Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and private equity boss, scored a six-state victory at the “Super Tuesday” elections and strengthened his leadership position among the Republican nominee candidates.


However he did not garner the sweeping delegate numbers that would have made him unassailable in the race for the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Florida this summer. Instead he yielded crucial gains to ultra-conservative rival and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

With 419 delegates potentially up for grabs an overwhelming success would have brought Mr. Romney closer to the 1144 number required to secure the nomination and then challenge President Barack Obama in the general election in November.

Yet Mr. Romney scooped up 212 delegates bringing his total to 415. Mr. Santorum won 84 delegates on Super Tuesday and his overall tally stands at 176. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich got 72 delegates and an outright victory in his home state of Georgia, putting his total at 105. Libertarian candidate and Congressman from Texas Ron Paul cornered 22 delegates for an aggregate score of 47.

Among the six states that Mr. Romney won, his narrow win in Ohio was considered especially significant given that no Republican nominee has entered the White House without carrying this heavily populated state offering a prize of 66 delegates. Results for Ohio’s counting came in shortly after midnight, and Mr. Romney said in a victory speech, "I'm going to get this nomination."

Not to be outdone and quite obviously anticipating the challenges of the forthcoming presidential elections Mr. Obama held a rare news conference on the same day. At the interaction with media he repudiated Republican attacks on his foreign policy record, especially the heightened focus on Iran, saying the Republicans were beating the drums of war. "Those folks don't have a lot of responsibilities. They’re not commander-in-chief," Mr. Obama added.

In addition to Ohio the states that Mr. Romney carried were Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia. Mr. Santorum took away North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Mr. Paul, who did not win in any state nevertheless benefitted from his success in Virginia, where he only faced Mr. Romney after Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum failed to garner enough pre-election support to get their names onto the ballot.

From The Hindu

United States officials on Wednesday confirmed that North Korea has agreed to halt nuclear tests and activities and implement a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile development in exchange for a U.S. package of 240,000 metric tonnes of food aid.


Announcing the critical breakthrough in negotiations, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the North Korean agreement would include suspension of uranium enrichment activities at Yongbyon and also permission for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to return “to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities... and confirm the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated facilities”.

Noting that a U.S. delegation had just returned from Beijing after a third exploratory round of talks with North Korea, Ms. Nuland however reiterated that it still had “profound concerns regarding North Korean behaviour across a wide range of areas,” but Wednesday's announcement reflected “important, if limited, progress” in addressing some of these concerns.

Outlining some of the key points emerging from the February 23-24 discussions in Beijing, the State Department said the U.S. reaffirmed that it “does not have hostile intent toward the DPRK and is prepared to take steps to improve our bilateral relationship in the spirit of mutual respect for sovereignty and equality”.

This included the U.S.' commitment to the September 2005 Joint Statement, officials said, adding that U.S. and North Korean nutritional assistance teams would meet in the “immediate future to finalise administrative details on a targeted U.S. program consisting of an initial 240,000 metric tonnes of nutritional assistance with the prospect of additional assistance based on continued need.”

From The Hindu

The United States has expressed deep regret at the Koran-burning incidents at Bagram, Afghanistan, with Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta saying, “I apologise to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms. These actions do not represent the views of the U.S. military.”


According to reports copies of the Koran were “inadvertently” incinerated at Bagram airbase after alleged suspicions that “Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages to each other.”
‘Unfortunate'

Mr. Panetta said that International Security Assistance Force Commander General John Allen had notified him of the “deeply unfortunate incident involving the inappropriate treatment of religious materials, including the Koran, at Bagram Airbase,” on Tuesday.

General Allen and U.S. Deputy Defence Secretary Ashton Carter called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday to apologise again for the incident at Bagram airbase, the President's office said.

Pointing out that the U.S. soldiers “honour and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people, without exception,” Mr. Panetta said that he supported General Allen's swift and decisive action to investigate this matter jointly with the Afghan government and would ensure that the U.S. took “all steps necessary and appropriate so that this never happens again.”

