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Bush orders 50 pc increase in CIA spies
USA justifies sale of arms to Pak
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Sharon cancels talks with Jack Straw
Iraq national
guardsman killed
Indian in trouble over change
Zardari to work for unity among political forces
No solution possible sans Kashmiris: Pak panel
Woman sells infant daughter for $5
US job market down, immigration up
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Bush orders 50 pc increase in CIA spies
Washington, November 24 The directive was issued on November 18 but was revealed by the White House only yesterday after a leak in The New York Times. The current strength of CIA spies in the Directorate of Operations was believed to be around 4,500. The actual number was classified. The US Defence Department was also studying and experimenting with new ways to use military forces to collect intelligence and conduct other covert operations. In this realm — technically called “intelligence preparation of the battlefield,” some sceptics viewed the department as inching into covert actions, The Washington Post said. The 50 per cent increase ordered by Bush in the CIA’s clandestine operations calls for a new training facility and “even more aggressive recruiting, or lowering the quality of people,” a former CIA official involved in the recruiting effort said, adding the increase called for was “huge.” Of the current estimated strength of 4,500 in the Directorate of Operations, about a third were in the field as case officers who recruit agents, a former official said. The rest provided support from headquarters and overseas. Overall, the CIA was believed to employ about 20,000 persons. Bush had ordered the increases “as soon as possible” but one former senior agency official told the Post that the task could take “years” to accomplish.
— PTI |
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USA justifies sale of arms to Pak
Responding to growing concern in New Delhi over the pending sale of American arms to Pakistan, a State Department spokesman on Tuesday insisted there was “no contradiction between having strong relations with India and meeting the defence needs of other countries through the sale of U.S. arms.”
Spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters in Washington that the United States’ arms policy was “governed by U.S. interests and congressional legislation.” “There should be no question that you can have good relations with one country and sell arms to another country. It’s not a mutually exclusive proposition, and nor should it be,” he said. On a trip to Washington last week, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran voiced New Delhi’s apprehension about the sale of U.S. arms to Pakistan. At a meeting with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, whom President George W. Bush has nominated to the post of Secretary of State, Mr. Saran said he “pointed out the repercussion that such supplies could have an impact on the ongoing India-Pakistan dialogue which was poised at a rather sensitive juncture.” “The supply of sophisticated weaponry to Pakistan will inevitably have an impact on the positive sentiments and good will that has come to characterize U.S.-India relations,” he added. On November 16, the Defece Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the U.S. Congress of a possible sale to Pakistan of six PHALANX Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS), 2,000 TOW-2A missiles, 14 TOW-2A Fly-to-Buy missiles and eight P-3C aircraft with T-56 engines as well as associated equipment and services. According to the DSCA notification, the proposed sale will contribute to “the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be a key ally in the global war on terrorism.” The notification assured members of Congress the proposed sale of this equipment would not affect the basic military balance in the region. However, New Delhi is concerned that this sophisticated weaponry might not be used for its intended purpose and could instead end up being directed toward Indian territory. In a letter to Mr Bush, Congressman Frank Pallone, New Jersey Democrat and former co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, urged the president to “re-examine the interests and priorities of the U.S. and to take a strong position against selling arms to Pakistan both now and in the future.” The congressman said he felt “it is unprecedented for the Pentagon to be engaging in weapons sales with Pakistan due to its political instability.” Concern about the wisdom of arms sales to Pakistan will be heightened by a Central Intelligence Agency report that says the nuclear black market led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan provided Iran with “significant assistance” including designs for “advanced and efficient” weapons components. The CIA report, the unclassified version of which was released on Tuesday, notes Libya’s disclosures “revealed that the A.Q. Khan network had provided Libya with designs for Pakistan’s older centrifuges, as well as designs for more advanced and efficient models, and components.” Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaida leaders have stated that Al-Qaida has a religious duty to acquire nuclear weapons, the report says. Documents recovered in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom show that Al- Qaida was engaged in “rudimentary nuclear research, although the extent of its indigenous programme is unclear.” Outside experts, such as Pakistani nuclear engineer Bashir al-Din Mahmood may have provided some assistance to Al- Qaida’s programme, according to the CIA document. Bashir, who reportedly met with Bin Laden, discussed information concerning nuclear weapons. The New York Times on Wednesday quoted a recent closed-door speech by George J. Tenet, former director of the CIA, in which he described Mr. Khan as being “at least as dangerous as Osama bin Laden” because of his role in providing nuclear technology to other countries. |
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Sharon cancels talks with Jack Straw
Jerusalem, November 24 Mr Sharon was due to meet Straw to discuss steps to help Palestinians elect a successor to late President Yasser Arafat in January. International mediators hope the January 9 election will help revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. “The Prime Minister is perfectly well, but he has lost his voice and the meeting with Mr Straw has been cancelled,” the official said. He said it was not known if Mr Sharon would try to reschedule the meeting tomorrow, when Mr Straw was to wrap up his two-day visit with a round of talks with Palestinian leaders.
