Drone attacks follow ISI chief to Pakistan after modest gains in US visit

WASHINGTON: A pair of US drone attacks on Wednesday that killed six suspected militants inPakistan followed the country's intelligence chief back home after his high-wire engagement in Washington during which he is said to have won modest concessions. 

ISI chief Shuja Pasha's 24-hour visit here on Monday for talks with his CIA opposite number saw the US promise greater transparency and accountability of CIA operations in Pakistan without any specific commitments, while rejecting the demand for a halt to drone strikes. Washington followed it up its unremitting stand with two drone strikes hours after Pasha returned to Pakistan. 

The strikes -- the first in more than two weeks -- indicated the two sides are still at odds despite Washington's effort to mollify its angry ally with a series of affable public statements. Asked if the strains between the United States and Pakistan's government are inhibiting counterterrorism efforts, White House spokesman Jay Carney skirted the question while saying the "relationship... cooperation between our two countries...has been important, and continues to this day." 

"We are engaged in a shared goal of defeating insurgents and terrorist groups. ... I can't discuss specifics about intelligence operations, but I can tell you that the cooperation between our two countries is important and continues," he added. 

At the State Department, officials indicated that the US would consider Pakistan's demand to scale down its contingent of intelligence operatives and special ops forces, but said it was having ongoing conversations about the size of US programs to train the Pakistan military. "We want to keep that program alive," spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. "We think it's important." 

Pakistan's military wants to downsize the program and get a better handle on it because it suspects Washington is using it for espionage. It also wants to be kept in the loop about US tracking of organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (which is what led to the Raymand Davis shoot-out), which Washington suspects of having close ties with the Pakistani military establishment. 

But outside the polite bromides issued for public consumption, Pakistan has clearly fallen foul of the Washington establishment and US public opinion over what is widely seen as its two-faced approach to terrorism, including using it as a policy instrument in the region. Even as ISI chief Pasha left Washington, a top US general indicated that Pakistan continued to be dodgy about terrorist outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, while warning that the organization had spread its tentacles beyond the subcontinent. 

"The discussion regarding the government of Pakistan's relationship to LeT is a very sensitive one," Admiral Robert Willard, head of the US Pacific Command, pointedly told a Senate hearing even asIslamabad continued to allow LeT supremo Hafeez Mohammed Saeed a free run in Pakistan, while Pakistani fingerprints appeared in terrorism cases far and wide. 

In the US, on either side of ISI chief Pasha's day-long visit, two Pakistani expats were in the news for exporting what is now jokingly referred to as the country chief produce – terrorism. 

Farooque Ahmed, 35, a naturalized US citizen born in Pakistan, who prosecutors said wanted to "kill as many Americans as possible" by bombing Washington transit hubs, was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Monday. In Massachusetts, Aftab Khan, a Pakistani man who was arrested in connection with the Times Square bombing, agreed to be deported back to Pakistan under a plea deal after spending 11 months in prison. 

Such adverse publicity for Pakistan, including being implicated by the Headley-Rana duo for theMumbai attack during Pasha's visit, has hardly deterred the country's military establishment from pushing the envelope with Washington. While intelligence mavens would struggle to name the spy agencies and chief spooks of countries such as China and Russia, the ISI chief arrived in Washington in a blizzard of pre-visit hype and publicity, having put the country's demands -- stop drone strikes; withdraw CIA personnel -- on the table in background leaks before the trip. 

"It was a 21st-century way to open the high-level bargaining over new rules for the US-Pakistani intelligence relationship," commentator David Ignatius noted in a blog detailing the Pakistani high-wire strategy. What returns Pasha got for his labors will become apparent in the coming weeks. But the drone strikes within hours of his return to Pakistan provide an inkling.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Drone-attacks-follow-ISI-chief-to-Pakistan-after-modest-gains-in-US-visit/articleshow/7972880.cms

US lawmakers tell Obama, dump Pakistan and go with India

WASHINGTON: Expressing apprehension that theUnited States is being "taken for suckers" and "looked at as patsies" by Pakistan, two American lawmakers on Tuesday called for strengthening ties with India even as a White House report gave a harshly critical assessment of Islamabad's effort to defeat extremism. 

