A top Republican Senator has slammed the Obama administration's plan to end the Afghanistan combat mission in 2013, saying the "very unfortunate" move is more directed towards domestic politics rather than ground realities. "It is very unfortunate that the administration continues to provide reassurance to our enemies that the United States is more eager to leave Afghanistan than to succeed," Senator John McCain said.
The United States House of Representatives has approved a billion dollar defence bill, which, among other things, freezes the $700 million in aid to Pakistan until the country offers greater assurances to Washington to contain the spread of Improvised Explosive Devices.
United States Congress has pushed ahead to freeze 3,640 crore aid to Pakistan until Islamabad comes up with a strategy to fight the spread of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the region, a step which is likely to deepen crisis between the two countries.
The India-United States civil nuclear deal inked during Bush Administration has not been handled as well it should have been by the US, a key Republican lawmaker has said.
The top United States admiral involved in the Libyan war has admitted to a US Congressman that forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation are actively targeting and trying to kill Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. House Armed Services Committee member Mike Turner said that Samuel Locklear, commander of the NATO Joint Operations Command in Naples, told him NATO forces are trying to kill Gaddafi.
"India's historic leadership of the non-alignment movement and desire to maintain strategic autonomy somewhat constrain cooperation at a level USPACOM (US Pacific Command) desires," the US Pacific Command Commander Admiral Robert Willard said in his testimony before House Armed Services Committee.
The US said that there has been no "significant impact" on its military to military relationship with Pakistan after Islamabad refused to release an American diplomat detained on possible murder charges.
The United States has conveyed a veiled threat to Pakistan that their bilateral defence cooperation can come under a cloud if the standoff on the issue of double murder-accused US national Raymond Davis' immunity persists.
An agreement on Kashmir is coming sooner than anyone might think, an optimistic Pervez Musharraf had told top US Congressional leaders in 2007, informing them that India and Pakistan were on verge of a deal on the contentious issue, leaked cables from WikiLeaks show
The White House has strongly opposed the conditions on United States aid to Pakistan by the powerful House Armed Services Committee in the National Defence Authorisation for the fiscal year 2013.
As top Obama Administration official went to the Capitol Hill to explain to them the new Af-Pak policy, lawmakers questioned Pakistan's role and wanted assurance from the US government that Islamabad would be honest and sincere this time.
Al Qaeda's centre of gravity is Pakistan, not Afghanistan, a former top official of the United States Armed forces has told lawmakers.
Mattis also warned Pakistan of global "diplomatic isolation" and losing its Non-NATO ally status if it failed to take action against safe havens to terrorists on its soil.
As the Barack Obama administration proposes to pump billions of dollars into Pakistan, United States' Congressmen have insisted that Islamabad must be made accountable in lieu of the massive aid. Grilling top army and defense officials, members of the powerful House Armed Services Committee wanted to know from the officials, testifying before it, that the administration has a mechanism to ensure that more than $10 billion being given to Pakistan is not wasted.
Over the last few weeks, bipartisan support for India against China has been increasing.
The US, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to forcefully respond to Russia's "unjustified, unprovoked and premeditated" invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Putin and Lavrov.
"Pakistan, across the border, has been a troubled country with a series of stability issues for the duration of its existence. There's a political process that's in progress now. We are anxiously watching how they deal with this situation," Admiral Fallon told the committee while defending the outlays for the Central Command.
The defence secretary, however, said the US would not be looking to add significant numbers of US forces to run operations in Pakistan.
The officials also said the peace deal with tribal leaders in Waziristan has not proved successful in combating extremism and fighting terrorists.
Al Qaeda 'had been preparing to spread its ideology to India', says Bruce Hoffman, Director Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University.
Burns, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs who played a key role in clinching the deal, will address a talk on "India and Pakistan: On the Heels of President Bush's Visit" on Monday.
If Pakistan does not cohere as a modern, more or less centrist state, if the army loses its grip, and if regional separatist and radical Islamists grow in influence, Pakistan could become a grave threat to the United States and its neighbours.
Mattis attracted controversy in 2005 when he said 'it's fun to shoot some people'.
Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden is in eastern Iran and not the rugged tribal areas of Pakistan's northwestern frontier where many believe him to be on the run, United States intelligence officials were on Monday quoted as saying.\n\n
As India expressed 'displeasure and disappointment" over the United States's decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said that the she will patch things up with India soon on the issue.
The statement comes Days after Trump sought Imran Khan's help in the Afghan peace process.
'If we have to restrict and fight terrorism, first and foremost, we have to ensure communal harmony in the country.'
Besides his strategic and tactical acumen, it was his amazing personality, quick wit and ability to remain unflustered under any circumstances that stood him apart from almost any leader one has read about or known, recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The defence ministry on Thursday accorded its approval to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator drones from the US to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the frontier with China, people familiar with the development said.
US Defence Secretary Llyod Austin described China as a pacing challenge for the United States.
Top Pentagon leaders have warned US lawmakers against including their "pet projects" in the annual defence budget, particularly at a time when it is struggling to save money in view of the tough economic environment.
The United States has announced to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each by January 15 next year, which drew sharp reaction from influential lawmakers across the aisle.
The top US commander in Afghanistan appeared to be on his way out after the White House and Pentagon took strong objection to his controversial comments against key aids of Obama administration in an interview.
'Ex-Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor joined Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. Kapoor was indicted in the Adarsh scam along with other senior Army officers'
Trump said that he "absolutely" believes waterboarding works, but would defer to his CIA and Pentagon chiefs advice on whether to reinstate them.
In a landmark overhaul of colonial-era criminal laws, the Centre on Friday introduced in the Lok Sabha three bills to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act, proposing among other things repeal of the sedition law and introducing a new provision with a wider definition of the offence.
Israel needs to come terms with the new reality that they are no longer invincible or the dominant power in the West Asian region, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Having pumped billions of dollars in military assistance and rushing guerrilla warfare experts to train soldiers to shore up Pakistan's capabilities to tackle militancy, influential US Congressmen and Pentagon officials feel that the nation is still closer to siege.
As Pakistan combats the terrorist threat along the Af-Pak border by moving about one lakh troops from its India border, a top Pentagon official told United States lawmakers on Thursday that Washington needs to reassure Islamabad that it is not exposing itself to increased risk along its eastern border.
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