000 troops there by the end of 2014 and set the course for future ties between Afghanistan and the West.

A Long Shot, But Few Alternatives

US efforts to broker the talks were dealt a blow last month when the Taliban suspended its participation and appeared to reject even minimal restrictions for prisoners transferred to Qatar.

From the beginning, a transfer of Taliban prisoners has posed major political risks for Obama in an election year.

US lawmakers from both parties, but particularly Republicans, have warned that prisoners such as Mullah Mohammed Fazl, a “high-risk” detainee and former Taliban military commander alleged to be responsible for the killing of thousands of minority Shia Muslims, might rejoin militant operations.

The transfer proposal has also been divisive within the Obama administration. Because Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, under US law, must personally approve the transfer, Pentagon officials worry their agency will be deemed responsible for any future actions by those detainees.

Partly for those reasons, US negotiators are now focusing on Khairkhwa. Once the Taliban’s governor of western Herat province, he was also a Taliban spokesman and interior minister.

The senior US official said Karzai has been asking the United States for years to send Khairkhwa, imprisoned since 2002 at Guantanamo Bay, back to Afghanistan. The Taliban has long demanded release of its prisoners, in part as a good-faith move.

US military assessments that have been made public characterize Khairkhwa as a ‘high-risk’ detainee and a ‘direct’ associate of the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

But they also describe him as more of a civilian than a military figure, and he is said to be a friend of Karzai.

Khairkhwa was captured in Pakistan in early 2002, allegedly while seeking to negotiate surrender and integration into the new Afghan government.

“If you were to take all the senior leaders associated with the Taliban since the start of the movement, and try to find the inclusive figures, acceptable to fellow Afghans and competent to work for a political agreement, Khairkhwa would definitely be in the top five,” said Michael Semple, a former UN official with more than 20 years experience in Afghanistan.

Setbacks

Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, under the leadership of the late former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, had advocated for Khairkhwa’s release, saying he might play a positive role in the peace process.

“The cause of Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa is good for peace, and totally acceptable to Karzai,” Semple said, in part because Karzai and Khairkhwa both come from the Popalzai tribe.

Last year, a US federal court rejected a challenge to Khairkhwa’s detention by his lawyers, and an appeal is now pending.

If a unilateral transfer were approved, Khairkhwa would be moved to Afghan custody in a country other than Qatar, without involvement of the Taliban. It was not immediately clear whether this might mean a transfer directly back to Afghanistan.

The transfer would still require the Obama administration to notify Congress 30 days ahead of time. But the hope is that Khairkhwa’s transfer would avoid the furor in Congress that moving the other prisoners might bring.

Efforts to salvage the peace process follow a series of US setbacks in Afghanistan: bloody riots caused by soldiers’ burning of the Koran; a staff sergeant’s alleged massacre of 17 villagers; and an 18-hour militant assault of Kabul last week.

Still, officials point to statistics charting a drop in ‘enemy-initiated attacks’ this spring. They were encouraged by recent steps to finalize a deal outlining the US-Afghan relationship, along with statements of support for the peace process by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

US officials hope to use all these developments to coax the Taliban’s leadership, under pressure from less senior fighters who oppose negotiations, to formally resume talks.

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US to support govt chosen by Afghans: Crocker

US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said his country would support any government system backed by the Afghan people. A visiting group of US Congressmen and leaders of the Afghanistan National Front (ANF) suggested a parliamentary model as a suitable alternative to the present presidential system. Crocker, who arrived in Kandahar city, capital of southern Kandahar province, said the visit …

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Kabul shuts door on Rohrabacher

Kabul – A senior US Congressman who is highly critical of the Afghan government has been prevented from entering the country, Afghan officials say.Officials told the BBC that Dana Rohrabacher had been refused a visa and was prevented from boarding a flight to Afghanistan from Dubai.He has criticised alleged government corruption and Afghan officials accuse him of undermining national …