His sentiments were echoed by remarks made by White House Spokesman Jay Carney, who said at a media briefing, “We apologise to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms.” He also described the incident as “regrettable.”

From The Hindu

After years of relentlessly seeking to bring the weight of international pressure against Iran through sanctions, the United States and other Western powers appeared to be backing off from a hawkish view against that country as they cautioned Israel against launching a direct strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.


Speaking to CNN's Farid Zakaria over the weekend General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said such an air strike was “not prudent at this point” and “would be destabilising.” The General's comments came even as the public discourse against Iran has heated up in the West and the prospect of an Israeli airstrike has gained salience in certain policy circles.

His remarks also come in the wake of similar comments by British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who was quoted saying that the potential attack, which could reportedly involve as many 100 Israeli jets in a complex and dangerous operation, was “not a wise thing at this moment.” Both senior officials spoke even as representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tehran on Monday for further talks with Iran on its alleged nuclear activities.

General Dempsey also underscored the uncertainty surrounding the issue of Iran weaponising its nuclear assets, saying, “We also know... that the Iranian regime has not decided that they will embark on the effort to weaponise their nuclear capability.” He added, “On that basis I think it would be premature to exclusively decide that the time for a military option was upon us.”

While the General admitted that in the U.S. view “the Iranian regime is a rational actor,” he said that the Obama administration understood that Israel had national interests that were “unique to them,” and in particular they considered Iran to be “an existential threat in a way that we have not concluded that Iran is an existential threat.”

Commenting on Israel's strike capability against Iran General Dempsey said that it would only delay the production or the capability of Iran to achieve a nuclear weapons status, “probably for a couple of years.” Some of the targets in Iran were possibly entirely beyond Israel's reach he said.

From The Hindu

Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping is clearly a West-Coast man. Soaking in California's excellent sunny weather, on Friday Mr. Xi enjoyed the hospitality of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, attended a Lakers game, and even managed to mend fences with Hollywood by sorting out a long-standing World Trade Organisation dispute on Chinese movie imports, a far cry from the relatively formal, sometimes-tense exchanges that he encountered in Washington a few days ago.


Even his harshest critic on this visit, his counterpart Joseph Biden, appeared to melt a little and complimented Mr. Xi on the movie deal. He said, “This agreement with China will make it easier than ever before for U.S. studios and independent filmmakers to reach the fast-growing Chinese audience, supporting thousands of American jobs in and around the film industry.”

U.S. access to China's burgeoning movies market has been a sore point for a while now and the conflict had escalated to the WTO after the government of Chinese government last year did not meet a WTO deadline to ease restrictions. According to the White House, China is a major export market for Hollywood and the U.S. enjoys a $12-billion global trade surplus on films and other audiovisual products.

The deal notwithstanding Mr. Biden, it appeared, could not resist reiterating the message that was frequently mentioned to Mr. Xi in Washington, that China had to provide U.S. businesses with a level playing field for economic competition.

“The crux of our discussions is that competition only benefits everyone if the rules to the game are fair and followed. So we will continue to work with the Vice President and the Chinese government to make sure that everyone is playing by the same rules on a level playing field,” he said, at a luncheon in honour of Mr. Xi.

From The Hindu

A resolution to cut most of the United States' funding to Pakistan has been quietly tabled in the U.S. House of Representatives, even as the two countries' relationship continued to totter dangerously in a furore over the alleged terror links of Pakistan's intelligence agency.


The wobble in bilateral ties began last week after scathing remarks by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who openly spoke of the links between the ISI and the Haqqani network terror outfit in a congressional hearing.


On the very same evening Congressman Ted Poe, Republican of Texas, tabled H.R. 3013, also known as the Pakistan Accountability Act, a piece of legislation which, if passed by Congress, will freeze all U.S. aid to Pakistan with the exception of funds that are designated to help secure nuclear weapons.


In a blunt statement to the House following the introduction of the Act, Mr. Poe said, “Since the discovery of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan has proven to be disloyal, deceptive and a danger to the U.S.”


