Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

The Government of Tamil Nadu has opened up a new vista for financing much-needed school infrastructure in Tamil Nadu through public-private partnerships with domestic and overseas institutions.

In a significant step that could boost government resources for upgrading school facilities M. Kutralingam, Principal Secretary to the School Education Department, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the State government and the Tamil Nadu Foundation, a Tamil association in the United States.

As per the MoU, the foundation will be regularly investing funds into school infrastructure projects in numerous districts, building on the 35-plus years of experience that it has in this field.

Speaking to The Hindu here, Mr. Kutralingam said, “Government schools still have a lot of requirements in terms of infrastructure – additional classrooms, toilet facilities, water facilities, furniture and compound walls, for example.”

In a statement Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for School Education, said, “I am very glad that TNF has decided to undertake school education in Tamil Nadu as its Focus Project. The Government of Tamil Nadu is grateful to the American Tamil community for their support to TNF’s Focus Project. We are looking forward to working with TNF in strengthening the state’s school education system.”

In an interview prior to the signing of the MoU Mr. Kutralingam said that the Government of Tamil Nadu and TNF had formulated a public-private partnership framework under which “anybody can adopt a school for these purposes – that is to provide furniture, computers, lab facilities, library facilities, compound wall, and classroom facilities.”

As per the MoU the areas to which investments will be channelled include: provision of uniforms, notebooks and stationery; provision of computers and furniture including the costs of a computer skills teacher; provision of educational aid and play materials; support for English language classes; construction and renovation of school toilets; provision of water supply; and counselling for students to ensure continuation of schooling and bringing back drop-outs.

The MoU would be valid for a period of five years. After reviewing the results of the partnership and mutual consent the MoU could be renewed for a further period of two years at a time.

Mr. Kutralingam noted that the local Chief Education Officer (CEO) would be the person in charge of this process and “any company or any individual who wants to enter into an MoU can deal with the CEO.” TNF already had experience in this area from its adoption of schools located in Maduranthakam taluk, where they had provided furniture, built classrooms and so forth, he said. He added that the Government of Tamil Nadu would be working with them to extend the Maduranthakam experience to at least two districts, to begin with. Later on they would extend this to other districts, he said.

The MoU would, however, be applicable to the entire State, paving the way for further investments from both TNF as well as other overseas entities that wished to partner with the State government.

On the motivation for the project Mr. Kutralingam said that for corporations this process was about corporate social responsibility and for individuals it was about giving back something to their roots. “They have graduated from schools of that type, and now they want to improve such schools,” Mr. Kutralingam said.

The public-private partnership framework has already yielded significant dividends in terms of resources available to finance school infrastructure. In Kutrathur, Standard Chartered Bank has provided the government with Rs.1.5 crore to put up a three-storey building, according to Mr. Kutralingam, and it would have about 30 classrooms. Similarly in Coimbatore the pump industry there has adopted a number of schools under their CSR programmes, he noted.

Labels: M. Kutralingam, MoU, public-private partnership, School Education Department, school infrastructure, Tamil Nadu Foundation

From The Hindu

The United States will not limit any effort by India to offer direct training to the Afghan Army, according to Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.

Responding to an observation that many in Pakistan, including General Ashfaq Kayani, had objected to India playing such a role, Mr. Blake said, the U.S. had “welcomed very much the assistance that India has provided and all of our cabinet-level officials have welcomed that and will continue to do so.”

He also stated that India had played a very important role with the $1.3 billion in assistance that they provided to date, mostly in infrastructure and other kinds of reconstruction projects, but certainly also in capacity building and training.

Mr. Blake added that India’s role was “a very important part of the international effort to help stabilise Afghanistan.”

Labels: Afghan Army training, Robert Blake, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State

From The Hindu

On the eve of the United States-India strategic dialogue, it has become clear that the U.S. is poised to push India towards a nuclear liability legislation “that will be consistent with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation”; and if such a legislation were passed, “it would provide a very important legal protection and open the way for billions of dollars in American reactor exports and thousands of jobs”, according to Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.

Expressing confidence that the Indian Government may well commit itself to CSC-compliant laws for payouts in the event of a nuclear accident, Mr. Blake said, “The Prime Minister addressed this very forthrightly himself [when] he said that… the passage of this legislation is a priority for the Indian Government.”

"Win-win nature"

Emphasising the “win-win” nature of the deal, Mr. Blake argued it would both deliver nuclear technology that would meet the energy needs of India’s fast-growing economy and also help the U.S. “to substantially increase our exports [and] provide much needed new jobs".

In his remarks to the media here, Mr. Blake however conveyed the U.S.' sense of confidence that Dr. Singh would deliver the goods despite delays in the Indian parliament due to concerns over the overall cap on compensation to Rs. 500 crore and the allocation of much of the burden of nuclear liability to the Indian taxpayer.

He said, “I do not think it has taken that long. India is a democracy and, like our own democracy, they have to work a bill through – first through their own cabinet system and then they have to get a consensus within their own parliamentary system on this very, very important bill.”

When the Prime Minister tabled the bill in Parliament earlier this month the Left and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members said the cap “violates the rights of a citizen guaranteed under the Constitution".

Mr. Blake added the nuclear liability bill had political resonance in India because of the Bhopal disaster. As a result, people were looking at the bill very closely as they ought to, he said.

Labels: Assistant Secretary of State, Convention on Supplementary Compensation, Nuclear Liability Bill, Robert Blake

From The Hindu
The forthcoming Strategic Dialogue between India and the United States will be comprehensive and cover the “entire gamut of bilateral relations,” according to Rahul Chhabra, Indian Minister for Press, Information and Culture here.

The Strategic Dialogue, to be held in Washington during June 1-4, will be led by S.M. Krishna, Minister for External Affairs, on the Indian side, and by Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, for the U.S. It will cover such a wide range of policy areas as including energy, agriculture, science and technology, health, education, defence and counter-terrorism.

Going by the statements of both the Indian Embassy here and the State Department, the “Singh-Obama 21st Century Knowledge Initiative” will receive a major shot in the arm during this dialogue. The Initiative aims to increase university linkages and junior faculty development exchanges between U.S. and Indian universities.

In that context Mr. Chhabra noted that Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal’s visit to the U.S. last year “generated interest in leading universities in U.S. to consider collaborations or a presence in India.” He added that the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill was tabled in the Parliament earlier this month and following that Mr. Sibal is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on June 2.

Other key meetings

Another key set of meetings will be led by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who will hold a bilateral meeting on June 2 with her counterpart William Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. She will also meet with Eric Hirschhorn, Under Secretary for Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce – likely to be a closely followed discussion as Ms. Rao and Mr. Hirschhorn co-chair the U.S.-India High Technology Cooperation Group.

Speaking about the planned meetings on Friday, Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, said, “We have made very good progress over the last year on both the global and bilateral fronts in our relations with India.”


In terms of the global issues Mr. Blake noted that Mr. Singh had played “a very important role in Copenhagen in the climate change negotiations,” and also praised his participation the recent Nuclear Security Summit hosted by President Obama. In particular, Mr. Blake noted that Mr. Singh had then announced that India would build a centre for nuclear security.

Food security would also be discussed at the Strategic Dialogue, Mr. Blake suggested, as would health – through establishing a global disease detection centre aimed at finding cures for major global pandemic diseases.

U.S.-India relationship

In terms of issues specific to the U.S.-India relationship, Mr. Blake noted there were 18 separate dialogues under way on the bilateral front, one of the most important being the nuclear issue, “following up on the civil nuclear agreement in the Bush Administration.” He said that as a follow-up to that, the U.S. was “following very closely the nuclear liability legislation that the Indian Government has introduced into the Indian parliament.” He hoped that would be consistent with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation, he added.

Finally Mr. Blake highlighted the “unprecedented counterterrorism cooperation that is taking place between our two governments,” underscoring the increasingly common threats such as Lashkar e-Taiba and similar groups. He said, “We have had very close cooperation, and we look forward to doing even more in that area.”

