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Kabul, October 12 The USA has sought a more active role for India in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, but ruled out any security role for New Delhi, saying it could lead to “power politics”.
High-precision equipment for nukes disappears from Iraq
Report faults military tech in Iraq war
Condolence book for slain hostage stolen
No ‘outside solution’ can be imposed on Kashmir: Kerry |
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Kerry holds ground, race close: poll
Honour for woman who dedicated life to genocide survivors
El Nino might cause warm winter, flood and drought
Saudi forces kill 2 gunmen: TV
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USA sees role for India in Afghanistan
Kabul, October 12 US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad also told a group of visiting Indian journalists here yesterday that there was no possibility of any immediate disengagement by Washington from the country. While seeking a more active role by India in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Khalilzad said this could not mean infusion of any Indian army or police presence in the war-torn nation. Any presence of regional forces as part of an international peacekeeping effort could lead to “complicity whereby Asian neighbours could begin to play power politics, of which Afghanistan had had enough over the past two decades,” he said. Khalilzad, who took over in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks that resulted in the US-led military operation in Afghanistan, said India could play a more positive role by creating a strong civil service for Afghanistan. “New Delhi could help the new Afghan regime in setting up dams, schools, hospitals and much-needed power projects and more importantly help set up a civil service.” The US Ambassador specially wanted Indian help for the Salma Dam in Herat which is a key project in power-starved Afghanistan and the exploration of gas fields in Shibergan, a province in northwestern Afghanistan, bordering Uzbekistan.
— PTI |
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High-precision equipment for nukes disappears
United Nations, October 12 The equipment includes milling machines, turning machines and electron beam welders which, if in wrong hands, can be used for making deadly weapons for both military and civilian purposes. “The disappearance of such equipment and material may be of proliferation significance, any State having information about the location of these items should inform the Vienna based International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA),” the agency said in a letter to the Security Council yesterday. After Saddam Hussein was ousted, many Iraqi facilities were looted. Some materials, including missile engines, were found in junkyards of Iraq’s neighbours. But the IAEA said equipment and materials which were considered potentially useful in making a nuclear bomb had not been located. The Bush Administration had come under criticisms for not quickly securing sensitive sites after victory. IAEA has no inspectors on the ground and its assessment is apparently based on satellite imagery. The satellite imagery shows the entire buildings housing high-precision equipment that could help a terror group in making nuclear bombs in a dismantled state.
— PTI |
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Report faults military tech in Iraq war
Washington, October 12 One battalion commander told the magazine he had almost no information on the strength and position of Iraqi forces after his division took control of a key bridge south of Baghdad on April 2, 2003. Lt-Col Ernest Marcone said he was told to expect one Iraqi brigade advancing south from the Baghdad airport, but instead was forced to battle three separate Iraqi brigades advancing from three directions, the magazine reported. What ensued was the largest counterattack of the Iraq war. US troops won because of their superior weapons, greater firepower and air support, but not because they had any real insight into enemy positions through new technology, the magazine said. ‘’Next to the fall of Baghdad that bridge was the most important piece of terrain in the theatre, and no one can tell me what’s defending it,’’ Marcone told the magazine. ‘’Not how many troops, what units, what tanks, anything. There’s zero information getting to me.’’ Marcone’s experience was typical, according to a largely classified report being prepared for the Pentagon by the Rand Corp, which concludes that frontline commanders often did not benefit from cutting-edge technologies. These were aimed at moving toward a smaller, smarter fighting force connected by advanced communications systems. Walter Perry, a senior Rand researcher, told the magazine the report uncovered a ‘’digital divide’’ that allowed division commanders to get a good view of the battlefield, but left frontline commanders basically in the dark. The problems preventing effective relaying of crucial data included lengthy download times, software failures and lack of access to high-bandwidth communications. Pentagon officials highlighted the success of networked forces during the Iraq war, including the case of a US radar plane detecting Iraqi troops during a blinding sandstorm and ordering in bombers using satellite-guided bombs. But the report found that ground forces had serious problems getting access to vital intelligence and surveillance data. In three cases, US vehicles were attacked when they stopped to receive data on enemy positions, it said.
— Reuters |
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Condolence book for slain hostage stolen
London, October 12 The book was opened at Birmingham Central Mosque on Saturday, a day after Bigley’s family in Liverpool confirmed his execution at the hands of the Tawhid wal Jihad (unity and holy war) group after three weeks in captivity. Mohammed Naseem, chairman of the mosque, said the book had been discovered stolen yesterday, along with a photograph of the 62-year-old engineer, candles and some sympathy cards. “They are sick people,” said Naseem, referring to the thieves. “We don’t know who’s done it and I can’t put a motive on it. It’s very distressing for us and undoubtedly for Bigley’s family.” A new book of condolence has been opened at the mosque and would be kept safe in the mosque office before being sent to the Bigley family. Earlier this year, a book of condolence for victims of the Madrid train bombings was stolen from the same mosque. It had been signed by nearly 2,000 Muslims and religious leaders, and was to have been sent to Spain.
