Hillary Clinton says Taliban outreach key to Afghan solution

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has said that Washington's "preliminary outreach" to the Taliban was part of a necessary but unpleasant attempt to achieve a political solution in Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mrs Clinton told the Senate that the US is backing a diplomatic surge complementing the military surge that President Barack Obama has begun to wind down with the planned withdrawal of 10,000 troops this year.

"It is diplomatic efforts in support of an Afghan-led political process that aims to shatter the alliance between the Taliban and al-Qaeda and the insurgency, and help to produce more stability," she said.

She repeated that the Taliban insurgents must meet the US "red lines" of renouncing violence, abandoning support for al Qaeda, and supporting the Afghan constitution, which includes protections for women.

"The United States has a broad range of contacts at many levels across Afghanistan and the region that we are leveraging to support this effort, including very preliminary outreach to members of the Taliban," she said.

"This is not a pleasant business, but a necessary one because history tells us that a combination of military pressure, economic opportunity and an inclusive political and diplomatic process is the best way to end insurgencies."

Read More

Indonesia beefs up security as Islamist cleric faces verdict

  Indonesian militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir faces a court verdict Thursday that could see him jailed for life for funding a group that aimed to kill the country's president.

Jailing Bashir would be an important step in the Indonesian government's efforts to weaken terror groups, but may not reduce the threat of attacks in the most populous Muslim country as others seek to push an Islamist agenda.

Bashir does not command widespread support in Indonesia, but a guilty verdict could inflame hardcore Islamists, some of whom have vowed reprisals after the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden.

Underlining that risk, an anonymous text message circulating through the capital this week warned of 36 bombs exploding in across the country the moment the judge in the south Jakarta court announces a verdict for Bashir.

"Give me strength to fight against the infidels, Islam's enemies," said Bashir in a prayer at the court to hundreds of his followers, many of whom traveled from other cities for the conclusion of a long trial.

Police have stepped up security, with 2,900 officers at the court alone, where phone lines were scrambled and balaclava-wearing snipers took positions on surrounding buildings.

The frail 72-year old cleric is being tried on charges of supporting a paramilitary group that aimed to destabilize Southeast Asia's largest economy, and turn the officially pluralist and mostly moderate Muslim country into a state with Islamic law.

Indonesia has seen success in recent years in tackling militant groups, and a period of political stability and strong economic growth has turned it into an emerging market favorite among investors, though security risks remain.

Militants linked by police to Bashir's group Jema'ah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) have been involved in recent shootouts with police, and a suicide bombing at a police mosque in Java, leading analysts to conclude they are changing tactics from focusing on Western targets to attacking local institutions.

Police say Bashir was also the spiritual leader of regional group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed over 200 people.

This is the third attempt for Indonesian law enforcers to try the white-bearded cleric on terror charges. Previous trials only kept him briefly behind bars for other crimes such as immigration offences.

Prosecutors want life in jail for Bashir, though the maximum penalty for the charges is death.

The cleric denied his involvement in the training camp based in Aceh province, which is governed by Islamic law.

Read More

Indonesia backs Christine Lagarde for IMF job

Emerging economy Indonesia threw its backing on Sunday behind France's Christine Lagarde to become head of the International Monetary Fund. 

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Share 

    

A late challenge from Israel's Stanley Fischer, announced on Saturday, faltered as fast as it emerged.

Indonesia was previously non-committal on the race for the top IMF job as Southeast Asian and other emerging market nations discussed the possibility of putting forward a candidate from their region.

Lagarde, already backed by the European Union and a handful of smaller countries, gained a personal message of approval from her opposite number in Jakarta, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo.

Several large emerging economies have been critical of the longstanding tradition of the IMF being led by Europeans.

The French finance minister, who is on a world tour to drum up support, said during a Sunday stop in Cairo she had got "very affirmative" support there, suggesting new fans now included two of the world's most populous Muslim countries.

The United Arab Emirates declared its support for her on Sunday.