Labels: Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor, National Security Strategy, Obama administration

From The Hindu

The Obama administration will pursue a different national security strategy to that of the earlier administrations by focusing more on cooperative alliances with foreign powers rather than adopting a unilateralist approach, according to the just-released National Security Strategy document.

In the document, a key statement of intentions by the White House, President Obama said, “We will be steadfast in strengthening those old alliances that have served us so well, while modernising them to meet the challenges of a new century.”

Speaking to The Hindu Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, however said, “Aside from differences in tone and emphasis, the overall thrust of the Obama national security doctrine does not stray significantly from that of the Bush administration. The focus on building alliances is good but the key will be in the implementation of this strategy.”

Integrated approach

In an earlier speech addressing cadets at the West Point military academy the President made similar references to working with allies through a more integrated approach that did not rely so heavily on purely military engagements. At the academy he had said, the U.S. had to build and integrate the capabilities that could advance its interests.

He noted, “America’s armed forces are adapting to changing times, but your efforts have to be complemented.” Mr. Obama argued that the U.S. needed the renewed engagement of its diplomats, from “grand capitals to dangerous outposts”. He said it also needed development experts to “support Afghan agriculture and help Africans build the capacity to feed themselves”.

Mr. Obama stressed the need for intelligence agencies that “work seamlessly with their counterparts to unravel plots that run from the mountains of Pakistan to the streets of our cities. We need law enforcement that can strengthen judicial systems abroad, and protect us here at home. And we need first responders who can act swiftly in the event of earthquakes and storms and disease,” he pointed out.

“Damaging reference”

Yet in terms of blunting the U.S.’ use of military power, Ms. Curtis observed that the National Security Strategy document’s firm language on the need to succeed in Afghanistan was “coupled with a tremendously damaging reference to a commitment to begin reducing U.S. troop levels in July 2011”.

She noted that President Obama needed to understand that “continuing to highlight the withdrawal of U.S. troops at such an early date is itself severely undermining the U.S. ability to achieve success in Afghanistan as it sends a signal to the Afghans and others in the region that the U.S. is not truly committed to prevailing over the Taliban”.

Speaking earlier, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism argued, “The President’s strategy describes how this effort will require a broad, sustained, and integrated campaign that harnesses every tool of American power – military and civilian, kinetic and diplomatic, and, indeed, the power of our values and partnerships with other nations and institutions.” He said this strategy exemplified a multi-departmental, multinational multi-generational effort.

Labels: Barack Obama, National Security Strategy, U.S. security measures

From The Hindu

After 37 days of failure to halt the torrent of oil spilling from its damaged offshore rig into the Gulf of Mexico, engineers from rig owner British Petroleum (BP) and other agencies reportedly stemmed the flow using a “top kill” operation that choked off the leaking pipe with drilling fluids.

Quoting United States Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, leading the effort to curtail the spill, the LA Times newspaper reported on Thursday morning that “industry and government engineers had pumped enough drilling fluid to block oil and gas spewing from the well… [and the] pressure from the well was very low but persisting”.

The next step in the operation would be to pump cement into the hole to entomb the well, in preparation for which, Admiral Allen said, engineers were also pumping some debris into the blowout preventer at the top of the well.

However, neither the administration nor BP has yet commented on whether or not the flow of over 5,000 barrels of oil per day from the damaged MC252 offshore well had been stopped.

Earlier U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar had said, “We will keep our boot on their neck until the job gets done. And… we will make sure that all of their responsibilities are fulfilled to the people of the Gulf Coast and to the U.S. government.”

The early reports of success surfaced even as the Obama administration came under a barrage of criticism for failing to act decisively to stop the leak and clean up the massive environmental damage that has already occurred. Significant loss of animal and plant life as well as the livelihoods of shrimp farmers among others has been widely reported for weeks now along the fragile coastal marshlands of Louisiana.

Under rapidly mounting political pressure, the President was poised to announce an extension of a moratorium on deep-water offshore drilling for a further six months, according to reports that quoted the White House.

Enhanced safety standards

As stated by Reuters, President Obama “will announce standards to strengthen oversight of the industry and enhance safety, a first step in a process that the independent Presidential Commission will continue”.

The White House was further reported to have indicated that Mr. Obama would announce the cancellation of drilling leases for projects off the coast of Virginia and delays in both exploration and drilling off the coasts of Alaska.

In a further fallout from the crisis, it was reported that Elizabeth Birnbaum, Director, U.S. Minerals Management Service overseeing offshore drilling, had been fired.

Labels: Barack Obama, BP, British Petroleum, Gulf Coast oil spill, top kill operation

From The Hindu

New York’s World Trade Center (WTC) site, the target of the 9/11 attacks, has become ground zero for a less deadly but equally emotive conflict around questions of religion.
This week a community board in Manhattan fiercely debated but ultimately endorsed a plan to build a mosque near the spot where the WTC stood prior to the attacks.

The proposal’s passage, by a vote of 29-to-1, came after weeks of heated discussions that saw the idea being staunchly opposed by some of the families and friends of 9/11 victims and, more remotely, by a leader of the right-wing Tea Party movement.

Media reports quoted Rosemary Cain, whose son, a fireman, died in the attacks, as saying, “I think it’s despicable. That’s sacred ground. It’s a slap in the face. How could anybody give them permission to build a mosque there?”

Some made a subtler point: Bill Doyle, father of a 9/11 victim, reportedly said, “What I’m frightened about is that it’s almost going to be another protest zone — a meeting place for radicals.”

Radicals court controversy

Sure enough, it would appear that radicals have wasted little time in climbing on board the bandwagon. Mark Williams, a leader of the fiscally and otherwise conservative Tea Party movement courted controversy when he recently made disparaging remarks about Islam, terrorism and the purported use of the mosque for propaganda by a “cult”.

However given the extreme nature of Mr. Williams’ comments, the New York community authorities were quick to reiterate their support for the mosque proposal.

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer said, “When a hate-filled individual like Mark Williams spreads lies intended to injure millions of Americans, incite bigotry, and undermine our democracy, we must stand up and respond with the truth.”

He added that the mission of the centre, to be called Cordoba House, was “to establish a vibrant and world-class facility in New York City that promotes tolerance and pluralism that will strengthen relationships and attract those of other faiths to integrate and learn about Islam”.

State Senator Daniel Squadron noted that community, religious and civic organisations had been a big part of the extraordinary resurgence of Lower Manhattan, arguing, “Religious intolerance, demagoguery, and fear-mongering have no place in the discussion about development on and around the World Trade Center site.”

The mosque’s development is being led by the Cordoba Initiative which, according to founder Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is about “moderate American Muslims who are the vast majority of the Muslims in the world and who condemn terrorism and 9/11”. Imam Rauf noted, “We have been and want to continue to be part of a coalition of Muslims and non-Muslims that work to eliminate terrorism.”

Labels: 9/11, 9/11 attacks, Ground Zero, Mark Williams, World Trade Center, WTC

From The Hindu

There is a deep bond between United States President Barack Obama and India’s own Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and it has nothing to do with civilian nuclear cooperation. It can be summed up in two words — balle, balle!

The Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful army in the world revealed a Punjabi passion this week when he and his staffers partied to Bhangra, the music of Dr. Singh's home state.

At a reception celebrating Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Mr. Obama and his team were entertained by DJ Rekha — a.k.a. Rekha Malhotra — who rocked the White House with her eclectic East-West fusions.

And the President obviously loved it. Speaking after the event he had high praise for Rekha for “spinning a little East Room Bhangra for everybody — mixing a hip-hop beat with the sounds of her heritage; making a uniquely American sound that may not have been heard in the White House before.”

Described variously as the “ambassador of Bhangra” by the New York Times and as one of the most influential South Asians by Newsweek, DJ Rekha is known for merging “classic Bhangra and Bollywood sounds into the language of contemporary electronic dance music”.

The next step for Mr. Obama, if Michelle approves, may be Makki ki roti and Sarson ka saag.

Labels: Barack Obama, bhangra dance, DJ Rekha

From The Hindu

In a pitched battle to shut off the MC252 well that has been spewing vast amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for over a month, British Petroleum (BP) announced plans to use a new technical manoeuvre called a “top kill” operation.

