Obama Says no Plans for U.S Troops in Yemen, Somalia

WASHINGTON News Udpates: The United States does not plan to send U.S. troops into Yemen or Somalia as those countries struggle to contain Islamic militants, President Barack Obama said in remarks published on Sunday.

“I have no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground in these regions,” Obama told People magazine, referring to Yemen and Somalia.

“I have every intention of working with our international partners in lawless areas around the globe to make sure that we’re keeping the American people safe,” Obama added, according to a transcript provided by the magazine.

Obama has said Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, appears to have trained, equipped and directed the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a U.S. airliner bound for Detroit on Dec. 25, using explosives sewn into his underwear.

Al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-inspired insurgency, has seized large areas of south and central Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation situated across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, which is located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

“We’ve known throughout this year that al Qaeda in Yemen has become a more serious problem. And, as a consequence, we have partnered with the Yemeni government to go after those terrorist training camps and cells there in a much more deliberate and sustained fashion,” Obama said.

“The same is true in Somalia, another country where there are large chunks that are not fully under government control and al Qaeda is trying to take advantage of them,” he added.

The United States already has large contingents of ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama Strikes Against Ringing in Quetta: U.S. Magazine

WASHINGTON news updates: A US magazine has revealed that US president Barack Obama has opposed drone strikes in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan province, fearing that this will bring huge mass causalities.

According to sources, the magazine quoted, amid the advisory committee meeting of Obama administration, during the discussion over the extension of drone strikes from the tribal areas of Pakistan to Balochistan’s Quetta city, following the reports regarding alleged presence of the whereabouts of Taliban leader Mulla Omar in there and adjoining areas, president Obama favored the opinion that this decision will be folly, unwise and will jeopardize civilian lives.

Obama, on the occasion, feared the drone attacks on Quetta would merely result in massive mass destruction of civilian lives.

Sources told magazine, the meeting mulled over the surge in drone strike on Pakistan but no final decision could be reached and the meeting agreed further discussion over the issue.

Obama Asks Manmohan to Discuss Afghan Politics

NEW DELHI News Update: Close on the heels of the two leaders’ meeting in Washington last week, US President Barack Obama called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday morning to discuss his new Pakistan-Afghanistan policy.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the two leaders in a brief conversation discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the steps that could be taken to bring peace and stability to the strife-torn country.

Obama is expected to announce a “surge” of thousands of US troops to fight the Taliban insurgency and outline an exit strategy from Afghanistan. The US administration is mulling over the military proposal to send 30,000 to 35,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan, the largest single US troop deployment since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Obama is expected to make several calls to world leaders in the coming days to brief them on the issue and rally support.

“The two leaders also discussed the forthcoming summit on climate change in Copenhagen,” the PMO said.

The prime minister told the president that “India will play a constructive role in the negotiations and looked forward to a successful outcome”, the PMO statement said.

Zardari Fears Obama Administration Collapse

WASHINGTON news update: The Obama administration is seriously worried about the fast weakening grip of President Asif Zardari in Pakistan and on Monday two top US newspapers predicted, in powerful reports by seven leading writers and correspondents, that the Zardari regime seemed to be near collapse.
The New York Times in a report filed by five correspondents said: “The problems in Afghanistan have only been compounded by the fragility of Mr. Obama’s partner in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari, who is so weak that his government seems near collapse.”

The Washington Post in a report by two correspondents said: “Zardari’s political weakness is an additional hazard for a new bilateral relationship…The administration expects Zardari’s position to continue to weaken, leaving him as a largely ceremonial president even if he manages to survive in office.”

Both the newspapers recalled the surrender of the authority over the National Command Council by President Zardari to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as a major event which had weakened Zardari and raised serious doubts about his survival as a powerful president.

The Post said President Obama has offered Pakistan an expanded strategic partnership, including additional military and economic cooperation, while warning with unusual bluntness that its use of insurgent groups to pursue policy goals “cannot continue.”

The offer, including an effort to help reduce tensions between Pakistan and India, was contained in a two-page letter delivered to President Asif Ali Zardari this month by Obama national security adviser James L. Jones. It was accompanied by assurances from Jones that the United States will increase its military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan and that it plans no early withdrawal.

Obama’s speech Tuesday night at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., will address primarily the Afghanistan aspects of the strategy. But despite the public and political attention focused on the number of new troops, Pakistan has been the hot core of the months-long strategy review. The long-term consequences of failure there, the review concluded, far outweigh those in Afghanistan.

“We can’t succeed without Pakistan,” a senior administration official involved in the White House review said. “You have to differentiate between public statements and reality. There is nobody who is under any illusions about this.”

This official and others, all of whom spoke about the closely held details of the new strategy on the condition of anonymity, emphasized that without “changing the nature of U.S.-Pakistan relations in a new direction, you’re not going to win in Afghanistan,” as one put it. “And if you don’t win in Afghanistan, then Pakistan will automatically be imperiled, and that will make Afghanistan look like child’s play,” the Post added.