The top position at the world's main rescue-lending agency became vacant after Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned following his arrest by police on May 14. He has been charged with the attempted rape of a New York hotel maid, which he denies.

On Saturday Bank of Israel boss Stanley Fischer, once second-in-command at the IMF, said he was joining the race. Until then her only real challenger had been Mexican central bank chief Augustin Carstens, whose bid has been seen to be trailing badly.

Fischer's surprise move looked something of a long shot. At 67 he is two years past the maximum set for applicants.

Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz admitted on army radio hours that Fischer's "chances are not great", because of politics as well as his age.

"Were it purely professional one would be hard pressed to find a better person than Fischer," Steinitz added.

Fischer was born in Zambia but holds both Israeli and US citizenship. The former could pose a problem for Arab countries and the latter because the IMF job normally goes to a European on the grounds that a US national already gets to fill another post, the top job at the World Bank.

Fischer's IMF record may additionally be questioned in Asia, where he remains associated with harsh IMF-backed free-market policies the region was forced to adopt in the late 1990s in return for aid to counter a financial crisis.

MORE PROGRESS FOR LAGARDE

"Personally I support France," Indonesian Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said.

"She is a very professional person. She is smart in interacting between institutions, and has high integrity and skills," the minister said in comments during an economic forum in the Indonesian capital.

Lagarde's latest campaign stops included Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Mexico's Carstens visited New Delhi on Friday but appeared to fail to secure backing.

India and the other biggest emerging market economies China, Brazil, South Africa and Russia have called for an end to Europe's grip on the top IMF job but they have failed to put up a candidate of their own or explicitly back Carstens.

"There is not the capacity to build consensus among the emerging market nations behind one candidate, irrespective of who that person is, and besides that the Europeans feel very strongly," said Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.

"I think it's virtually impossible to unseat Lagarde at this point."

Read More

Eurogroup chief backs ‘soft’ Greek debt restructure

Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker backed on Saturday a ‘soft restructuring’ of Greece’s debt with a voluntary contribution from private-sector creditors, as Germany wants.


‘There will be no total restructuring,’ he told a German radio station. ‘The governments are agreed on that, ECB support for such an option could not be obtained.’

‘There must be a soft and voluntary restructuring,’ Juncker added.

Read More

Start of Afghan transition on track for July: NATO

Plans are on track for Afghan forces to take charge of security in seven areas of Afghanistan from late July with a second phase of the handover starting in December, NATO commanders said on Thursday. Major-General Tim Evans, a senior British officer with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), on a video link from Afghanistan, said the first set of areas would start transferring from ISAF to Afghan control on July 20. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in March that seven areas would be included in the initial phase of transition, the first step in a long process due to end with the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops from Afghanistan by 2014. Karzai has said the transition would begin in the Afghan month of Saratan, which runs from June 22 to July 22 on the Western calendar, but has not given an exact date. Lieutenant-General David Rodriguez, the second most senior US commander in Afghanistan, speaking on the same video conference with reporters, said the Afghan government was "walking through all the plans and preparations now" for the first phase of transition. Afghan authorities had begun "face-to-face meetings down at the local level" in preparation for the handover and were very satisfied with ISAF's plans to support the transition, he said. "They are already looking forward to the next group (of areas for transition) that will be announced in the fall and initiate the process in December," said Rodriguez, commander of day-to-day operations for the 150,000-strong NATO-led force. TROOP DRAWDOWN The move is part of NATO's strategy to hand over responsibility to an expanding Afghan force gradually, allowing reductions in foreign forces currently battling Taliban insurgents. President Barack Obama is expected to announce soon he will bring home a sizable number of the 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan starting in July. The relatively peaceful provinces of Bamiyan and Panjshir, the western city of Herat, areas around the capital Kabul and part of eastern Laghman province are among the first areas to be handed over. Also on the transition list are Mazar-i-Sharif in the north and Lashkar Gah, capital of volatile southern Helmand province. Evans said the transition did not mean that all British troops in Lashkar Gah would suddenly leave in July. "We've got to make sure we still support the Afghan forces," he said. But if conditions allowed, troops from areas that had been handed over would be moved to help other areas progress toward transition, he said. Evans also said that the level of violence during this year's "fighting season" was likely to be "as high if not higher than last year" because ISAF forces were pursuing insurgents. NATO had anticipated that the insurgents might concentrate on areas singled out for transition to Afghan control, he said. Osama bin Laden's killing in a US raid in Pakistan last month has fueled calls in the United States for a faster drawdown of troops. Rodriguez said the al Qaeda leader's death had so far had no discernible effect on the ground, although he hoped bin Laden's influence on the Taliban would now decline.