The announcement was made even as the Obama administration came under fire from various quarters, including Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, who expressed frustration at the delays in containing the damage the spill was doing to his State’s coastline. BP CEO Tony Hayward was reported to have said the manoeuvre had a “60 to 70 per cent chance of success”.

The top-kill operation entails the use of heavy drilling fluids that would be injected into the well to stem the flow of oil and gas and, ultimately, kill the well, according to a statement by BP. The petroleum major noted that preparations for this operation were already under way, with a view to deployment “within a few days”.

It also explained that the equipment was also in place to combine this operation with the injection under pressure of bridging material, aimed at sealing off the upward flow through a blow-out preventer (BOP).

Speaking alongside Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and others, Mr. Jindal told the media gathering on the coastline, “For over two weeks we have been asking the United States Army Corps of Engineers to issue an emergency permit. We have answered every set of questions the same day they have asked those questions.”

However, Mr. Jindal reportedly said he had not yet obtained a permit to dredge up large amounts of sand to build massive booms along the coastline. He added, “Every day we do not fight this oil on a barrier island, every day we are not dredging sand means one more day this oil has a chance to come into our ecosystem, into our wetlands that are home to some of the nation’s most important fisheries.”

Govt determined to clean up spill

Ken Salazar, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, had strong words on the government’s determination to ensure that BP took the necessary actions. He said, “We will keep our boot on their neck until the job gets done. And… we will make sure that all of their responsibilities are fulfilled to the people of the Gulf Coast and to the U.S. government.”

Janet Napolitano, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary added, “We are going to stay on this and stay on BP until this gets done and it gets done the right way.”

Doug Suttles, COO for Global Exploration, BP, said the government was “clearly” expecting BP to “get this flow stopped and to get this cleanup done as quickly as possible”. However, he said, “We are putting everything we [can into] this. We have got the best people, the best scientists, whether it is from our own company or across the industry or from the government. So, I think everyone is frustrated.”

Providing technical details on the operation planned in parallel to the top-kill, BP said it was developing a “lower marine riser package” (LMRP) cap containment option. This would first involve removing the damaged riser from the top of the BOP, leaving a cleanly-cut pipe at the top of the BOP’s LMRP, BP said.

Then, as per the process proposed by BP, the LMRP cap, an “engineered containment device with a sealing grommet,” would be placed over the LMRP with the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well and transporting it to the drillship on the surface.

Labels: blow-out preventer, BP, Gulf Coast oil spill, oil spill, top-kill operation

From The Hindu

In a rare show of responsiveness by a large corporation to millions of individual clients, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the Facebook website, admitted that his popular social networking tool had moved “too fast” and “missed the mark” in terms of growing privacy concerns.

Writing candidly in the Washington Post Mr. Zuckerberg said his company would be responding, now that it had heard the recent concerns about users of his site lacking adequate controls over how their private information was being used.

Facebook has over 400 million users worldwide.

“The biggest message we have heard recently is that people want easier control over their information. Simply put, many of you thought our controls were too complex,” Mr. Zuckerberg noted. He added, “Our intention was to give you lots of granular controls; but that may not have been what many of you wanted. We just missed the mark.”

Evidence would suggest that he may be right — a website called Quitfacebook.com that has recently sprung up exhorts Facebook members to close down their accounts and quit the site on May 31 2010. Quitfacebook.com already has over 14,000 Facebook members committed to the planned boycott.

Quitfacebook.com argues that Facebook “gives you choices about how to manage your data, but they aren't fair choices, and while the onus is on the individual to manage these choices, Facebook makes it… difficult for the average user to understand or manage this.”

The lobby site also argues that recent changes in Facebook’s privacy policy, allowing application developers to keep user data stored by Facebook indefinitely, are proof that the company is “further encroaching on its users’ privacy”.

Simpler privacy controls

In a bid to redress such serious user concerns Mr. Zuckerberg conceded the need for a simpler way to control user information. He promised, “In the coming weeks, we will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use. We will also give you an easy way to turn off all third-party services. We are working hard to make these changes available as soon as possible.”

Further he sought to reassure users who worried that their personal information may be shared in ways they did not want. Mr. Zuckerberg said, “I'd like to clear that up now. Many people choose to make some of their information visible to everyone so people they know can find them on Facebook. We already offer controls to limit the visibility of that information and we intend to make them even stronger.”

Touching upon what he considered the “core principles” of Facebook, Mr. Zuckerberg said they included the following: user control over how their information was shared; Facebook not sharing users’ personal information with people or services that users did not want; Facebook not giving advertisers access to users’ personal information; Facebook not selling any user information to anyone; and Facebook management promising to “always keep Facebook a free service for everyone.”

Labels: Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, privacy concerns, Quitfacebook.com, social networking

From The Hindu

Responding to the announcement of “far-reaching trade restrictions” by South Korea against North Korea the White House on Monday said President Obama “fully supports President Lee in his handling of the ROKS Cheonan incident and the objective investigation that followed.”

South Korea’s announcement of trade restrictions — as well as a warning that it was prepared to use military force in case of further provocations came days after South Korea claimed that its neighbour to the north torpedoed and sank a South Korean vessel, killing 46 sailors.

In a statement Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the measures the government of South Korea announced were called for and entirely appropriate.

A White House official confirmed to The Hindu that U.S. support to South Korea included the trade restrictions announcement.

Emphasising that South Korea could count on the full support of the U.S., Mr. Gibbs noted, “Specifically, we endorse President Lee’s demand that North Korea immediately apologise and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent and threatening behaviour.”

Mr. Gibbs also explained that given the U.S.’ “unequivocal” support in South Korea’s defence President Obama had directed his military commanders to coordinate closely with their South Korean counterparts to “ensure readiness and to deter future aggression.”

The White House also said the administration supported South Korean President Lee’s intention to bring the issue to the United Nations Security Council. In that context Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice were separately consulting “very closely” with their Korean counterparts, with Japan, China, and other United Nations Security Council (UNSC) member states, the White House noted.

In response to the pattern of North Korean provocation and defiance of international law, Mr. Obama has directed the U.S. government agencies to review their existing authorities and policies related to North Korea, Mr. Gibbs added.

Ms. Clinton, currently in Beijing, will travel to Seoul for discussions with President Lee and his senior advisors on May 26 before reporting back to Mr. Obama on her consultations in the region.

Also Defence Secretary Robert Gates was said to be in “close contact” with South Korean Defence Minister Kim Tae-young and will meet with him and other counterparts.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, President Lee, President Obama, ROKS Cheonan, South Korea, torpedo incident

From The Hindu

President Barack Obama today announced the establishment of a bipartisan National Commission to investigate the oil spill from British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon rig. The rig exploded on April 20 and has since been spewing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico seriously endangering its marine life and the coastlands of Louisiana.

As per an executive order signed by the President, the Commission, which will also closely examine the activities the offshore drilling industry, will be co-chaired by former two-term Florida Governor and former Senator Bob Graham and also former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency William Reilly

In essence, the Commission is tasked with “providing recommendations on how we can prevent – and mitigate the impact of – any future spills that result from offshore drilling”. It will focus on the necessary environmental and safety precautions that must be built into regulatory frameworks in order to ensure an accident like “never happens again,” Mr. Obama said in his weekly televised speech.

Emphasising his administrations efforts to contain the spill Mr. Obama said the government has deployed over 1,100 vessels, around 24,000 personnel, and more than 2 million total feet of boom to help contain it. “And we’re doing all we can to assist struggling fishermen, and the small businesses and communities that depend on them,” he noted.

Breakdown of responsibility

Apportioning the blame for the spill between its operators and owners, the President said, “First and foremost, what led to this disaster was a breakdown of responsibility on the part of BP and perhaps others, including Transocean and Halliburton. And we will continue to hold the relevant companies accountable not only for being forthcoming and transparent about the facts surrounding the leak, but for shutting it down, repairing the damage it does.”