Support for militants


He added that the “so-called ally continues to take billions in U.S. aid while at the same time supports the militants who attack us”.


A series of harsh exchanges between U.S. and Pakistan followed. Most recently Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in New York City the Haqqani network was the CIA “blue-eyed boy”.


Mr. Poe said by continuing to provide aid to Pakistan, the U.S. was funding the enemy, endangering Americans and undermining U.S. efforts in the region all together. In a strong speech on the floor of the House Mr. Poe argued, “We pay them to hate us, now we pay them to bomb us. Let's not pay them at all.”


If passed by Congress and signed into law by the White House, the Act would apply to any funds allocated for assistance to Pakistan that were not spent on or after such date, as per the text of the Bill.

From The Hindu

Indian government officials can expect heavy diplomatic pressure from their United States counterparts in the coming days on the question of imposing sanctions on the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

In an interview with CBS News, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lashed out against Indian and Chinese involvement in the oil and gas industry in Syria, a key source of revenue for the country. “We want to see India [take steps towards imposing sanctions alongside the U.S.], because India and China have large energy investments inside of Syria,” Ms. Clinton said.

The U.S. has upped the ante on Syria following a brutal crackdown by Mr. Assad's forces on pro-democracy protestors. According to some sources approximately 1,700 demonstrators have died with “tens of thousands” reportedly arrested. On Friday there were reports of a fresh crackdown with troops opening fire on “thousands of protesters” in the north and east of the country.

When asked about the U.S. role in the Syrian oil and gas sector, Ms. Clinton said: “We have such a small stake in what they produce and what they market. The real trick is to convince the Europeans and the Arabs and the Chinese and the Indians and others... We have been upping the sanctions... but we want others to follow, because Syria was not one of our major economic partners.”

While the U.S. has relatively few economic links with Syria and hence lacks any real leverage, this week it tightened its economic noose around Syria slapping the Commercial Bank of Syria, the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank and Syriatel, the largest mobile phone operator in Syria, with sanctions.

From The Hindu

Kulsoom Abdullah (35) can deadlift 111 kg and snatch over 47.5 kg without breaking sweat. But the Atlanta-based weightlifter, also a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering, is struggling with a weightier issue — clothing.

While Ms. Abdullah has already made a name for herself competing in the 48-kg and 53-kg weight classes, the future of her career hung in the balance this month after USA Weightlifting, a sporting associations affiliated with the U.S. Olympic Committee, debarred her from joining a national competitions in Ohio and Iowa because of her hijab.

USA Weightlifting reportedly told Ms. Abdullah that as per International Weightlifting Federation rules, suits that covered either the knees or elbows are forbidden since “the judges must be able to see that the lifter has locked out his or her knees and elbows in order for the lift to be deemed completed”.

After the disappointing judgment came she told media, “I'd hate to think that just because you dress a certain way, you can't participate in sports... I don't want other women who dress like me to say, ‘I can't get involved in that sport' and get discouraged.”

Good news

Yet after her case came to light and organisations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations spoke out on her behalf, some good news emerged in recent weeks — the International Weightlifting Federation agreed to “consider her request” to allow weightlifters to cover their heads, necks, arms and legs during competitions.

The progress came after CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote to USOC Chief Executive Officer Scott Blackmun, saying, “No athlete should be forced to choose between faith and sport... Muslim women seek to participate in all aspects of American society, including sporting activities, and should not face artificial and arbitrary barriers to that participation.”

According to reports Ms. Abdullah was thrilled by the development, saying, “The fact that it's going to even be discussed, I think that's really great.”

The IWF's technical committee began deliberations on June 26, as part of a review, in Penang, Malaysia. A decision could be announced within days, reports said.

From The Hindu

The United States labour markets continued to be buffeted by the economic downturn, with a mere 54,000 payroll employment jobs added in May, which left the overall unemployment rate essentially unchanged at 9.1 per cent.

The grim news came when U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics released its monthly jobs report, in which it said although private-sector employment continued to trend up with a net addition of 83,000 jobs, even that figure was a much smaller amount than the average for the prior three months, which was 244,000.