Read More

Gayle hopeful of speedy national return

Chris Gayle, who was named the 2010 West Indies Players Association (WIPA) Cricketer of the Year as well as Test Player of the Year during the eighth annual First Citizens WIPA Awards in St Ann’s on Thursday night, is hopeful about getting back into the national side “as quickly as possible”.Gayle, who had been omitted from the West Indies limited-overs squad for the Twenty20 and first two ODI games against India, following his ongoing dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over his controversial radio interview in April, wrote in his column in the Hindustan Times that he wanted the “issue to be sorted out”.”We have a meeting scheduled sometime in the next few days,” Gayle wrote, “[and] I want to be involved in the game. But it is out of my control. The WICB people are the ones in charge. I have to see if we can resolve the issue. As I had stated to the board, they have known that I am fully available.”Gayle, who watched the Twenty20 game between West Indies and India in Trinidad on Saturday from the stands, wrote it was “disappointing to actually be on the sidelines” and “strange not to be involved in the game, not to be walking out to open the batting”.”The atmosphere was great but the stands are not a great place to be. I want to be in the middle.” Gayle had called on his fans to give him “a wake up call to go and watch cricket, wake me at 9-30am T&T plz [sic]” on Twitter the day before the match. After the game he tweeted that he had a “blast at cricket It was really nice to see the support and appreciation by fans thank you all for d [sic] support!!” During the game he had tweeted “WI Fans Don’t worry about a thing,cause every little things gonna [sic] be alright”, suggesting that that there could soon be a reconciliation between him and the board.The WICB was angered by Gayle’s decision to play in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore but Gayle had said the way he had been treated by the West Indies board (WICB) had left him with little choice but to join Bangalore and miss the home series against Pakistan. Gayle, who ended the IPL as the tournament’s top run scorer, called his stint “memorable.”"The people and fans there showed a lot of warmth,” he wrote. “That was in contrast to how one’s own people fail to recall, tend to forget the things you have done for the team.”From a player’s point of view, that kind of respect is definitely deserved. In your own region you are made to feel like an outsider. It is sad but that is how it is. Yes, here I’m definitely talking about the administration. It is always important that you should feel absolutely relaxed to feel an integral part of an environment.

Read More

Bangladesh’s pop guru Azam Khan Died

Bangladesh’s pop guru Azam Khan Died today Sunday 5th June 2011 in CHM Dhaka. He was the Pop King “Pop Guru” of Bangladesh. He start the band music trend in Bangladeshi Bangla(Bengali) Music.
Before that Bangladesh’s pop guru Azam Khan has been put on a life support system, his family said.

The legendary musician is in Square Hospitals for treatment of oral cancer.
Doctors there are saying nothing but that his brain is functioning, daughter Ema Khan told bdnews24.com.
They told the family he will be kept under observation for three to four days.