He noted, however that even as they continued to hold BP accountable, his administration also needs to hold Washington accountable: “If the laws on our books are inadequate to prevent such an oil spill, or if we didn’t enforce those laws – I want to know it. I want to know what worked and what didn’t work in our response to the disaster, and where oversight of the oil and gas industry broke down.”

Reiterating his earlier criticism of the regulatory framework for the industry he said that there was a “cosy” relationship between oil and gas companies and agencies that regulate them, which has long been a source of concern.

Labels: Barack Obama, British Petroleum, oil spill

From The Hindu

In a speech that unmistakably underscored the roots of numerous terror acts and networks in South Asia, particularly Pakistan, President Barack Obama on Saturday said, “We need intelligence agencies that work seamlessly with their counterparts to unravel plots that run from the mountains of Pakistan to the streets of our cities; law enforcement that can strengthen judicial systems abroad, and protect us at home.”

Speaking to cadets at the United States military academy at West Point, New York, Mr. Obama said that even as the war in Iraq came to an end, he had announced “a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan” which recognised that the U.S. faced “a tough fight” in the region.

Noting that militants fighting the U.S. there were turning to new tactics he said the Taliban had exemplified this through its use of “assassination, indiscriminate killing, and intimidation”.

He also said to the cadets that in the war against al-Qaeda, there would be “no simple moment of surrender to mark the journey’s end – no armistice or banner headline”.

Rather, he argued, the al-Qaeda “will continue to recruit, plot, and exploit our open society. We see that in bombs that go off in Kabul and Karachi. We see it in attempts to blow up an airliner over Detroit or an SUV in Times Square, even as these failed attacks show that pressure on networks like al-Qaeda is forcing them to rely on terrorists with less time and space to train”.

He said that while the al-Qaeda threat would not go away soon, the terror group and its affiliates were “small men on the wrong side of history”, leading no nation or religion.

Labels: AfPak policy, Al-Qaeda, Barack Obama

From The Hindu

The State Department on Friday confirmed that arrests had been made in Pakistan relating to the case of Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber currently in custody in the United States.

“There have been some arrests in Pakistan,” Philip Crowley, State Department spokesman, said, in response to a question on the arrest of an army general in Pakistan. The general was allegedly arrested on the charge of withholding information regarding Mr. Shahzad from the authorities.

At a briefing Mr. Crowley also noted, “We just had a high-level visit to Pakistan by General Jones, the National Security Advisor, and Leon Panetta, the CIA Director. We are satisfied with the cooperation that we are receiving with Pakistan in this investigation.”

However he added that regarding the specifics of any arrests that took place, he would have to defer to the Government of Pakistan. In particular Mr. Crowley remained non-committal about recent news that the U.S. embassy in Pakistan sent out about avoiding a local catering company that might have ties to the Taliban.

Labels: catering company, Faisal Shahzad, Hanif Rajput catering, Leon Panetta, Philip Crowley, Taliban, Times Square bomb plot

From The Hindu

“Indiscriminate” drone attacks by the United States in Pakistan might have motivated would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan, suggested during an interview with a television news channel here.

Speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Mr. Musharraf said such indiscriminate use of the drones was having a negative impact on the Pakistani public because of the collateral damage it produced. He then added, “I wonder [about] the Faisal Shahzad incident – has he been affected by the indiscriminate bombing by the drones?”

Mr. Musharraf also repudiated the suggestion that it was time for the United States to go into Pakistan with ground troops, arguing that the Pakistani military had already succeeded in Swat, Bajaur and South Waziristan.

“Now I believe they are acting in Orakzai Agency, where these Taliban and al-Qaeda have escaped,” he added, however admitting that it was necessary for the Army to “add more force in the form of frontier core, the second line core”.

On Benazir Bhutto

In a strong rebuttal Mr. Musharaff also criticised the findings of the recent United Nations report that had squarely blamed his government for failing to prevent the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Reacting to the allegation, the former President said, “I do not fully agree with this statement. In fact it was me who warned her about the threat to her. It was I who stopped her from going to that venue once before, to which lots of political aspersions were cast on me, that her movements are being restricted. But she decided to go again.”

He went on to add that all the necessary security had been provided “within the Pakistani environment” and in fact Ms. Bhutto went to the venue safely, addressed the people for one hour safely and got into the car safely. “I think this comment is rather unfair,” he said.

Mr. Musharaff also expressed support for the actions of the Pakistani government in closing down the social networking sites Facebook and YouTube within Pakistan. In that regard he said, “One has to obviously take some measures because people were agitating… You cannot have photographs of the Prophet, leave aside going for cartoons of the Prophet.”

He also noted, “We must understand these are sensitive issues and for the sake of independence of media, liberty of speech, we cannot hurt sensitivities of millions of people. We must not do that. I am against that.”

Labels: Faisal Shahzad, Musharraf, Times Square bomb plot

From The Hindu

The White House on Thursday firmly rejected the notion that Iran’s agreement to move low-enriched uranium off its soil, a deal Iran negotiated earlier this week with Turkey and Brazil, was sufficient to get the P-5+1 group of nuclear and developed countries to drop its pursuit of sanctions.

At a briefing the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said it was important to understand that “the proposal that Iran says they have entered into now is less than what they agreed to eight months ago”.

He argued that Iran had not agreed now, as it had in October, to sit down with the P-5+1 to hold a broader, fuller discussion about its nuclear program, nor had it agreed to provide unfettered access to nuclear facilities such as Qom. Additionally, “The proposal does not address in any form the increased enrichment that Iran said it was undertaking in order to provide material for their research reactor,” Mr. Gibbs said.

All these differences between what Iran was presently offering and its statements last October implied, Mr. Gibbs suggested, that the efforts of the Turks and the Brazilians did not address “all of the concerns that the P-5+1 and the larger international community have with Iran’s nuclear programme”. However he added that he acknowledged the role that Turkey and Brazil had played in “trying to get Iran to live up to its obligations”.

Mr. Gibbs nevertheless admitted that the proposal that was outlined on Monday “would be a step in the right direction because of the amount of low-enriched uranium that would be transferred [out of Iran],” – even if the last eight months have seen Iran continue with “increased enrichment” of uranium.

Regarding the discussions on sanctions currently underway at the United Nations Security Council, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said, “The resolution that has been tabled is now being evaluated by the entire Security Council, and we will continue to consult broadly on its particulars in the coming days and weeks.”

He added that the United States was “still looking for and expects support within the Council for a new sanctions resolution, and as we have said many, many times, that not only with existing measures, but adding new measures and new teeth to this”.

To a question from The Hindu on what the U.S. had to say to countries such as India and others in the G-15 group who may be friendly with Iran and felt the fuel swap deal was a sign of Iran’s willingness to cooperate, Mr. Crowley said, “We would expect all countries in the world to live up to their international obligations.”

Labels: Iran sanctions, low-enriched uranium, nuclear power, P5+1

From The Hindu

President Obama and Senate Democrats secured an important election-year victory on Thursday with the passage of a filibuster-proof bill on sweeping reform for financial regulation.

After losing a similar vote on Wednesday, the bill managed to pass with the required 60 votes after the newest Republican to join the Senate, Scott Brown, voted across the aisle. Arlen Specter, who earlier this week lost in the Arkansas primary also added to the ranks of the bill’s supporters. The final passage of the bill is now virtually a certainty, after which it will have to be reconciled with the House version.

Hailing vote as a victory for “reform that will protect consumers, protect our economy, and hold Wall Street accountable,” Mr. Obama said it had won Senate approval despite the financial industry repeatedly attempting to kill the reform with “hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads”. When they could not kill it, they tried to water it down with special interest loopholes and carve-outs aimed at undermining real change, he added.

One of the most powerful curbs on the unrestrained power of banks coming out of this reform will be the “Volcker rule”, which restricts banks’ proprietary trading and investment in hedge funds and private equity. Also of major concern to financial lobbies has been a provision prohibiting deposit-taking institutions from trading credit-default swaps, interest-rate swaps and similar derivatives. This dimension of the reform aims to set up a firewall between retain and commercial banking on the one hand and the highly speculative trading and investment banking activities on the other.

