Overriding strong objections from Islamabad, the United States has conveyed to Pakistan that missile strikes to take out high value militant targets inside its territory would continue. This decision of the new US administration was made known by the Defence Secretary Robert Gates in his testimony before the Senate armed services committee, where he also outlined that Pentagon was preparing to send two more army brigades to Afghanistan.
Republican Senator and former US presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday suggested greater cooperation between New Delhi and Islamabad to fight terrorism following the Mumbai attacks, which he called the "9/11 of India".
The military trainers who came to Guantanamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of "coercive management techniques" for possible use on prisoners, including "sleep deprivation," "prolonged constraint," and "exposure," the New York Times said. All these methods were once described by the Americans as torture.
Al Qaeda has increased its reach: US officials
The statement came a day after Indian Army launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across LoC.
In a move likely to help Indians seeking to work in the United States, a top US lawmaker has introduced an amendment to the country's Higher Education Reconciliation legislation that would strengthen employer access to skilled workers.
At a hearing on Afghanistan at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Bill Nelson asked, "Does the US have to have the approval of the Pakistani government in hot pursuit across the border?"
"Musharraf has got a situation at home where there is a certain amount of sympathy in some places for, if not Al Qaeda, then certainly for the people who are more inclined to Islam."
"I have the impression, when I'm travelling through Pakistan particularly that they have a very real fear of being encircled by the Indians, which, to most observers, seems to be ridiculous."
Presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan, aggressive Chinese behaviour and the Afghanistan situation dominated last month's meeting between James Mattis and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval
Mattis applauded India's efforts to promote stability in the South Asia region, said Pentagon Spokesperson
The White House will soon be presented a number of options on Iraq and one of them from the Pentagon will suggest that the US adopt the 'go big' strategy.
"I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the US," Sessions said in a statement.
United States President Barack Obama has signed into law the $618 billion defence budget for 2017, which enhances security cooperation with India and conditions nearly half of the funding to Pakistan on a certification that it is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network.
Mattis attracted controversy in 2005 when he said 'it's fun to shoot some people'.
McCain and Sen. Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, said the U.S. public needs to be told more clearly and realistically the difficult challenges in Iraq.
Donald Rumsfeld is also mulling over the possibility of monetarily compensating the Iraqi prisoners who have been wronged.
Defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and joint chiefs of staff chairman General Richard Myers are expected to testify before a senate committee Friday.
"Selling military hardware to Pakistan -- with a generous subsidy from American taxpayers -- is no way to convince them to become responsible players in the international community and assist in the fight against terrorism," Rand Paul said.
But David Kay, who quit as chief weapons inspector, cleared the White House of using US intelligence agencies to build a case for war by creating a false impression of Saddam's WMD.
The nomination of Esper, who is currently serving as the Secretary of the army and previously served as a vice president for government relations at the Raytheon Company, comes days after Patrick Shanahan withdrew his nomination from the top Pentagon position.
In a major development, US House of Representatives has voted to train and arm Syrian rebels so that they can take on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
Reflecting concern about Internet security, the United States has said it won't tolerate government-sponsored cyber theft of trade secrets even as it brought cyber-espionage charges against China's five military officers for allegedly stealing classified corporate information.
Agreeing to a $633.3 billion defence authorisation bill for the fiscal 2013, a conference committee of the United States Congress has sought from the authorities a "review and report" regarding defence ties with India.
The Pentagon has notified the Congress about its decision to reimburse $688 million to Pakistan, under Coalition Support Fund (CSF), which is cost of providing support for some 140,000 troops stationed at the Afghan-Pak border.
The legislation, the National Defense Authorisation Act-2019, gets rid of the certification requirements for Pakistan's action against the Haqqani Network and it also gets rid of the authority to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism.
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.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has acknowledged that Washington's leverage with Pakistan to go after the Haqqani network, which has been killing US soldiers and is responsible for the attack on the US embassy in Kabul, was limited.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pointed out that Washington's current difficulties with Islamabad are nothing new and a repeat of earlier disagreements.
Senator John McCain, the ranking Republican on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, has warned that despite all of America's military operations in Afghanistan, and the claim by Pentagon officials that Al Qaeda and the Taliban is on the run, a failing and instable Pakistan with terrorist safe havens within its borders, remain a key challenge.
The United States has a strong fund tracking system to make sure that Pakistan does not use any direct US money to strengthen its nuclear programme, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers who expressed concern over American aid money to Islamabad given reports that the country has doubled its atomic stockpile.
It also said that the UK's decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the alleged attack was a 'just response'.
Pakistan's obsession with India is leading it to "dig its own grave" as the Inter State Intelligence's "destructive role" now stands exposed in the wake of the revelations by classified intelligence documents, a leading US lawmaker has said.
Strongly refuting the Pakistani claim that India has no role in Afghanistan, new US Commander General David Petraeus has said that New Delhi has a legitimate interest in the region.
The July 2011 deadline for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is "unrealistic" and "harmful," Republican Senator John McCain said on Tuesday at General David Petraeus' confirmation hearing which was marked by bickering over the Afghan war policy. The Senate Armed Services Committee confirmed Petraeus' nomination by a voice vote. His nomination now goes to the full Senate for confirmation.
Indian Ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen met influential American Senator John Cornyn in Washington to discuss the two countries' "shared fight" against terrorism.
United States President Barack Obama has received bipartisan support for a new arms cut deal with Russia in place of the Cold War-era Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty under which the two sides will reduce their nuclear stockpiles by 30 per cent, with lawmakers describing it as a historic move for global security.
The statement by Lt General Michael Maples, Director, Defence Intelligence Agency of the US Army, in his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee comes a day after the State Department said Pakistan needs to do more in bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice.
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