The report in The New York Times was filed by journalists Peter Baker, Eric Schmitt, David E Sanger, Elisabeth Bumiller and Sabrina Tavernise from Islamabad, Washington and New York while in the Washington Post Karen DeYoung from Washington and Pamela Constable from Islamabad contributed to its report. Both newspapers referred to President Zardari’s increasing weakness in the context of the new Afghan policy being prepared by President Obama, which will be announced on Dec 1.

The Post in its report said: “The Pakistan strategy is complicated by a number of factors, including the fact that any indication of increased U.S. involvement there generates broad mistrust. Zardari’s political weakness is an additional hazard for a new bilateral relationship. He is disliked by the military and is challenged by the political opposition and his own prime minister; he also remains under a cloud of long-standing corruption charges. Less than a third of Pakistan’s population voices approval for him in polls. Obama is even less popular there, with approval ratings in the low double digits.

It said: “Many of the broad powers that Zardari assumed from his predecessor, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 military coup and was forced to resign last year, are being whittled away. On Friday, Zardari turned over control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who is held in much higher favor by the military. Zardari’s Musharraf-era powers to fire the elected government and appoint top military officials are also under challenge, and a law protecting government officials from corruption prosecution expired Saturday. On Sunday, the leading political opposition group called for him to give up the additional powers, and Zardari, who had pledged to do so, said he will act “soon.” The administration expects Zardari’s position to continue to weaken, leaving him as a largely ceremonial president even if he manages to survive in office.”

The NYT also reported almost in the same vein. Its report said: “The problems in Afghanistan have only been compounded by the fragility of Mr. Obama’s partner in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari, who is so weak that his government seems near collapse. On Friday, Mr. Zardari relinquished his position in Pakistan’s nuclear command structure, turning it over to the prime minister, in what appeared to be an effort to avoid impeachment or prosecution, and retain at least a figurehead post.

“On Sunday, one of the Obama administration’s staunchest allies, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, joined in the campaign to press Pakistan to step up attacks on Al Qaeda’s leadership in Pakistan’s unruly tribal areas and other militant groups there. “People are going to ask why, eight years after 2001, Osama bin Laden has never been near to being caught,” Mr. Brown told Sky News, “and what can the Pakistan authorities do that is far more effective.”

“White House officials have said relatively little about the Pakistan side of the administration’s evolving war strategy, in part because they have so few options and so little leverage. They cannot send troops into Pakistan, and they cannot talk publicly about one of their most effective measures, the Central Intelligence Agency’s Predator drone strikes in the country.

“Everyone understands this is a complex, nuanced, critical relationship,” said a senior American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Mr. Obama’s review had not been announced. “Everyone has their eyes open, and there are genuine concerns. But one focus now is on trying to expand cooperation. The Pakistanis are doing some positive things in the tribal areas. That presents opportunities on which to build.”
“Mr. Obama’s advisers previously signaled that the president wanted to outline, as he had before, expectations for the Afghan government. This time, they said, the goals would be more explicit and demanding, aimed at improving governance and curbing corruption.

“But the advisers have been debating whether to put deadlines on those benchmarks, like the pace of training Afghan security forces to defend their country.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top NATO and American commander in Afghanistan, is expected to testify about Mr. Obama’s new strategy on Dec. 8 to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees in Washington, the official said. His appearance is expected to follow Congressional testimony later this week by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The administration has sought to build consensus among crucial allies to reach this point. In the last two weeks, Mr. Obama dispatched two top aides to Pakistan to deliver the same message: Keep the pressure on.

In separate visits to Islamabad, the capital, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta, and the president’s national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, told Pakistani officials that no matter how many more troops the president sent to Afghanistan, the effort would fail unless Pakistan increased strikes against Al Qaeda’s leadership and Mullah Muhammad Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban in the southern Pakistani city of Quetta, and the Haqqani network, militants operating out of North Waziristan who have attacked Afghan and NATO targets in eastern Afghanistan and Kabul, the Afghan capital.

“We agree that no matter how many troops you send, if the safe haven in Pakistan isn’t cracked, the whole mission is compromised,” said one official who has participated in the debate over the strategy. “But if you make too many demands on the Pakistanis in public, it can backfire.”

The NYT added that President Obama plans to lay out a time frame for winding down the American involvement in the war in Afghanistan when he announces his decision this week to send more forces, senior administration officials said Sunday.

Although the speech was still in draft form, the officials said the president wanted to use the address at the United States Military Academy at West Point on Tuesday night not only to announce the immediate order to deploy roughly 30,000 more troops, but also to convey how he intends to turn the fight over to the Kabul government.