Consumer protection

Touching on some of the key proposals of the reform Mr. Obama said the bill would create the “strongest consumer protections in history”. He said the new rules would crack down on predatory practices and unscrupulous mortgage lenders and enforce a new credit card law banning unfair rate hikes and overdraft fees and exorbitantly priced college loans.

The President also said the American people would never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes. “There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts – period,” he said, noting that his administration had the tools to wind down failing financial institutions without endangering the broader economy.

Finally he also described the bill’s aim to bring about a fundamental restructuring of the corporate governance structure of financial institutions, making them more transparent and accountable. Mr. Obama said that complex, backroom deals that helped trigger the financial crisis would be “brought to the light of day” and shareholders would henceforth have greater say on the pay of CEOs and other executives.

Impact on Wall Street

Yet Mr. Obama was also careful to underplay the negative impact on Wall Street, arguing, “Our goal is not to punish the banks, but to protect the larger economy and the American people from the kind of upheavals that we’ve seen in the past few years.”

He emphasised that this was not a “zero-sum game where Wall Street loses and Main Street wins”, rather a recognition of the imperative that those in Wall Street boardrooms and on trading floors be held accountable for the decisions that they make.

Speaking after the cloture vote Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the bill had a message for both Wall Street and Main Street. He explained, “To Wall Street, it says: no longer can you recklessly gamble away other people’s money. It says the days of ‘too big to fail’ are behind us. It says to those who game the system: the game is over.”

Mr. Reid added, “To Main Street, this bill says: you no longer have to fear that your savings, your retirement or your home are at the mercy of greedy gamblers in big banks.”

Labels: economic reforms, recession, Wall Street Bill

One of the most far-reaching reform packages targeting the basic landscape of Wall Street regulation failed to clear the Senate on Wednesday — and in its wake revealed fault lines within the Democratic caucus of the Upper House of the United States Congress.

The reform proposal, which Senator Chris Dodd of the Banking Committee cobbled together and pushed through to the floor of the Senate for debate, fell flat after a motion to conclude the debate saw 42 Senators voting “no”.

The naysayers included Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell and Russ Feingold, both of whom joined with the 39-strong Republican opposition on the grounds that the reforms did not go far enough to improve the transparency of derivatives trading.

In a press release Senator Cantwell said, “Even something like the Hoover Dam, with all the great concrete and all the great engineering … still has a problem if somebody drills a hole in the bottom of it.”

Her principal objection was that the reforms did not require traded derivatives to be first cleared at an exchange. She said, “If we don’t bring derivatives onto the same kind of mechanisms we have for other products in the financial markets… then I don’t know what we’re doing out here in the context of what brought us into this crisis.”

According to reports both Senators Cantwell and Feingold joined with Republican Senator John McCain to press for the restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act, which would create a firewall between commercial and investment banking arms of financial institutions.

While the supporters of the bill were joined by two Republican Senators voting “aye”, they also lost one crucial vote from Senator Arlen Specter, who was absent after his defeat in the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday evening.

In a procedural manoeuvre that would keep open a window to call for another vote in the future Senate majority leader Harry Reid also voted “no”, bringing the “ayes” to 57.

The vote was followed by bitter partisan accusations of the tenor witnessed during the healthcare debate, with both parties accusing the other of deliberate manipulations or obstructionism.

Labels: Democrats, regulation reform bill, Wall Street

From The Hindu

A long “tendril” of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig that exploded last month has entered the Gulf loop current and this could carry the oil to the Florida Keys and even up the Atlantic Coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said today.

Meanwhile even as the spill reached the fragile marshes and wetlands on the Louisiana coast the state’s governor, Bobby Jindal, said, “It is past time to act,” and reportedly rebuked the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard and rig owner British Petroleum for delays in finalising proposals to construct over 80 miles of sand berms along the coastline.

Speaking to reporters Mr. Jindal was quoted to have held up a plastic bag full of sticky brownish liquid, and said, “What we are seeing yesterday and today is literally this heavy oil coming into our wetlands… These are not tar balls, this is not sheen, this is heavy oil.”

NOAA meanwhile said that it had extended the boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico into the northern portion of the loop current as a “precautionary measure” to ensure that seafood from the Gulf would remain safe.

In a statement, Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA administrator, said, “The BP oil spill is unprecedented and quickly changing. The administration’s response since the beginning has been aggressive, strategic, and science-based.”

She noted that as NOAA expanded the fishing-closed area, they were doing what science demanded and were acting with caution. NOAA stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Gulf coast fishermen and their families during these challenging times, she added.

Her comments came even as media reports of tensions between the White House and the scientific community over the gulf oil spill heightened, with key oceanography experts faulting the Obama administration for conducting an inadequate scientific analysis of the impact of the spill.

According to a report in the New York Times, scientists were especially concerned about “getting a better handle on problems that may be occurring from large plumes of oil droplets that appear to be spreading beneath the ocean surface”. The report further stated that in the one month since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, the government has “failed to make public a single test result on water from the deep ocean”.

Further, it noted that scientists say the administration has been too reluctant to demand an accurate analysis of how many gallons of oil are flowing into the sea from the gushing oil well. The report quoted Sylvia Earle, a reputed oceanographer as saying on Wednesday from Capitol Hill, “It seems baffling that we don’t know how much oil is being spilled… [and] where the oil is in the water column.”

Labels: British Petroleum, Deepwater Horizon, NOAA, oil spill

From The Hindu

The United States economy is continuing to show signs of improvement but “economic slack would continue to be quite elevated for some time,” according to the minutes of the April meeting of the interest-rate-setting Federal Open Markets Committee of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The FOMC argued that in light of this slack and an economic outlook in which inflation would remain low, “members agreed that it would be appropriate to maintain the target range of zero to ¼ per cent for the federal funds rate.” One member of the FOMC, Thomas Hoenig, cast a dissenting vote, arguing for an increase in the federal funds rate towards one per cent.

The Committee further reiterated that the expectation that economic conditions — including low levels of resource utilisation, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations — were likely to warrant “exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.”

In terms of the overall prognosis for the U.S. economy the FOMC minutes, released on Wednesday, indicated that the majority on the Committee, including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, believed that “on balance, the economic recovery was proceeding at a moderate pace and… the deterioration in the labour market was likely coming to an end.”

The FOMC noted that while consumer spending continued to post solid gains in the first three months of the year and industrial production continued to expand at a brisk pace during the first quarter, residential construction was still depressed, construction of non-residential buildings remained on a steep downward trajectory, and state and local governments continued to retrench. In this context consumer price inflation continued to remain low, the Committee said.

The labour market, the top economic and political concern for the White House this year, showed signs of a nascent recovery in recent months, the Committee’s economists noted. The minutes suggested that private non-farm payroll employment increased over the first quarter of 2010 — this was the first quarterly increase since the onset of the recession.

Yet it was not all good news on the job front: while the average workweek also last quarter, the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 per cent throughout the first quarter, and the labour force participation rate increased over the past few months “finding a job remained very difficult, and the average duration of unemployment spells increased further,” the FOMC cautioned.

In terms of the dissenting vote Mr. Hoenig said he believed it was no longer advisable to indicate that economic and financial conditions were likely to warrant “exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period,” as he was concerned that communicating such an expectation could lead to the build-up of future financial imbalances and increase the risks to longer-run macro-economic and financial stability.

Mr. Hoenig argued the target for the federal funds rate ought to be increased toward one per cent “this summer,” and the Committee could then pause to further assess the economic outlook. He emphasised that such an approach would leave “considerable policy accommodation in place to foster an expected gradual decline in unemployment in the quarters ahead.”

Labels: economic climate, FOMC, U.S. Federal Reserve, United States economy

From The Hindu

It has happened. The American election juggernaut has begun to creak into action six months ahead of its slated, official start.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, three states — Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Arkansas — faced primaries: intra-party elections in which candidates for the United States Congress from each party get nominated.