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US, Afghanistan reach deal on strategic pact

President Hamid Karzai’s (above R ) office said Sunday, April 22, 2012 that Afghan and US officials have finalized a long-awaited strategic partnership deal. The statement from the presidency says officials from both sides have initialed the document and it is now ready to be signed by the two presidents. The document was initialed Sunday by Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker (above L ). — (AP Photo/Presidential Palace, File)

KABUL: The US and Afghanistan reached a deal Sunday on a long-delayed strategic partnership agreement that ensures Americans will provide military and financial support for at least a decade beyond 2014, the deadline for most foreign forces to withdraw.

The pact is key to the US exit strategy in Afghanistan because it provides guidelines for any American forces who remain after the withdrawal deadline and for financial help to the impoverished country and its security forces.

For the Afghan government, it is a way to show its people that their US allies are not just walking away.

“Our goal is an enduring partnership with Afghanistan that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity and that contributes to our shared goal of defeating al Qaeda and its extremist affiliates,” said US Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall. “We believe this agreement supports that goal.”

After 10 years of US-led war, insurgents linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda remain a threat and as recently as a week ago, launched a large-scale attack on the capital Kabul and three other cities.

The draft agreement was worked out and initialed by Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker. It must still be reviewed in both countries and signed afterward by the Afghan and American presidents.

US forces have already started pulling out of Afghanistan, and the majority of combat troops are scheduled to depart by the end of 2014. But the US is expected to maintain a large presence in the country for years after, including special forces, military trainers and government-assistance programs.

The agreement is both an achievement and a relief for both sides, coming after months of turmoil that seemed to put the entire alliance in peril. It shows that the two governments are still committed to working together and capable of coming to some sort of understanding.

“The document finalized today provides a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world and is a document for the development of the region,” Spanta said in a statement issued by President Hamid Karzai’s office.

Neither Afghan nor US officials would comment on the details of the agreement. A Western official familiar with the negotiations said it outlines a strategic partnership for 10 years beyond 2014.

Reaching any agreement is likely to be seen as a success given more than a year and a half of negotiations during which the entire effort appeared in danger of falling apart multiple times.

Since the beginning of the year, US-Afghan relations have been strained by an Internet video of American Marines urinating on the corpses of presumed Taliban fighters, by Quran burnings at a US base that sparked days of deadly protests and by the alleged killing spree by a US soldier in a southern Afghan village.

Tensions were further heightened by a spate of turncoat attacks by Afghan security forces on their international counterparts.

White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said President Barack Obama expects to sign the document before a Nato summit in Chicago next month, meeting the deadline set by the two sides. Many had started to worry in recent weeks that Karzai and Obama would miss that goal as talked dragged on and Karzai continued to announce new demands for the document.

Much of the disagreement was about how to handle activities that the Afghan government saw as threatening its sovereignty, in particular, night raids and the detention of Afghan citizens by international forces. Those two major issues were resolved earlier this year in separate memorandums of understanding.

But closed-door talks continued for weeks after those side-deals were signed. And then as recently as last week, Karzai said that he wanted the agreement to include a dollar figure for funding for the Afghan security forces, a demand that would be hard for the Americans to sign off on given the need for congressional approval for funding.

US officials have said previously that they expected the document to address economic and development support for Afghanistan more generally.

The final document is likely to be short on specifics. US officials involved in the negotiations have said previously that the strategic partnership will provide a framework for future relations, but that details of how US forces operate in the country will come in a later agreement.

The initialing ceremony means that the text of the document is now locked in. But the countries will have to go through their own internal review processes, Sundwall said.

“For the United States, that will mean interagency review, consultation with Congress as appropriate and final review by the president,” Sundwall said.

In Afghanistan, the agreement will have to be approved by parliament. The Afghan foreign minister will brief Afghan lawmakers about the document Monday, the Afghan president’s statement said.