Reacting to the negative news, even as President Barack Obama continued to keep job creation at the top of his 2011 policy agenda, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee, said, “There are always bumps on the road to recovery, but the overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years.”

While he sought to focus attention on private-sector job growth arguing that this sector added more than 2.1 million jobs over the past 15 months, Mr. Goolsbee conceded that the unemployment rate was “unacceptably high and faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the downturn.”

The slowdown in the jobs growth rate comes at a particularly challenging time for the Obama White House, as the recent clashes with the U.S. Congress over raising nation’s the debt limit are likely to put the brakes on any further initiatives to boost employment. In this context Mr. Goolsbee noted, “We will continue to work with Congress to responsibly reduce the deficit and live within our means.”

Thus while numerous measures such as the payroll tax cuts and business incentives for investment have already been implemented and may well have contributed to employment growth thus far, even Mr. Goolsbee admitted that the latest BLS report “is a reminder of the challenges that remain.”

Most worrying for the current administration must be what the BLS report indicates about stalled recovery in the manufacturing, real estate and construction sectors. The report said that employment in some manufacturing areas actually dipped in May, with 5,000 jobs being lost.

Construction employment was essentially unchanged in May, the report said, noting that employment in the industry has “shown little movement on net since early 2010, after having fallen sharply during the 2007-09 period.”

Further the report suggested that states and local governments were continuing to reel under deficit pressures. Employment in local government declined during May, by 28,000 jobs. In fact since an employment peak in September 2008 local governments in the U.S. have lost 446,000 jobs, the report cautioned.

Yet Mr. Goolsbee struck a note of hope on the employment-boosting policies of the administration. He said, “We are focused on promoting exports, reducing regulatory burdens and making the investments in education, research and development, and infrastructure that will grow our economy and create jobs.”

Taking forward the United States' conciliatory approach towards China, possibly in anticipation of a major fighter aircraft sale to Taiwan later this year, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that his country was “not trying to hold China down.”

Speaking to media on the eve of the Shangri-La talks between the U.S. and East Asian nations, Mr. Gates said China had been a “great power for thousands of years.” He added that China “is a global power and will be a global power.” The Secretary's comments came in the wake of recent moves between the U.S. and China, to bring greater rapprochement to a bilateral relationship that hit a frosty low last year. Following U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of a major weapons sale to Taiwan in January 2010, Beijing severed all military ties with Washington.

Notwithstanding Mr. Gates' efforts, history could well be on the brink of repeating itself as last week 45 Senators from both sides of the U.S. Congress urged the White House to press forward with the sale of 66 new F-16 C/D fighters to Taiwan.

“Without new fighter aircraft and upgrades to its existing fleet of F-16s, Taiwan will be dangerously exposed to Chinese military threats, aggression and provocation, which pose significant national security implications for the United States,” said the Senators in their letter.

Mr. Gates echoed similar sentiments on the U.S.' interests in Taiwan, however treading a careful line with regards to the implications of this for China. He said while the U.S. did have obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act, under both the Bush and Obama administrations, it had tried to “thread the needle pretty carefully in terms of Taiwan's defensive capabilities, but at the same time being aware of China's sensitivities.”

When the U.S. invited the People's Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde to Washington recently as part of the broader attempt to reset military-to-military relations, the Chinese General was reported to have “renewed his objection to any U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.” Yet even General Bingde sought to water down recent calls in the U.S. for more transparency in Chinese military capabilities, particularly in terms of their focus on Taiwan. Arguing that American claims of Chinese military capabilities are exaggerated, the General said “China's efforts to enhance... military capabilities is mainly targeted at separatist forces ... who have attempted to split Taiwan away from China.”

From The Hindu

Tensions relating to Afghanistan again erupted at the highest political levels this week when Afghan President Hamid Karzai reacted angrily to civilian casualties in NATO strikes, warning the United States in particular that if they did not stop immediately his government would take “unilateral action” by way of response.