As one would expected in this feisty democracy — which could even compete with India in its degree of rambunctiousness — political pundits shifted into top gear as the results began to trickle in. Since then predictions have been flying fast and furious with all eyes on one variable — what does this mean for November?

While the answer is far from clear, one strong trend has become immediately evident: a powerful anti-Washington mood has gripped voters across the country.

In Kentucky, the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement scored a major victory — arguably its first in mainstream politics — when its candidate Rand Paul defeated Republican stalwart Trey Grayson, garnering close to 59 per cent of the vote.

Mr. Paul, the son of the former Congressman and Republican presidential candidate, Ron Paul, was swept to the forefront after months of wooing the conservative Republicans with a promise to attack the soaring budget deficit, eliminate congressional earmarks and institute term limits.

Tea Party gains
His success marks a key inflection point for the Tea Party movement, and will likely galvanise their grassroots efforts in primaries in other states. Or so some pundits argued.

Others, including Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine, described Mr. Paul as an “extreme candidate” who “used a small part of the electorate to win over Grayson”.

For many Democrats then, Mr. Paul's victory would appear to improve their prospects in Kentucky.

In Pennsylvania, the sub-plot to the primary reflected the strong anti-incumbency mood more than anywhere else; heightening the risk that the November Congressional elections may be swept out of the hands of the Democrats.

In this state, it was a long-time Washington insider who lost his job. Senator Arlen Specter who, in a controversial volte face shifted allegiance from the Republican to the Democratic Party in 2009, was trounced by Representative Joe Sestak despite endorsements from the White House and leading Democrats.

Mr. Sestak, who took out TV advertisements criticising Mr. Specter's changing party allegiances, was quoted as saying: “This is what democracy looks like… A win for the people, over the establishment, over the status quo, even over Washington, DC.”

Arkansas also saw support for a Washington insider, Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln, wobble dangerously. She came away with a sliver of a lead over state Lieutenant-Governor Bill Halter. Too narrow a margin for her to avoid a run-off decider vote next month.

Observers cited a range of reasons why Mr. Halter did better than expected. While he had a reasonably solid support base — including labour unions, liberal groups and conservative voters in rural counties — it was too variegated to warrant any sweeping conclusions about his state-wide popularity. That conclusion, in turn, lends credence to the theory that the Arkansas result was principally shaped by a general air of mistrust surrounding Washington politics.

While Washington Democrats have held sway over Congress since 2008, they are in serious danger of losing at least a part of their control in November if this week's primaries are anything to go by. If it is not the far-right Tea Party, it may well be anti-establishment, local champions who oust them.

This would mean President Barack Obama would have a much harder time getting legislation passed.

Yet it is not all doom and gloom — Democrats and the White House have several powerful trends that may counteract the anti-incumbency mood, including improving jobs figures month-on-month, and possibly better healthcare outcomes in the aftermath of the hard-fought battle against insurance companies.

But these are hardly forces that Mr. Obama can rely on for success in November. If he wishes to save his Democratic colleagues from looming electoral defeat, he will need to continue reaching out to the American people to explain why their country is not as badly off as they think it is — and what he and Congress have done to help.

Labels: Democrats, elections, Republicans, Tea Party Movement, U.S. primaries, United States Congress

From The Hindu

Faisal Shahzad, prime suspect in the Times Square bomb plot in New York City earlier this month, appeared before a judge on Tuesday for the first time since his arrest on May 3.

At the hearing Shahzad was notified of five felony charges that had been brought against him, and of the possibility that he might face a sentence of life in prison. He did not contest his continued detention without bail.

One charge on each of the following counts was made against Shahzad: attempting terrorism by attempting to kill people; attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; using a destructive device in connection with an attempted crime of violence; transporting explosives; and attempting to destroy property with fire and explosives.

Shahzad had thus far not been produced in court after voluntarily waiving his right to arraignment. In the interim period he has been providing “valuable intelligence from which further investigative action has been taken,” according to Preet Bharara, New York federal attorney.

At the hearing Shahzad, represented by federal defence attorney Julia Gatto, only said one word, “Yes,” in response to a question on an affidavit related to his finances. According to reports the judge set the date for his next hearing on June 1. Shahzad was then handcuffed and led from the courtroom in a proceeding that took less than ten minutes.

Shahzad, a Pakistan-born naturalised citizen of the United States, was stopped from fleeing the country on an aircraft from New York’s John F. Kennedy airport moments before his flight was set to take off. His dramatic arrest came days after federal authorities linked him to a Nissan Pathfinder loaded with explosives and parked in the New York’s bustling Times Square.

In the days leading up to his arraignment top U.S. intelligence officials Leon Panetta and James Jones travelled to Pakistan to keep up the pressure on Pakistani authorities investigating Shahzad’s links to terror networks there.

Authorities in the U.S. also recently obtained some insights into Shahzad’s motivation behind the attack when they discovered emails from him that purportedly questioned democracy and favoured an Islamic system of governance in which the state is ruled by Islamic law.

Regarding Shahzad’s email Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said, even if it was unclear as to which organisations or individuals may have contributed to the development of his violent Islamist worldview, or whether he was self-radicalised through the internet, “We must understand and take more seriously the Islamist ideology and narrative that he spells out and that drives much of the terrorism directed at the U.S. and other nations.”

Labels: Faisal Shahzad, felony charges, Times Square bomb, U.S. intelligence

From The Hindu

The United States has reached a new agreement with the P-5+1 group of major developed countries on a “strong draft” of a resolution for sanctions against Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today.

Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Ms. Clinton made a reference to U.S. scepticism on Iran’s acceptance of a proposal to give up some of its low-enriched uranium in exchange for 20 percent enriched uranium from Turkey: “This announcement is as convincing an answer to the efforts undertaken in Tehran over the last few days as any we could provide.”

As per the proposals agreed by Tehran in exchange for moving low-enriched uranium off its soil Iran would receive 20 percent enriched uranium for use by the Tehran Research Reactor for medical isotopes.

However the Secretary went on to argue that that there were a number of unanswered questions regarding the announcement coming from Tehran, despite the sincere efforts of both Turkey and Brazil to find a solution regarding Iran’s standoff with the international community over its nuclear program.

Ms. Clinton also outlined the next steps that the U.S. would take in this matter. She said that the P-5+1, which consists of Russia, China, the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany, along with the High Representative of the European Union, would proceed to “rally the international community on behalf of a strong sanctions resolution” that would send an unmistakable message about what is expected from Iran.

China and Russia had previously resisted the U.S.’s push for United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran, and it was anticipated that fuel-swap deal might further crystallise that resistance.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Iran sanctions, nuclear power, P-5+1

From The Hindu

In a move that aims to strengthen the United States’ monitoring and, where possible, enforcement of press freedom the world over, President Barack Obama yesterday signed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act into law.

Named after the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and killed by militants in Pakistan in 2001, the bill was signed in the presence of Mr. Pearl’s widow and son and described by Mr. Obama as “a strong message from the U.S. government and… State Department that we are paying attention to how other governments are operating when it comes to the press.”

The President said the act would uphold the U.S.’s “core values” and directed the State Department to record how press freedom operates in conjunction with U.S. human rights assessments. It would hold countries that facilitate press repression to world opinion, Mr. Obama added.

Touching upon the immense risks that media face in some parts of the world, Mr. Obama said, “All around the world there are enormously courageous journalists and bloggers who, at great risk to themselves, are trying to shine a light on the critical issues that the people of their country face; who are the frontlines against tyranny and oppression.”

In that context he noted the death of Daniel Pearl was “one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination because it reminded us of how valuable a free press is, and it reminded us that there are those who would go to any length in order to silence journalists around the world.”

Mr. Obama thanked Mr. Pearl’s widow, Mariane, and son Adam for their courage in ensuring that Mr. Pearl’s legacy of holding governments accountable lived on, observing that this legislation “puts us clearly on the side of journalistic freedom”.

Labels: Daniel Pearl, freesom of press, Mariane Pearl

From The Hindu

The United States has sent two of its top intelligence officials to Pakistan to put greater pressure on its government to investigate the Pakistani connection to the failed Times Square bomb plot of May 2.