“It’s accurate to say that he will be more explicit about both goals and time frame than has been the case before and than has been part of the public discussion,” said a senior official, who requested anonymity to discuss the speech before it is delivered. “He wants to give a clear sense of both the time frame for action and how the war will eventually wind down.”

The officials would not disclose the time frame. But they said it would not be tied to particular conditions on the ground nor would it be as firm as the current schedule for withdrawing troops in Iraq, where Mr. Obama has committed to withdrawing most combat units by August and all forces by the end of 2011.

Presses, Manmohan Pakistan Amid U.S Visit

WASHINGTON: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday started a high-profile state visit to the United States with a call on President Barack Obama to stay committed on Afghanistan and pressure Pakistan.

The Indian premier arrived at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington to kick off the first full-fledged state visit of Obama’s presidency, which will culminate in a swank black-tie dinner at the White House on Tuesday.

While a host of issues are on the table, experts say Obama’s main intention was to demonstrate his commitment to the world’s largest democracy after an early focus on working with its neighbors China and Pakistan.

But Singh made clear he would not shy away from offering advice on the top foreign issue for Obama — Afghanistan. Obama is wrapping up weeks of deliberation on whether to reinforce the 68,000 US troops who will be in Afghanistan by year-end.

“It is very important that both the US and the global community stay engaged in Afghanistan,” Singh said in an interview with USA’s The Washington Post and Newsweek, warning of civil war if US forces withdrew.

Singh also called for the Obama administration to pressure Pakistan to rein in Islamic extremists, saying that India’s historic rival has not done enough against militants blamed for last year’s chilling assault on Mumbai.

“We have been the victims of Pakistan-aided, -abetted and-inspired terrorism for nearly 25 years. We would like the United States to use all its influence with Pakistan to desist from that path,” Singh said in the interview.

“Pakistan has nothing to fear from India. It’s a tragedy that Pakistan has come to the point of using terror as an instrument of state policy,” he said.

He doubted that Pakistan and the United States had the same objectives in Afghanistan, saying that Islamabad’s main interest was to maintain a grip on its northern neighbor.

McCain Links Success in the War in Afghanistan With More Troops

HALIFAX: US Senator John McCain predicted an allied win in Afghanistan in one year to 18 months if sufficient troops are sent, as the White House mulls sending tens of thousands of reinforcements.

But he said that timeline is threatened by US President Barack Obama’s delay in rolling out a new Afghanistan strategy.

“I am absolutely convinced and totally confident that with sufficient resources we can turn the situation around,” McCain told reporters at an international defense summit in easternmost Canada.

“I even am bold enough to predict that in a year to 18 months you will see success if the effort is sufficiently resourced and there is a commitment to get the job done before setting a date to leave the region,” he said.

But he added that many US lawmakers are “impatient with the delay in the decision-making process,” which is fuelling allies’ ambivalence about the mission.

The Obama administration has been deliberating since August on a new plan to overcome a growing Taliban insurgency and help Afghans rebuild their war-torn nation.

The top US military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal has requested 40,000 more US troops for a broad counter-insurgency strategy to stabilize the country.

The president has been under sustained attack from Republican foes who charge his “dithering” has put the mission and currently deployed troops at risk.

His spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier Friday Obama would wait until after Americans mark Thanksgiving on November 26 to announce plans.

“I am confident that the president will make the right decision,” McCain said.

Karzai, Who Was Sworn in as President for the 2nd Semester

KABUL: Hamid Karzai will be sworn in as Afghan president for a second term on Thursday, after the United States ramped up pressure on him to rid the war-torn country of its endemic corruption.

Kabul is under a security lockdown for Karzai’s inauguration at his heavily fortified palace in the presence of Western dignitaries who have urged him to implement concrete reforms after a disastrous re-election steeped in fraud.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began her first visit to Kabul as Washington’s top diplomat on Wednesday, saying the inauguration marked a “critical moment” for the nation following the controversial August vote.

Washington has increasingly expressed concerns about Karzai’s reliability as a US ally and effective head of state, urging his government to eradicate corruption in order to counter an intensifying Taliban-led insurgency.

President Barack Obama has for weeks been mulling whether to send up to 40,000 additional US troops to Afghanistan, a decision made no easier by the political upheaval that surrounded Karzai’s disputed re-election.

“He’s got some strengths but he’s got some weaknesses,” Obama told media of Karzai, saying his own decision on the troops would be announced “soon”.

Obama’s administration has warned Afghans that America’s military commitment there, eight years after the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime and swept Karzai to power, will not be “open-ended”.

“We also have to make sure that we’ve got an effective partner in Afghanistan. And that’s something that we are examining very closely and presenting some very clear benchmarks for the Afghan government,” Obama said.

Clinton has been at the forefront of international pressure on Karzai to ensure his next government is clean, directly linking future levels of military and financial aid to progress in eradicating official corruption.