NATO officials admitted that their air strike last Friday against a residential compound in the restive Helmand province “inadvertently killed at least nine civilians.” Yet the actual number of civilians killed remained unclear due to varying official accounts, with some reports saying that 14 civilians, including up to 12 children and one woman, had been killed.

In a thinly veiled threat President Karzai said to media this week that the Afghan people could no longer tolerate these attacks on their homes, and “If you do not come to an understanding with us based on a negotiated solution... the Afghan government will be forced to take a unilateral action in this regard.”

Shortly after latest air strike a U.S. spokesman, Major General John Toolan, issued an official apology on behalf of top coalition commanders General David Petraeus and General David Rodriguez, adding that they would ensure that “we make amends with the families in accordance with Afghan culture.”

Nevertheless Mr. Karzai also alluded to his country's historical response to wars of occupation, warning NATO that it needed to “clearly demonstrate” its understanding that Afghanistan was “an ally, not an occupied country.” If it did not do so, he said, “then of course the Afghan people know how to deal with that.”

Following Mr. Karzai's remarks U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates sought to downplay the criticism and deflect attention to the increasing number of attacks by the Taliban against Western and Afghan forces.

In comments to media Mr. Gates said he did not know the specifics of the Helmand incident, but noted that “this is a continuing challenge we face in the war that we fight in Afghanistan,” and a joint Afghan-coalition investigation would “get to the bottom of the incident.”

He also emphasised that it was the Taliban that had no regard for civilian lives and was responsible for roughly 80 per cent of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan. “They are not even seeking to shield themselves in civilian communities... but are actively using improvised explosive devices to kill men, women and children,” he said.

The Secretary was quick, however, to address Mr. Karzai's demand that Afghanistan not be treated as an occupied territory. He said Mr. Karzai “and the Afghan people recognize that we are their ally, we are their friend, and we are trying to develop the capability to protect themselves so that the Afghan people can see an end to the problem.”

The latest flare-up came even as there is barely one month left to U.S. President Barack Obama's planned troop drawdown. Back home Mr. Obama has come under pressure to hasten the withdrawal of troops as members of the U.S. Congress have grown increasingly concerned about the massive adverse fiscal impact of the war.

When initially announcing the plan for withdrawal last December, the U.S. and its allies set 2014 as a deadline for the transfer all security responsibility to Afghanistan. However Mr. Obama even then qualified the plan with the caveat that the U.S. would “continue to advise and assist Afghanistan's security forces to ensure that they can succeed over the long haul.”

From The Hindu

Pakistan is planning a military offensive of unknown strength in its restive North Waziristan region, home to numerous militant groups including the fearsome Haqqani network, United States Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has said.

Admiral Mullen spoke of the planned operation to television networks on Monday. “It is a very important fight and a very important operation,” he said.

He and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met senior Pakistani leaders a few days earlier to “show the strength in terms of our commitment [because] we're going through a difficult patch right now after the bin Laden operation”, said Admiral Mullen.

Barring the general reiteration of commitment to eliminating terrorist havens on its soil, there was no official word from either the Pakistani government or the military about launching an operation in North Waziristan.

However, the armed services were reportedly preparing for a two-pronged action in the tribal agency — using air power to “soften up” targets before ground troops move in. Apparently aid agencies have also been alerted to prepare for an internal displacement situation.

While Admiral Mullen said in Washington that he “did hear from the [Pakistani] military leadership their continued commitment to look ahead and work with us and we think that's important”, all indications were that Islamabad was yet to decide on a full-scale operation that would include action against groups like the Haqqani network.

While the terror outfit has repeatedly targeted U.S. troops in Afghanistan from its hideout in North Waziristan, it has never struck within Pakistan.

Taking on the Haqqani network has been a long-standing demand of the U.S. It was repeated again last week during Secretary of State Ms. Clinton's seven-hour visit to Islamabad, where she acknowledged Pakistan's role in the Afghan reconciliation process but underscored Islamabad's responsibility toward stopping insurgency west of the Durand Line.