In the clearest indication of deep concern in the U.S. over the link between would-be bomber Faisal Shahzad and terror networks in Pakistan, Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta and National Security Advisor James L. Jones flew out to Pakistan on Monday night in a bid to speed up the investigation.

According to reports quoting administration officials, Mr. Panetta and Mr. Jones plan to discuss efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks in their meetings there. Reports also cited the U.S. government’s intention to ensure “continued Pakistani cooperation in determining what role the Pakistani Taliban may have played in assisting Faisal Shahzad,” the suspected bomber, who is now in custody and providing intelligence on terror networks in Pakistan to U.S. officials.

In this context, National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in an email on Monday night: “In light of the failed Times Square terrorist attack and other terrorist attacks that trace to the border region, we believe that it is time to redouble our efforts with our allies in Pakistan to close this safe haven and create an environment where we and the Pakistani people can lead safe and productive lives.”

In particular, Washington was said to be keen on an aggressive push by Pakistani authorities to take action against al-Qaeda and groups linked to it, located in the tribal areas.

In a report by the New York Times, one senior administration official was quoted as saying that Mr. Jones “would not threaten the Pakistanis, but would convey the risks to the country’s relationship with the U.S. if a deadly terrorist attack originated there.” He would also “prod them” to take tougher steps against the Taliban and other insurgent groups, the official reportedly said.

Labels: Al-Qaeda, CIA, Faisal Shahzad, Leon Panetta, Pakistani terror groups, Times Square bomb

From The Hindu

While describing as a “positive step” Iran’s acceptance of proposals to transfer low-enriched uranium off its soil, the United States however warned that it still had “serious concerns” about Iran’s stated intention to continue its 20 percent enrichment, a step that the U.S. would consider a “direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions”.

Acknowledging the negotiation efforts by Turkey and Brazil towards advancing the fuel swap deal, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, “The proposal announced in Tehran must now be conveyed clearly and authoritatively to the International Atomic Energy Agency before it can be considered by the international community.”

Stressing Iran’s repeated failure to live up to its own commitments, and the need to address fundamental issues related to Iran’s nuclear program, Mr. Gibbs further voiced concern that “The Joint Declaration issued in Tehran is vague about Iran’s willingness to meet with the P5+1 countries to address international concerns about its nuclear program, as it also agreed to do last October.”

Explaining what this would mean for the U.S.’s Iran policy, Mr. Gibbs added that the U.S. would continue to work with its international partners, including the U.N., to “make it clear to the Iranian government that it must demonstrate through deeds – and not simply words – its willingness to live up to international obligations.” Iran would otherwise have to “face consequences, including sanctions,” Mr. Gibbs warned.

In particular, Iran must take the steps necessary to assure the international community that its nuclear program was intended exclusively for peaceful purposes, and to this end the White House statement noted that the U.S. remained committed to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program, as part of the P5+1 dual track approach.

Labels: fuel swap deal, Iran nuclear programme, Iran sanctions

From The Hindu

Rima Fakih, a 24-year-old Lebanese immigrant, was crowned Miss U.S.A on Sunday evening, making her the first ever Arab-American to win the title.

Hailing from Dearborn, Michigan, Ms. Fakih nearly tripped over in her evening gown but went on to win anyway, after telling judges that in her view birth control ought to be paid for by the healthcare system given how costly it was.

She also discussed her multi-faith background during the competition, describing her family as one that celebrated both the Christian and the Muslim faiths.

The pageant was held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Miss Fakih competed against 50 other contestants in the swimsuit, evening gown and interview competitions.

Ms. Fakih was born in Lebanon and emigrated to the United States as a child. She grew up in New York attending a Catholic school and moved to Michigan in 2003.

The Detroit Free Press quoted pageant fan Zouheir Alawieh as saying, “This is the real face of Arab Americans, not the stereotypes you hear about.” He added, “We have culture. We have beauty. We have history, and today we made history... She believed in her dreams.”

The first runner-up was Miss Oklahoma Morgan Woolard, who said to judges that she supported Arizona’s strict new immigration law.

Labels: fashion pageant, Miss USA 2010, Rima Fakih

From The Hindu

Reverend Mary Douglas Glasspool, an openly lesbian and partnered priest of the United States Episcopal Church, was elected to the office of bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles over the weekend. This makes her the first lesbian bishop and only second gay bishop in the 114-year history of the Diocese after Bishop Gene Robinson took office in New Hampshire in 2004.

In a rare departure from convention, the U.S. church of the international Anglican Communion nominated Reverend Glasspool to assist Bishop Diocesan Jon Bruno in ministering to the region's 70,000 parishioners. Reverend Glasspool (55) is also the 17th woman to be elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church, according to the church's website.

Opposition to the appointment from conservative groups within the Anglican Communion followed quickly, with even Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Anglican Communion, reportedly saying Reverend Glasspool's election “raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole”.

Further, according to the Episcopal Church website, Reverend Kendall Harmon, canon theologian from the Diocese of South Carolina, said Reverend Glasspool's election “represents an intransigent embrace of a pattern of life Christians throughout history and the world have rejected as against biblical teaching”.

Yet Reverend Glasspool said, “I am very excited about the future of the whole Episcopal Church, and I see the Diocese of Los Angeles leading the way into that future.” She has been ordained a priest for 27 years.

In support Bishop Bruno emphasised that she would bring years of valuable experience to her new role. He noted, “She is not afraid of conflict and she is a reconciler,” adding that she and her partner of 19 years, Becki Sander, were examples of loving service and ministry. Ms. Sander holds a doctorate in social work.

To a reporter's question about whether Reverend Glasspool might not receive the necessary consent from other dioceses, Bishop Bruno said: “That would be a violation of the canons of this church. At our last General Convention, we said we are non-discriminatory.” He said to not consent in this country out of fear of the reaction elsewhere in the Anglican Communion would be to capitulate to titular heads.

Labels: Anglican Communion, Jon Bruno, lesbian bishop, Mary Douglas Glasspool, United States Episcopal Church

From The Hindu

Scientists have discovered enormous plumes of oils lurking beneath the surface of the water after leaking out of the critically damaged Deepwater Horizon rig. The plumes, which scientists said measured ten miles long and over a mile wide, were noticed even as British Petroleum's latest attempts to stem the flow of oil from the rig into the Gulf of Mexico failed yet again.

The discovery of the plumes may embarrass British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward, who recently argued that given the size of the Gulf of Mexico the “amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.”

The plumes suggest that it is in fact the oil visible on the surface which is a tiny fraction of all the oil that spilled since the rig blew up on April 20, according to an assessment by the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology. The NIUST report said that significant amounts of oil were spreading at various levels throughout the water column.

On its blog the NIUST reported on its scouting trip in the spill area, noting that scientists “started seeing an increase in fluorescence just below the surface and this was related to a marked increase in oil on and near the surface.”

The latest attempts by BP to stop oil from gushing into the sea failed on Saturday, as the company tried to fit a narrow tube into the damaged oil pipe a mile beneath the surface. The tube would have siphoned the oil directly to a ship on the surface and sealed the pipe as well.

According to government estimates the spill has so far caused 210,000 gallons, or 5,000 barrels, of oil per day to leak into the ocean. President Barack Obama earlier underscored his determination to end the “cosy relationship” between regulators and oil companies and to ensure that BP mopped up the cost of the clean-up.

Labels: Barack Obama, British Petroleum, Gulf of Mexico, oil spill

From The Hindu

Obama is pitted against Washington's powerful lobbies and going against the judiciary's will in his latest fight.

You thought the healthcare battle in the United States was fiercely fought? You think the White House and Congress are slugging it out over Wall Street reform? Well, you have not seen anything yet because the most wrenching battle, a fight for the very soul of American democracy, may be yet come. Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts.

Recently, President Barack Obama virtually chalked out the battle lines when he said: “What we are facing is no less than a potential corporate takeover of our elections … This should not be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. This is an issue that goes to whether or not we will have a government that works for ordinary Americans — a government of, by, and for the people. That is why these reforms are so important and that is why I am going to fight to see them passed into law.”