“We stand at a critical moment on the eve of the inauguration of President Karzai’s second term,” said Clinton after arriving in Kabul.

“There is now a clear window of opportunity for President Karzai and his government to make a compact with the people of Afghanistan.”

Her visit, previously unannounced, was accompanied by rigorous security, reflecting increasing instability in Kabul where suicide attacks have killed around 100 people in the last three months alone.

The capital is on high alert for Taliban attacks to coincide with the inauguration, with many foreign employees of embassies, the United Nations and aid groups ordered to remain indoors.

Armed police and paramilitary units patrolled Kabul roads and intersections, and combined security forces — army, police and intelligence — threw a ring of steel around the city, a security official said.

Few on a guest list of 800 were expected to rank above foreign minister for the event scheduled for 11:00 am (0630 GMT) at the heavily guarded presidential palace in central Kabul, Western diplomats said.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari also arrived Wednesday, officials said, and leaders of some Central Asian states were expected Thursday.

“By not attending, (Western heads of state) are sending the message that I am not your friend any more,” one diplomat told media on condition of anonymity.

“Karzai has to earn political capital because he has none left,” he said.

Karzai, 51, was declared re-elected on November 2 by his own officials after massive ballot-stuffing — mostly in his favour — marred the August 20 election and his challenger Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from a run-off.

In Berlin, where Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Wednesday a year-long extension to the German mission in Afghanistan, her foreign minister became the latest international figure to fire a shot across Karzai’s bows.

Guido Westerwelle said the extension proved Germany was committed to security in Afghanistan, but warned: “It is about more than security, it is also about reconstruction and it is about good leadership, including the fight against corruption.”

The United States and NATO members have more than 100,000 troops in the country fighting to end an increasingly virulent Taliban-led insurgency.

SouthKorean Farmers Protest Against Free Trade With US

latest news about, SouthKorean Farmers Protest Against Free Trade With US, More than twenty thousand South Korean farmers rallied on Tuesday to denounce free trade with the United States, ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit to the country.

In downtown Seoul, farmers wearing red headbands held a massive rally, chanting anti-government slogans and denouncing the free trade deal with the US. They said the United States’ cheap agricultural products will ruin their life. “I think we should deliver our views on South Korea’s agricultural situation to US President Obama. I also think we should have a well-balanced agreement between the two countries on agricultural issues, so that we farmers can make our own living,” said Kang Woo-hyun, a leader of the protest. Angry farmers demonstrated burning Korean alphabets meaning “solution to the rice crisis” and also burned bags of rice to protest the government’s agricultural policies.

They said the government was threatening their living and urged the government to come up with better policies and sincere support.
South Korea has submitted the free-trade deal to parliament for approval. Some studies said it could boost the two countries’ $78 billion annual trade by a quarter. The ruling conservative Grand National party has pledged to pass it soon.

However, US President Barack Obama, who will soon visit the country, had called for the South Korea trade deal to be re-negotiated because he says the agreements’ auto provision favours South Korean automakers too much. Obama also said on Sunday in Singapore that Washington would take steps to reduce the United States’ long-term deflect and would work with South Korea to move forward on the free trade deal.

Iran to Face Consequences’ on Nuclear Issue: Barack Obama

BEIJING : China and the United States agreed that Iran will face ‘consequences’ if it will resist greater openness on its nuclear programme, US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday after talks with China’s Hu Jintao.

Obama told reporters in a joint address to reporters that he and Hu “agreed that the Islamic Republic of Iran must provide assurances to the international community that its nuclear programme is peaceful and transparent.”

“On this point our two nations and (other global powers) are unified.

“Iran has an opportunity to present and demonstrate its peaceful intentions but if it fails to take this opportunity, there will be consequences,” Obama said.

China and the United States are among six world powers seeking a negotiated end to Iran’s nuclear programmes.

The UN atomic watchdog on Monday demanded more information from Iran about the purpose of a previously secret nuclear site and indicated the Islamic republic could be hiding other facilities.

Newsweek Sarah Palin Cover

latest news about, Newsweek Sarah Palin Cover, Many supporters of Sarah Palin is upset after seeing an untouched Newsweek cover. The cover photo shows in HD from every pore, facial hair, and imperfection in the human face of Sarah. The hatred of this woman crazy liberal democrats is off the table. Sarah has never done anything bad to anyone, and has more of an approval rating of 90% of voters in Alaska, so we know that many people outside the liberal media who appreciate Sarah for what it is.

I’ve never seen the same liberal media people who are attacking Sarah, always act his age, so I’m not at all surprised to see everything they do to offend.

A change that is very thankful for the success of Barack Obama in the polls. Obama’s success reflects the fact that racism is no longer a problem for most Americans, but the attacks on Sarah Palin shows that sexism remains a problem.

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