While administration officials defended Washington's support for Pakistan using the same logic as London is doing on UK Prime Minister David Cameron's ongoing visit to Islamabad ("a difficult partnership with Pakistan is far better than having a hostile Pakistan," one U.S official testified), lawmakers wanted a major reappraisal of U.S outlook for the region. They expressed doubts if any good would come out of the current U.S policy of coddling Islamabad in the face of Pakistani duplicity in combating extremism. Instead, they pushed for even closer ties with India. 

"After 10 years of hearing the same sales pitch I tend to doubt it. I doubt that our money is buying anything that's deep or durable," New York Congressman Gary Ackerman said at a hearing. "I doubt the leaders in the Afghan government and the Pakistani government are going to do anything except pursue their own narrow, venal self interests. I doubt the ISI will ever stop working with us during the day and going to see their not-so-secret friends in the Lashkar-e-Taibaor Jaish-e Mohammed and other terrorist groups at night." 

His California colleague Dana Rohrabacher went even further back to frame the situation in a historical context. "I've been hearing that for 50 years. And I will tell you, a realistic relationship, rather than basing the relationship on wishful thinking, is what will bring about peace in that part of the world. What we've had is wishful thinking and what I call irrational optimism," he said at a hearing called to assess U.S foreign policy priorities in South Asia. 

The critical comments came just hours after a White House report to Congress concluded that after years of work with the Pakistani military "there remains no clear path toward defeating the insurgency" that thrives in the country, remarks that analysts said reflected growing frustration in the administration over Pakistan's commitment to fight extremism. 

Still, administration officials defended Washington's outreach to Pakistan, insisting that the country is vital to US national security interests and suggesting the U.S had no other options. 

But lawmakers were not convinced. Both Rohrabacher and Ackerman, who described U.S ties withNew Delhi as the "one shining light" and "brightest light" respectively of the administration's foreign policy pressed for greater emphasis on India. 

"I would hope that we have the intelligence to work and to make sure that India is our best friend in that part of the world," Rochrabacher said, offering his contrast between the two countries. "The fact is that Pakistan is committed to Islam...India is dedicated to prosperity for their people." 

Amid what lawmakers saw as Washington's compulsive obsession with Pakistan, Ackerman in fact criticized the administration for not using U.S diplomatic leadership and agenda-setting capability to focus global attention to the threat to India from Pakistan-based terrorists, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba. 

"If there is, God forbid, another Mumbai-like strike, we will not be able to say that we did our utmost to prevent it because in truth, we haven't," he warned. "The ambitions of these terrorists have only grown and a full-fledged global campaign to crush these thugs still awaits at our peril." 

While critical of Pakistan, the White House report offered no new prescription of how to handle Islamabad, aside from reflecting on the well-known fact that India looms large in the Pakistani military's thinking. 

"As India continues to dominate their strategic threat perception, large elements of Pakistan's military remain committed to maintaining a ratio of Pakistani to Indian forces along the eastern border," the Presidential report to the Congress on Afghanistan and Pakistan said, adding, "This deprives the Pakistani COIN (counter-insurgency) fight of sufficient forces to achieve its 'clear' objectives and support the 'hold' efforts." 

Some analysts have suggested India should take steps to reassure Pakistan about its security, but the broad reading in Washington is that nothing can placate a security establishment that uses a trumped-up or exaggerated Indian threat to extend its stranglehold on the Pakistani people and the country's resources. President Obama downwards, U.S officials have said the Pakistani military's obsession is misplaced. Frustrated lawmakers on Tuesday suggested in effect that the administration simply strengthen ties with India to counter Pakistan's policy.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-lawmakers-tell-Obama-dump-Pakistan-and-go-with-India/articleshow/7886263.cms

We will never bully our neighbours: China

BEIJING: China has assured its neighbours it will never play the bully. The government released a key defense policy document on Thursday promising to build trust with neighbouring countries in the military sphere. 

China is pursuing "an effective way to maintain national security and development, and safeguard regional peace and stability," the document said. 