— AFP |
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No ‘outside solution’ can be imposed on Kashmir: Kerry
Washington, October 12 In an interview to India Abroad weekly magazine, Mr Kerry said the US role on Kashmir “over the years has been largely passive and reactive with one or two exceptions as when former President Bill Clinton persuaded Pakistan to turn back at the time of Kargil crisis.” “...We must view the Kashmir issue as something other than a crisis-management issue. We should not seek to impose any plan. We should be willing to give India and Pakistan as much help as they might jointly request. “To give you one example, we might provide technological assistance to help monitor crossborder activities. In addition, we will push Pakistan to cut off support for crossborder terrorism.” Mr Kerry said “we all have an interest in seeing the Kashmir issue resolved in a fair and equitable and—this is essential—peaceful manner. The Indians, and Pakistanis, have an even more direct interest in wanting to ensure this problem does not impede the progress made over the past year. The solution rests in New Delhi, Islamabad and Srinagar. No solution can be imposed from the outside.” Mr Kerry, who promised to visit India if elected President, said he will insist on Pakistan ending cross border terrorism in Kashmir. “Crossborder terrorism must stop. I cannot say that often enough. The support Pakistan has given to terrorist actions in Kashmir—official or non-official—must cease.” He said “the time is long overdue for the US to distinguish once and for all, between India and Pakistan and to treat each differently and according to the demands of those bilateral relationships.” — PTI
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Kerry holds ground, race close: poll
Washington, October 12 The poll, taken after the second debate on Friday, shows 49 per cent of likely voters for Kerry versus 48 per cent for Bush. Among registered voters, Bush and Kerry were tied at 48 per cent. After the first debate on September 30, the two candidates moved to a 49 per cent tie among likely voters while registered voters supported Bush by 49 per cent to 47 per cent support for Kerry, according to a USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll. A Gallup poll taken on September 24-26, before the debates, showed Bush ahead of Kerry 52 per cent to 44 per cent. The latest telephone survey of 1,015 adults, including 793 likely voters, was conducted on October 9 and 10.
— Reuters |
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Honour for woman who dedicated life to genocide survivors
A year after the genocide in Rwanda, Mary Kayitesi Blewitt returned to her village to dig through a mass grave in search of her family. The rains had washed away the topsoil, revealing the bodies of about 200 persons.
Yesterday, at the Women of the Year awards ceremony at the Savoy Hotel in London, Ms Blewitt was unable to find the words to express what it was like to rebury those she loved. She lost 50 members of her family in the genocide, including her brother John Baptiste, (27), whose leg was hacked off by his killers. He was left to bleed to death in front of his wife and children. Since then she had heard countless horrific stories from survivors who had come to her for help and she decided to set up an organisation known as the Surf Survivors Fund. “The widows who I met in Rwanda, who had been raped just wanted to die,” she said. Instead, she convinced them to set up their own charity to help the orphans. Fergal Keane, a BBC correspondent, said, “Marry Blewitt is quite a remarkable human being, one of the most remarkable I have ever met. Her work has involved extraordinary personal sacrifice. Those of us who witnessed genocide in Rwanda know that Mary Blewitt stands among the bravest of the brave, the kindest of the kind.” Accepting the Pilkington Window to the World Award, Ms Blewitt said: “It makes me both sad and happy. It makes you happy to have someone acknowledge what you have done. But I also think, had there been no genocide I would not be here.” Created in 1955, the Women of the Year Lunch and Assembly is intended to bring together distinguished women and reward them for their work. The main achievement award went to Kelly Holmes for her double Olympic gold. “Her story is one of triumph over adversity, and she will not only be heralded for her athletic achievements but also for her gutsy, committed approach,” the committee said. Jane Tomlinson, (40), who has raised nearly (£ sterling) 1m for cancer charities since being told she had incurable breast cancer four years ago, won the Frink Award, for women who have enriched others’ lives while overcoming difficulties of their own. Josette Bushell-Mingo, the actor and director who founded the Push performing arts company, was given the inaugural Craymer Award for Enterprise. The lunch’s title was fighting back; Women’s Voices in the Aftermath of the War in Iraq. The guest of honour, Iraq’s leading female broadcaster, Amal al-Mudarris, (55) said, “My homeland has become a river of blood, bleeding every day.” But while the future remained unclear, she said she was optimistic. “It is possible for the men of Iraq to protect Iraq themselves. When Iraq becomes free and democratic they will be able to do
that.” — By arrangement with the Independent, London. |
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El Nino might cause warm winter, flood and drought
Beijing, October 12 El Nino is the disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific region that influences global climate. According to the China Meteorological Administration, a weak-to-moderate El Nino event has been detected for this winter lasting until the beginning of 2005 in an equatorial area near the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Due to this, the winters would be warmer than usual and next summer, there would be floods and droughts, Chinese meteorologists were quoted as saying by the China Radio International. In the past 50 years, temperatures have increased during El Nino, with more rain in the southern China and droughts in the north.
— PTI |
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Saudi forces kill 2 gunmen: TV
Riyadh, October 12 It said the dead men had used hand grenades and rifles against the security forces and the police had now sealed off the Nassim area. The television station said it was not clear if any security forces had been injured in the shootout. Officials were not immediately available for comment. Saudi Arabia has been battling a wave of Al Qaeda violence since May last year when suicide bombers struck at three residential compounds in Riyadh, killing 35 persons. In total, more than 160 persons have been killed since then, including Saudis, foreigners, security forces and militants.
— Reuters |
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