Yet, on Monday, Admiral Mullen sought to downplay the impression of tensions arising in those discussions, arguing media reports were “overstated”. “We had a very good, frank, open discussion that touched on a wide range of issues,” he said.

Strategic assets

Apart from the reluctance to give up “strategic assets” — as networks like the Haqqani group are described within the community of security analysts — capacity constraints are also being cited as reason for a selective operation.

The Army is still not in a position to withdraw from areas it wrested from terrorists and is apprehensive of over-stretching itself in case of a full-scale operation.

Admiral Mullen conceded that in the U.S. “one of the things that does not get enough focus is the sacrifices that the Pakistani military has made over the course of the last several years”. They have lost thousands of soldiers in this fight while “10-plus thousand” were wounded, he said.

From The Hindu

A top Chinese General visiting Washington this week has said Chinese military capacity does not match up to the sophistication of the United States' military equipment.

Possibly seeking to water down recent calls in the U.S. for more transparency in Chinese military capabilities, Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army General Chen Bingde said American claims of Chinese military capabilities were exaggerated.

No challenge

“I can tell you that China does not have the capability to challenge the U.S.,” said General Chen, adding that China's efforts to enhance its national defence and military capabilities after rapid growth in economic power was “compensatory in nature”.

The General also said “China's efforts to enhance... military capabilities is mainly targeted at separatist forces ... who have attempted to split Taiwan away from China.” He denied China had targeted its missiles at Taiwan, saying “it amounts to only garrison deployment”, according to the American Forces Press Service.

General Chen said he was surprised by the sophistication of U.S. military equipment, the AFPS reported, while his counterpart here, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, said maintaining senior military-to-military relations would help shed light on mutual capabilities. Both officials announced following two days of talks here that they had agreed they would “move their militaries, and respective countries, closer together”.

At a joint briefing with General Chen, Admiral Mullen said: “It has always been my view that we cannot wait until we are in a crisis to understand each other”.

While General Chen echoed Admiral Mullen's call for mutual respect between the countries he added: “We shared a broad consensus on some major issues... Certainly, we also disagree on some other issues.”

The meeting between the two countries' military's top brass comes after discussions, earlier this year, between Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama and also between U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Chinese leaders in Beijing.

Some of those meetings had, however, revealed frictions; particularly the discussion between Mr. Gates and Chinese Minister of National Defence General Liang Guanglie. After their talks Mr. Liang commented upon the U.S.' arms sales to Taiwan last year, following which Beijing broke off military-to-military contact with Washington. “We are against it, because the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan seriously damaged China's core interests,” he had said.

However, in a possible indication that tensions have abated, Admiral Mullen and General Chen this week said they had agreed to naval exchanges including joint counter-piracy and other exercises in the Gulf of Aden.

From The Hindu
There is to be a reshuffle at the highest levels of the Obama administration with CIA chief Leon Panetta flagged as the successor to Defence Secretary Robert Gates and commander of the coalition forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus identified as the man to fill Mr. Panetta's shoes at the United States' spy agency.

Mr. Panetta will be taking over a challenging role at a time of unprecedented belt-tightening by the U.S. military. General Petraeus' departure is also striking in terms of its timing, as the Obama administration is poised to wind down military operations in Afghanistan starting this July.

Media quoting unnamed sources also said Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command Lieutenant-General John Allen would replace General Petraeus in Afghanistan and veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker was likely to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan.

Mr. Gates, who was an appointee of the former President, George W. Bush, has held the Pentagon's top job since late 2006. He helped lead two major military engagements of the U.S. — in Afghanistan and Iraq.

President Barack Obama appointed General Petraeus to lead International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan last year after Stanley McChrystal quit following controversial critical comments on civilian leadership of the war effort.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Panetta will take over from Mr. Gates on June 30.

From The Hindu

The Obama administration on Thursday authorised the use of killer drones for missile strikes against government forces in Libya, in stark contrast to a statement earlier this week that it would only provide non-lethal military equipment to rebel groups. The drone deployment also runs contrary to the United States' stand that it would tamp down its direct military involvement in Libya by handing over operational command to NATO forces.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday announced the induction of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, laden with Hellfire missiles, into the NATO combat mission in Libya, describing its role as “a modest contribution”.