"At present and in future, no matter how developed China is, China will never seek hegemony or pursue expansionist policies," Defence Ministry spokesmanGeng Yansheng said. "China's armed forces adopt a peaceful, cooperative and constructive approach in participating in international military affairs," he said. 

The document comes within days of the People's Liberation Army testing its integrated air defence capability under the scenario of a massive air strike. The tests that included surface-to-air missiles aimed at bringing compatibility among various kinds of missile systems, official reports said. 

Beijing also voiced concern over attempts by other countries to contain its growing power in the Asian region. Beijing is particularly peeved at what it regards as growing influence of the United States in Asia resulting in higher levels of friction in the region. 

"Suspicion about China, interference and countering moves against China from the outside are on the increase," the Chinese government said in a key military policy document released on Thursday. It expressed worries about the United States trying to enhance its influence in Asia resulting in growing friction in the region. 

China reiterated its earlier warnings about "fierce" regional competition and an increasingly "volatile" security scenario in Asia. 

"Major powers are stepping up the realignment of their security and military strategies, accelerating military reform and vigorously developing new ... military technologies." 

The document comes in the wake of sharp differences between Beijing and Tokyo over ownership of an island, and worldwide apprehension over large scale investments made by the Chinese militaryin its weapons modernization program. 

China's official defence spending rose 12.7 per cent this year to about 601 billion Yuan ($91.5 billion), the second highest in the world behind the United States. But military observers say this figure does not include a wide range of investments made on infrastructure and other strategic areas by different agencies of the government including the People's Liberation Army.

Tsunami-hit Japan awakes to wide destruction, toll exceeds 1,000

TOKYO: Japan confronted devastation along its northeastern coast on Saturday, with fires raging and parts of some cities under water after a massive earthquake and tsunami that likely killed at least 1,000 people. 

( See: Quake, tsunami hit Japan ) 

Daybreak revealed the full extent of the damage from Friday's 8.9 magnitude earthquake -- the strongest in Japan since records began -- and the 10-metre high tsunami it sent surging into cities and villages, sweeping away everything in its path. 

"This is likely to be a humanitarian relief operation of epic proportions," Japan expert Sheila Smith of the US-based Council on Foreign Relations wrote in a commentary. 

In one of the worst-hit residential areas, people buried under rubble could be heard calling out "help" and "when are we going to be rescued", Kyodo news agency reported. TV footage showed staff at one hospital waving banners with the words "Food" and "HELP" from a rooftop. 

In Tokyo, office workers who were stranded in the city after the quake forced the subway system to close early slept alongside the homeless at one station. Scores of men in suits lay on newspapers, using their briefcases as pillows. 

The government warned there could be a small radiation leak from a nuclear reactor whose cooling system was knocked out by the quake. Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered an evacuation zone around the plant be expanded to 10 km (6 miles) from 3 km. Some 3,000 people had earlier been moved out of harm's way. 

Underscoring concerns about the Fukushima plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, US officials said Japan had asked for coolant to avert a rise in the temperature of its nuclear rods, but ultimately handled the matter on its own. Officials said a leak was still possible because pressure would have to be released. 

( Read: How a Tsunami is caused? ) 

The unfolding natural disaster prompted offers of search and rescue help from 45 countries. 

China said rescuers were ready to help with quake relief while President Barack Obama told Kan the United States would assist in any way. 

The northeastern Japanese city of Kesennuma, with a population of 74,000, was hit by widespread fires and one-third of the city was under water, Jiji news agency said on Saturday. 

The airport in the city of Sendai, home to one million people, was on fire, it added. 

TV footage from Friday showed a muddy torrent of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near Sendai, 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Ships had been flung onto a harbour wharf, where they lay helplessly on their side. 

Boats, cars and trucks were tossed around like toys in the water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. Kyodo news agency reported that contact had been lost with four trains in the coastal area. 

Japanese politicians pushed for an emergency budget to fund relief efforts after Kan asked them to "save the country", Kyodo news agency reported. Japan is already the most heavily indebted major economy in the world, meaning any funding efforts would be closely scrutinised by financial markets. 