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Afghanistan, US finalise draft post-2014 deal: Kabul

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In this Sunday, March 11, 2012 photo, Afghan soldiers, left, walk past a US Army soldier outside of a military base in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai’s office said Sunday, April 22, 2012 that Afghan and US officials have finalized a long-awaited strategic partnership deal. -AP Photo

KABUL: Afghan and US officials have finalised the initial draft of a strategic partnership agreement that will govern relations between Kabul and Washington after 2014, a presidential statement said Sunday.

“The draft agreement on Afghanistan and US long-term partnership was finalised and initialed on Sunday in Kabul by the heads of the two negotiating delegations in Kabul”, a presidential statement said.

“The agreement is now ready for signature by both the residents.”No details were released of the content of the draft agreement, which will now be reviewed by the US and Afghan presidents, the US Congress and the Afghan parliament.

The 130,000-strong US-led Nato force helping the Afghan government fight a decade-long Taliban insurgency is due to end combat operations and pull out by the end of 2014 and the two countries are in talks about their future relations.

Kabul has already achieved two preconditions for signing the treaty — full control over the US-run Bagram prison and controversial special forces night raids against Taliban insurgents.

The US ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Afghanistan’s national security adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta agreed on the wording of the draft, titled “Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement between Afghanistan and the United States”.

“The document finalised today provides a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world and is a document for the development of the region”, Spanta was quoted as saying the statement.

The US ambassador said in the statement that the agreement will cement a long-term strategic partnership between “two equal and sovereign States”.

He said his country was committed through the strategic partnership document to doing its utmost to assist Afghans and to help Afghanistan develop as “a unified, democratic, stable and secure state.”

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Think carrots, not candy as school snack, group suggests

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In this file photo, a teacher is showing a chart to the pupils explaining the importance of fruits in healthy diet. – AP Photo

WASHINGTON:  Junk food may soon be hard to buy at American public schools as the US government readies new rules requiring healthier foods to be sold beyond the cafeteria – a move most parents support, according to a poll released on Thursday.

With childhood obesity rising, the survey found most people agreed the chips, soda and candy bars students buy from vending machines or school stores in addition to breakfast and lunch are not nutritious, and they support a national standard for foods sold at schools.

The findings from the advocacy group Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project came as the federal government prepares to roll out a nationwide standard that may set up another battle among health experts, schools and the food industry.

The US Department of Agriculture is expected to issue its guidelines by June, according to some experts. These could limit the amount of sugar, salt and fat foods sold at schools could contain.

Agriculture Department Under Secretary Kevin Concannon said an important step in addressing childhood obesity is to help make the “right choice an easy choice” while at school.

“We look forward to working with parents, teachers, school food service professionals and the food industry to craft workable guidelines so that healthier options are available for our students,” he said.

Many states have already enacted their own laws mandating  healthier non-cafeteria food options.

Jessica Donze Black, a dietician who leads the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, said the results show growing support for updating standards that surfaced in 1979.

“What has changed in the last 30 years is that the childhood obesity epidemic has more than tripled,” she said. “The school environment has also changed. … Today, there are a lot of other places throughout the day that compete with kids eating a healthy school meal.”

Support for higher standards

Eighty per cent of the 1,010 adults polled said they would support nutritional standards limiting the calories, fat and sodium in such foods. Seventeen per cent would oppose it.

Most also agreed there are now few healthy options. Just 5 per cent of adults said vending machines offered totally or mostly healthy choices compared with 10 per cent for school stores and 21 per cent for a la carte lunch lines.

Changes to school foods may be controversial. New standards for more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in traditional school meals announced in January drew scrutiny when lawmakers blocked limits to french fries and counted pizza as a vegetable because it contains tomato sauce.

Efforts to give students more healthy options to help fight childhood obesity have historically faced pressure from food and beverage companies and even from schools themselves, who rely on such food sales for extra cash.

But health experts, pediatricians and other advocates say that is changing as more companies and school districts come on board at a time when more than one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese.