Bangladeshi Pop Guru Azam Khan

Azam Khan, or Mahbubul Haque Khan, born Feb 28, 1950 the capital’s Azimpur, is one of the pioneers of Bangla rock.
The Bangla pop maestro began his band Uchharon in the early 1070s. He fought in the Liberation War of 1971.
Azam Khan returned from Singapore in December last year after treatment for his oral cancer. He was admitted to Square Hospitals on May 22 when his health deteriorated.
He has released 17 solo albums to date. A large number of his songs were also released in mixed albums.
‘Ore Saleka, Ore Maleka’ is one of his songs that became very popular in the eighties.
Source: bdnews24.com

Read More

Pakistan Leaders Must Make Choice After Clinton’s Warning: View

Illustration by Bloomberg View

By the Editors Jun 2, 2011 6:29 AM GMT+0600 0 Comments

• 
  

When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan last week, she noted that U.S.- Pakistani relations were at a turning point after the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was up to the Pakistanis, she said, to decide “what kind of country they wish to live in.”
The brutalized body of investigative journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, which turned up outside of Islamabad on May 31, may provide a clue to the answer.
Shahzad disappeared after publishing the first of two promised articles linking elements of the Pakistan navy to al- Qaeda following a deadly May 22 attack on a Karachi naval station. Last fall, after being questioned about a different story by Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Shahzad wrote that he was threatened by the spy agency.
Alternatively, it could be that foul play like Shahzad’s murder will become a thing of the past in Pakistan. While in Islamabad May 27, Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen demanded authorities take “decisive steps” to crush the violent extremists the government has long supported, which would end the need to intimidate journalists who expose that support. Whichever way the Pakistan government goes, the May warnings by the U.S. ought to be the last.
The U.S. administration has continued to insist, as President Barack Obama did in a May 22 interview with the BBC, that the Pakistanis have “generally been significant and serious partners against the terrorist threat to the West.” This simply isn’t the case.

Victim, Sponsor

For much of the past decade, Pakistan has been both a victim and a sponsor of Islamic militants. Its soldiers are fighting bravely against homegrown terrorists seeking to install an Islamic government. In 20 attacks in May, these radicals killed some 150 people.
At the same time, the Pakistani army, led by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, is a longstanding patron of violent groups targeting Afghanistan and India. Guided by excessive fear bordering on paranoia about India, Pakistan’s military and intelligence services believe that nurturing those extremists is an effective way to frustrate India’s regional ambitions. The ISI largely created and continues to support the Taliban and the Haqqani Network, the principal groups battling U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the fledgling government in Kabul. It also backs Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group responsible for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people.

Double-Dealing

President George W. Bush’s administration tried to end this double-dealing by giving Pakistan billions in economic and military assistance. Yet Bush didn’t make the aid contingent on a crackdown on extremists. The Pakistanis cooperated somewhat with U.S. efforts to dismantle al-Qaeda but refused to act against other groups, including the Afghan Taliban, which was given refuge inside Pakistan’s borders.
The Obama administration accelerated the failed Bush policy, substantially increasing military and economic assistance, again without imposing rigorous conditions. And Pakistan continued to ignore administration warnings about continued support for extremists.
In one incident reported by the Washington Post, Obama’s first national security adviser, James Jones, warned officials in Islamabad that there would be “consequences” if a terrorist attack directed at the U.S. was traced to Pakistan. Yet when a man who had trained at a terrorist camp in that country attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square in May 2010, the U.S. administration did nothing. Shortly thereafter, Obama watered down Jones’s words, telling Kayani that a “successful” attack would have consequences.

Meaning Business

So when U.S. authorities learned that Osama bin Laden might be housed in a villa in a Pakistani garrison town, they dispatched Navy Seals to capture or kill him without so much as notifying the Pakistanis in advance. The raid provoked great outrage from officials in Pakistan. Since then, emotions have cooled. Clinton and Mullen have delivered their warnings, public and private. And this time, the Americans may mean business.
Will the Pakistanis respond?
Shahzad’s murder is a bad sign. On the other hand, reports from Pakistani tribal leaders suggest that the Pakistani army may be preparing a serious campaign in North Waziristan, where the leaders of the Haqqani Network and other extremist groups live.
It will soon be clear whether Clinton’s latest message got through. If not, the administration must consider new ways to persuade Pakistan to change course, recognizing that the country is behaving more like an adversary than a partner

Advertisement

Ads by google

Read More