Domestic media said the death toll was expected to exceed 1,000, most of whom appeared to have drowned by churning waters. 

Even in a nation accustomed to earthquakes, the devastation was shocking. 

"A big area of Sendai city near the coast, is flooded. We are hearing that people who were evacuated are stranded," said Rie Sugimoto, a reporter for NHK television in Sendai. 

"About 140 people, including children, were rushed to an elementary school and are on the rooftop but they are surrounded by water and have nowhere else to go." 

Japan has prided itself on its speedy tsunami warning system, which has been upgraded several times since its inception in 1952, including after a 7.8 magnitude quake triggered a 30-metre high wave before a warning was given. 

The country has also built countless breakwaters and floodgates to protect ports and coastal areas, although experts said they might not have been enough to prevent disasters such as the one that struck on Friday. 

"I was unable stay on my feet because of the violent shaking. The aftershocks gave us no reprieve. Then the tsunamis came when we tried to run for cover. It was the strongest quake I experienced," a woman with a baby on her back told television in northern Japan. 

( Japan nuclear plants shut after quake ) 

Fires across the coast 

The quake, the most powerful since Japan started keeping records 140 years ago, sparked at least 80 fires in cities and towns along the coast, Kyodo said. 

Other Japanese nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down and one refinery was ablaze. 

Auto plants, electronics factories and refineries shut, roads buckled and power to millions of homes and businesses was knocked out. Several airports, including Tokyo's Narita, were closed and rail services halted. All ports were shut. 

The central bank said it would cut short a two-day policy review scheduled for next week to one day on Monday and promised to do its utmost to ensure financial market stability. 

The disaster occurred as the world's third-largest economy had been showing signs of reviving from an economic contraction in the final quarter of last year. It raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses and a massive repair bill running into tens of billions of dollars. 

The tsunami alerts revived memories of the giant waves that struck Asia in 2004. 

Warnings were issued for countries to the west of Japan and across the Pacific as far away asColombia and Peru, but the tsunami dissipated as it sped across the ocean and worst fears in the Americas were not realised. 

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century. 

The quake surpasses the Great Kanto quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area. 

The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. Economic damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was estimated at about $10 billion. 

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Tsunami-hit-Japan-awakes-to-wide-destruction-toll-exceeds-1000/articleshow/7678342.cms

U.S. puts off trilateral meet

ISLAMABAD: As expected — given the rising tensions between the United States and Pakistan over the arrest of an American embassy functionary in Lahore — the U.S. on Saturday night announced the postponement of the trilateral meeting in Washington with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Though no fresh dates have been announced, the U.S. State Department said it would be convened at the earliest opportunity.

The reason cited for the postponement was the political changes in Pakistan late last week. After a federal Cabinet overhaul, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who had presided over the Foreign Ministry for the past three years, was shown the door.

According to the U.S. State Department, the trilateral meeting on Afghanistan — scheduled for February 23 and 24 — was postponed in consultation with Afghan and Pakistani officials. Seeking to quell speculation, the statement added that the U.S. remained committed to “robust engagement between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States, as we share many issues of mutual concern and benefit from being at the same table”.

Ahead of the announcement, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir had hinted at such a possibility, saying the dates had been changed more than once and “the trilateral is most likely being rescheduled”. However, he did not link it to the stand-off with the U.S. over the arrest of American embassy functionary Raymond Davis for shooting down two “armed” men.

Maintaining that Pakistan would be ready for the trilateral meeting whenever it took place, Mr. Bashir said it would be extremely counter-productive if one person destroyed a 60-year relationship. “Our effort is to ensure that the Lahore incident is not blown out of proportion and hope that nothing will be said or done that will be detrimental to U.S.-Pak ties.”

Asked to comment on the departure of Mr. Qureshi and its impact on the forthcoming ministerial level engagement with India, Mr. Bashir said: “Nobody is permanent. Mr. Qureshi played a very important role in promoting the process of dialogue with India but we are all dispensable individually.”

Source:-http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/14/stories/2011021456771700.htm