“Most people accept that soda, candy bars and other unhealthy foods just don’t deserve a place in school on a regular basis,” said Margo Wootan, head of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

She said there are still concerns that members of Congress and industry lobbyists could water down the proposal.

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Laura Jana said new rules are imperative now that kids consume more than half of their daily calories in school. More students are getting most of their calories from snacks and drinks, not meals, she said.

“To me, it’s a no-brainer. …  They can’t make that healthy choice when we stick all those temptations under their noses,” said Jana, a pediatrician based in Omaha, Nebraska and co-author of “Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor and a Bottle of Ketchup.”

Juice, Granola Bars

Food and beverage makers have expanded their portfolios to include juice, granola bars and other healthier products.

Vending machine companies focused on nutritious offerings have also sprung up.

US drink companies have already taken voluntary steps to keep sodas out of some schools and their trade group says this has cut calories consumed from beverages in schools by 88 per cent.

Christopher Gindlesperger, spokesman for the American Beverage Association, said its voluntary guidelines are a good model for the government to follow.

“It’s a standard that’s already in place that is working. It strikes a balance,” he said.

ABA’s guidelines eliminate soda in elementary and middle schools but allow diet sodas and low-calorie sports drinks in high school.

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Human remains at Titanic shipwreck site, said officials

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This photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows The remains of a coat and boots, articulated in the mud on the sea bed near Titanic’s stern, are suggestive evidence of where a victim of the disaster came to rest. – AP Photo

NEW YORK: Human remains may be embedded in the mud of the North Atlantic where the New York-bound Titanic came to rest when it sank 100 years ago, a federal official said Saturday.

A 2004 photograph, released to the public for the first time this week in an uncropped version to coincide with the disaster’s centenary, shows a coat and boots in the mud at the legendary shipwreck site.

“These are not shoes that fell out neatly from somebody’s bag right next to each other,” James Delgado, the director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

The way they are “laid out” makes a “compelling case” that it is where “someone has come to rest,” he said.

The image, along with two others showing pairs of boots resting next to each other, were taken during an expedition led by NOAA and famed Titanic finder Robert Ballard in 2004. They were published in Ballard’s book on the expedition. Delgado said the one showing a coat and boots was cropped to show only a boot.

The New York Times first reported about the photographs in Saturday editions.
Filmmaker James Cameron, who has visited the wreck 33 times, told the newspaper that he had seen “zero human remains” during his extensive explorations of the Titanic.

“We’ve seen shoes. We’ve seen pairs of shoes, which would strongly suggest there was a body there at one point. But we’ve never seen any human remains.”

For Delgado, who was the chief scientist on an expedition in 2010 that mapped the entire site, the difference in opinion is “one of semantics.”

“I as an archaeologist would say those are human remains,” he said, referring to the photograph of the coat and boots specifically. “Buried in that sediment are very likely forensic remains of that person.”

He said in an email that the images “speak to the power of that tragic and powerful scene 2 { miles below” and “to its resilience as an undersea museum, as well as its fragility.”

“This is an appropriate time to note the human cost of that event, and the fact that in this special place at the bottom of the sea, evidence of the human cost, in the form of the shattered wreck, the scattered luggage, fittings and other artifacts, and the faint but unmistakable evidence that this is where people came to rest, is present,” he said.

He said the images are also evidence that society could do a better job protecting the site.

There has been a long fight to protect the Titanic since it was rediscovered by Ballard in 1985, beginning with a federal law passed by Congress aimed at creating an international agreement to transform the shipwreck into an international maritime memorial. Sen. John Kerry introduced what some observers see as stronger legislation April 1 aimed at protecting the site from “salvage and intrusive research.”

But the luxury liner, which went down April 14, 1912, after striking an iceberg, sits in international waters, limiting what the US government can do.

Delgado said an international treaty would need to be negotiated between Britain, Canada, France and the US.

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