While the Predator was said to have already been conducting surveillance missions over Libya for a few weeks, this would mark the first time in the two-month old conflict that the drone would be deployed for air strikes against the forces of Muammar Qadhafi, the Libyan leader.

This development makes Libya the fourth country in recent history — following Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen — to become a target for Predator strikes and officials said their primary focus would be “helping rebels in the besieged city of Misrata, where a humanitarian crisis has unfolded in the last week,” reports confirmed.

In a press briefing, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the first Predator mission in Libya was due to kick off on Thursday night but was reportedly abandoned due to inclement weather. He said two patrols of drones would be deployed above Libya “at any given time,” and they would seek out Colonel Qadhafi's forces in civilian areas.

He clarified why the drones were being used now, saying, “What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets... They are uniquely suited for urban areas.”

According to sources the U.S. move reflects both the fact that there are likely to be gaps in NATO's ability to “carry out complicated, extended combat missions without continued and significant American support,” and also that the rebel forces in eastern Libya are “poorly armed, inexperienced and disorganised.”

From The Hindu

In the backdrop of the approaching United States-India Strategic Dialogue meetings in New Delhi this spring, the 11th U.S.-India Defence Policy Group (DPG) met in Washington during March 3-4 for extensive discussion on strengthening bilateral defence ties, particularly in the areas of maritime security, counterterrorism, disaster relief, and personnel exchanges.

According to officials at the Indian embassy here the meetings were co-chaired by Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Defence Secretary, Government of India and Michelle Flournoy, Under Secretary of Defence for Policy. Officials said that Mr. Kumar also met William Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and William Lynn, Deputy Secretary of Defence.

Reaffirming that the bilateral defence cooperation was an “important facet of the overall India-U.S. strategic partnership,” Mr. Kumar and Ms. Flournoy expressed satisfaction at the progress in this area, noting in particular the increasing number of joint exercises that the two armed forces held regularly. Additionally India’s procurement of defence equipment such as C-130J aircraft was an important aspect of this progress, officials said.

In a statement Indian embassy also said that both sides had “welcomed the removal of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Dynamics Limited from the U.S. Entities List,” especially as this relaxation of restrictions would likely open up new opportunities for cooperation in the field of defence supplies and industrial and technological cooperation between the two countries more generally.

During the meetings the reports of four sub-groups of the DPG were reviewed and a policy-level dialogue was held on the global strategic and security situation.

On broader regional themes both sides touched upon the multilateral security architecture in Asia and looked forward to continued cooperation in regional organisations, officials said, explaining that the two sides had agreed that the next DPG meetings would be held in New Delhi early next year.

From The Hindu

Technical problems with simultaneous translations plagued the post-state visit press conference with United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.

Yet the fact that many of the technical snags occurred when Mr. Hu faced questions on China’s human rights record was a fact that left many observers wondering about their timing.

The first set of comments on the thorny bilateral issue of human rights in China, by President Obama, passed through the sound systems unscathed.

Clearly enunciating the U.S. support for human rights and expressing hope that China would do the same, Mr. Obama said that during the state visit, “I reaffirmed America’s fundamental commitment to the universal rights of all people. That includes basic human rights like freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association and demonstration, and of religion – rights that are recognized in the Chinese constitution.”

On the steps forward, he added the U.S. and China had agreed to move ahead with a formal dialogue on human rights and new exchanges to advance the rule of law “while acknowledging there are going to be areas where we disagree.”

He was quick, however, to add that the U.S. recognised that “Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China, [and] the U.S. continues to support further dialogue between the government of China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve concerns and differences, including the preservation of the religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people.”

Yet the reporter to whom Mr. Obama had responded had also asked Mr. Hu about how he would justify China’s record on human rights, and if Mr. Hu thought that was a legitimate concern of the American people – yet no answer was forthcoming from the Chinese President, who instead responded a question from another reporter.