Growing rift

At the heart of the conflict coming to a boil, is a deep and growing rift between the U.S. political executive and judiciary over transparency around how powerful lobbies wield tremendous influence in Washington. As Mr. Obama put it, “Every time a major issue arises, we have come to expect that an army of lobbyists will descend on Capitol Hill in the hopes of tilting the laws in their favour … the voices of ordinary Americans were being drowned out by the clamour of a privileged few in Washington.”

Matters came to a head in January this year when the Supreme Court passed judgement on the case Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission. The court voted five-to-four that political spending by corporations in candidate elections would be permitted, free of government restrictions.

While the justification for the ruling was the protection of the First Amendment's right to free speech, critics noted that “allowing corporate money to flood the political marketplace would corrupt democracy” and that this decision of the court “represented a sharp doctrinal shift, and it will have major political and practical consequences”, including reshaping the way elections are conducted.

But that was only the beginning. At the State of the Union address shortly after the decision, Mr. Obama — a former professor of law — chided the Supreme Court for allowing special interests a backdoor entry into the policymaking arena.

During the address, Mr. Obama said: “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.”

He went on to say that elections ought to be decided only by the American people, and that is why he was urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to “right this wrong”.

Following Mr. Obama's comments, Democrats in the chamber, who were seated around the six Supreme Court Justices present, stood and applauded.

The Justices, in the front and second rows of the House chamber, sat motionless and expressionless. However, Justice Samuel Alito appeared to be mouthing “not true, not true”, and shaking his head in disagreement.

Chief Justice John Roberts later recalled that moment, saying: “The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering, while the court according to the requirements of protocol, has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.”

Yet, in his address to the American public, Mr. Obama repeated his warning about the negative consequences that the Supreme Court ruling would have on democratic practice: “In the starkest terms, members [of Congress] will know — when pressured by lobbyists — that if they dare to oppose that lobbyist's client, they could face an onslaught of negative advertisements in the run up to their next election. And corporations will be allowed to run these ads without ever having to tell voters exactly who is paying for them.”

Reforms

He further set out some of the main reforms that he hopes Congress will pass to mitigate the effect of the Supreme Court decision. These include getting “shadowy” campaign committees to reveal their financial backers.

Additionally, corporations and special interests that take to the airwaves would have to reveal their source of funding and claim responsibility for it. “This will mean citizens can evaluate the claims in these ads with information about an organisation's real motives,” Mr. Obama said.

Finally, foreign corporations and foreign nationals would, under the Obama proposals, be restricted from spending money to influence American elections — even via U.S. subsidiaries; and large contractors receiving taxpayer funds would no longer be able to interfere in elections.

In a sign of his determination to bring the fight to the lobbies' doorstep, Mr. Obama quoted President Theodore Roosevelt, saying that every special interest was entitled to justice but not one was entitled to a vote in Congress, a voice on the bench, or representation in any public office. Urging for more transparency in Washington's dealings, he added, “sunlight is the best disinfectant”.

Labels: American politics, democracy, healthcare

From The Hindu

Federal authorities investigating Times Square bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad should look into his activities and links in Pakistan, especially given that he had spent five months there prior to the planned attack in New York, according to Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a think-tank based in Washington.

Speaking to The Hindu Ms. Curtis, formerly with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the CIA and the State Department's South Asia Bureau, said she expected there would be a “serious investigation into his links in Pakistan,” including contact with international terrorist networks in the country and ideological links.

Drawing parallels to such links that the suspects in the London subway bombing case had, Mr. Curtis said that though it was too early to say with certainty whether Shahzad was a ‘lone wolf' or not, U.S. authorities would be likely to look into his connections with not only Al-Qaeda but also its affiliates such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Ms. Curtis recently provided expert testimony on Lashkar-e-Taiba at a Congressional hearing during which Congressman Gary Ackerman had noted that the LeT was an organisation of growing scope and ambition and a threat to the U.S. “Pakistan was in a delicate dance with a Frankenstein's monster of its own making... which was now going global,” Mr. Ackerman had said.

Shahzad, a Pakistan-born naturalised citizen of the U.S., was arrested on Monday night following a trace of the Vehicle Identification Number of the Nissan Pathfinder that loaded with explosive materials and parked in Times Square, New York. According to reports the trace led back to a Connecticut woman who had allegedly sold the vehicle to Mr. Shahzad.

A dramatic arrest on the tarmac of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport followed, which saw the Dubai-bound Emirates flight that Mr. Shahzad was on being recalled to the airport after takeoff.

According to a statement from the White House on Tuesday, President Obama had been briefed regularly about the investigation and was notified of the Shahzad arrest by John Brennan, the administration's top counterterrorism advisor.

Labels: Al-Qaeda, Faisal Shahzad, FBI, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Times Square bomb

From The Hindu

Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born citizen of the United States, was arrested on Monday night in connection with the Times Square bomb incident, even as he tried to board a flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Dubai, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The DoJ said, “At approximately 11:45 P.M. EDT, Faisal Shahzad was taken into custody. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives of the New York City Police Department arrested Shahzad for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1, 2010.”

Mr. Shahzad, who is a naturalised U.S. citizen, was stopped from boarding the flight after he was identified by the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection. The DoJ said he would appear in the Manhattan federal court on May 4 to be presented on formal charges.

“We will not rest until every terrorist, whether home-grown or foreign-based, is neutralised and held to account,” said United States Attorney Preet Bharara, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos, and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly in a joint statement.

Earlier U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder noted that multiple federal authorities had “worked night and day to find out who was responsible for what would have been a deadly attack had it been successful.” He added, “It is clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans.”

Mr. Holder emphasised the importance of public vigilance to the case: “We continue to gather leads in this investigation, and it is important that the American people remain vigilant,” he said, adding that the vehicle in Times Square was first noticed on Saturday by a citizen who reported it to authorities.

Describing the investigation as “multi-faceted” and “aggressive,” Mr. Holder also hinted at a wider inquiry including foreign entities: “As we move forward, we will focus on not just holding those responsible for it accountable, but also on obtaining any intelligence about terrorist organizations overseas.”

Labels: Faisal Shahzad, Pakistani-American, Terror plot, Times Square

From The Hindu

Speaking at the start of the four-week nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations in New York on Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the policy of building up nuclear stockpiles for the purposes of deterrent as “disgusting and shameful,” and “not a source of pride.”

In a reference to the recently announced U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, Mr. Ahmadinejad called for states that threaten to use atomic weapons to be punished. He further described as “hazardous” the production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons by world powers, and made a reference to a 2007 episode in the United States when an aircraft mistakenly transported six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles within U.S. territory.

It was reported that the delegations of the United States, Britain and France all walked out of the U.N. General Assembly chamber during the Iranian President's speech.

In critique that was sharp, if expectedly so, Mr. Ahmadinejad said that to this day those who were behind the dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan were the “most hated in human history.” He stressed the need for “considering any threat to use nuclear weapons or attack against peaceful nuclear facilities as a breach of international peace and security.”

Speaking after the inaugural address of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Mr. Ahmadinejad however invited United States President Barack Obama to join the movement for a nuclear-free world if he was “truly committed to change.”

Onus on Iran: Ban

Mr. Ban in his speech directly challenged Iran, saying, “The onus is on Iran to clarify the doubts and concerns about its program.” He called on the Tehran government to “fully comply with Security Council resolutions” calling for it to cease enrichment activities.

Earlier U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said, “If Iran is coming to say we are willing to abide by the non-proliferation treaty that would be very welcome news.” However, she added, “I have a feeling that's not what they're coming to do…I think they're coming to try to divert attention and confuse the issue.”

Mr. Ahmadinejad, however, stated that Iran's approach to the question of global nuclear security and disarmament was practical, fair and transparent. He reiterated that disarmament and making use of peaceful nuclear energy were two major and influential global issues.

Labels: Ahmadinejad, Iran, NPT meeting, nuclear arsenal, stockpiling, U.S.