But there was no avoiding the issue when a second reporter reiterated his colleagues question and specifically requested a response from President Hu, who then replied, “First, I would like to clarify, because of the technical translation and interpretation problem, I did not hear the question about the human rights... As you raise this question, and I heard the question properly, certainly I am in a position to answer that question.”

Mr. Hu then explained that in over eight meetings he had held thus far with Mr. Obama, China had not shied away from discussing human rights and its position was that “China recognises and also respects the universality of human rights. And at the same time, we do believe that we also need to take into account the different and national circumstances when it comes to the universal value of human rights.”

However while he stressed that China was a developing country that was currently in a “crucial stage of reform,” and still faced many challenges in economic and social development, he conceded, “And a lot still needs to be done in China, in terms of human rights.”

China was willing to continue to have exchanges and dialogue with other countries in terms of human rights, and we are also willing to learn from each other in terms of the good practices, Mr. Hu said, specifically saying that although there were “disagreements between China and the U.S. on the issue of human rights, China is willing to engage in dialogue and exchanges with the U.S. on the basis of mutual respect and the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.”

From The Hindu

This week the state visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao here witnessed a slew of bilateral trade and defence deals being inked across industries, with the White House noting that “China is a key market for U.S. exports. Those exports are generating jobs in every corner of the U.S. and across every major sector.”

The deals signed involved some of the U.S’ largest companies, but also an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises, according to officials, who underscored in particular an agreement for the sale of 200 Boeing airplanes valued at $19 billion.

Officials further said that Chinese companies had signed 70 contracts for $25 billion in U.S. exports from 12 states. “These included sectors ranging from auto parts to agriculture, machinery to chemicals,” according to a statement.

The White House also issued a statement noting that 11 investment contracts were signed worth $3.24 billion and additional transactions were announced or showcased, exceeding $12 billion in total value with approximately $986.8 million in U.S. export content.

Linking these deals to job creation in the U.S. economy, officials noted that the export-boosting transactions would in particular “help support an estimated 235,000 jobs” besides their overall impact of underpinning the “[expansion of] the U.S.-China commercial partnership, contributing to economic growth and development in both countries.”

Touching upon environmentally sustainable dimension of the deals Chinese and U.S. officials said that many of these transactions “highlight the increased collaboration in such areas as clean energy and green technologies.”

Notable among these in the transportation sector is a letter of intent, between the Chinese Ministry of Rail and General Electric, regarding expanding an existing strategic partnership to bring Chinese high-speed rail technology to the U.S.

GE and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Limited plan to form a joint venture in the U.S. to manufacture high- and medium-speed electric multiple unit trains, officials confirmed, and this venture could support up to 3,500 U.S. jobs. Overall this plan would support efforts to capture new business opportunities valued at up to $1.4 billion with an estimated $360 million in U.S. export content, a White House statement said.

Other commercial agreements associated with President Hu’s visit to Washington include: General Electric-Shenhua Gasification joint venture; General Electric-Huadian Joint Collaboration Agreement on decentralized energy combined heat and power projects; General Electric-AVIC Avionics joint venture agreement; UPC Management Wind Power agreements; Honeywell—Haier Group Memorandum of Understanding for global strategic cooperation; LP Amina MOU with Beijing Energy; LanzaTech--Bao Steel joint venture to build an ethanol plant; MVP RV – Winston Battery Limited Recreational Vehicle MoU; Caterpillar Inc. – Caterpillar China Investment Co. Ltd. business agreement; LP Amina MOU with Yixing Union Congregation Co. Ltd.; Optimax Systems, Inc – Shanghai Micro-Electronics Equipment Co., Ltd. Precision Optics Sale; Westinghouse Electric Company -- China Baotou Nuclear Fuel (CBNF) Fuel Fabrication Agreement; Westinghouse Electric Company-- China State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) Nuclear Cooperation Agreement; Alcoa and the China Power Investment Corporation MoU; Emberclear and Clean Energy Research Institute Licensing Agreement; and American Electric Power Company – State Grid Corporation of China.