—
Reuters |
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Iraq national
guardsman killed
Kirkuk, November 24 “Unknown attackers in a car opened fire on Tuesday night on the vehicle of two national guardsmen tasked with protecting an electoral office,” the force’s commander for the province, Gen Anwar Hamad Amin, told AFP. “One was killed, the other was seriously wounded,” the General said, adding that a bystander also died. Dr Ali
Al-Juburi, from Kirkuk general hospital, confirmed he had received two bodies with gunshot wounds. — AFP |
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Indian in trouble over change
Durban, November 24 Professor Aaron
Ndlovu, Vice-Chancellor of the Mangosuthu Technikon in the township of Umlazi in
Durban, alleged he was insulted by the cashier at the Gateway shopping centre. He claimed the cashier did not put the change into his hand after serving him, but instead placed it on the counter. “She did not want to touch my hand. This little Indian girl is sick,” he alleged while addressing a memorial service for a Technikon council member. Asked why he judged all Indians on the behaviour of one girl, he alleged that
“the manner in which the Indian cashier treated me is common behaviour by
Indians”. The Professor also claimed that the children of Indian staff at his institution did not attend his college but went to former White institutions. He is also reported to have said that the attitude of Indians on campus supported playwright Mbongeni Ngema’s statements on the “attitude of Indians towards Blacks”. However,
Ngema, who had apologised for writing an anti-Indian song a few years ago, and other leaders in the city have chastised the educator for promoting racial hatred against the Indian community. Indian-origin playwright Ronnie Govender has called for an investigation into the comments made by the Professor by the Education Department. “If what Ndlovu says is true, it must give us great cause for concern. We must not excuse the behaviour of the cashier and we must ascertain why there are no Indian students at
Mangosuthu”. — PTI |
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Zardari to work for unity among political forces
Karachi, November 24 They were addressing a joint press conference after the MMA leader, accompanied by his party colleagues, had met Mr Zardari at the Bilawal House and felicitated him on his release after eight years of detention. Maulana Fazl welcomed Mr Zardari’s offer to serve as a bridge among different political forces and said that his release would have a positive impact on political dispensation. Asked whether his meeting with Mr Zardari was a step towards forging a collaborative relationship between the ARD and the MMA, Maulana Fazl claimed that opposition parties were closer to each other and principles of cooperation on a permanent basis would be worked out so that past bickerings did not haunt future relationship. He said the cooperation could not be termed an electoral alliance, but they could agree on a minimum agenda. Replying to a question, he said that the ARD had constituted a committee for talks with the MMA so it would not be correct to assume that he had put forward certain conditions. The committee was yet to meet the alliance, he said. He said the real objective of political forces was a transition from the military-dominated dispensation to a democratic system. At present, he said, neither the constitution nor parliament was supreme and the retention of uniform by Gen Pervez Musharraf was an impediment towards that transition. He also recalled MMA’s reservations on the National Security Council. Mr Zardari complimented Maulana Fazl Rahman for his brotherly relations and the MMA demand for allowing Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan for playing her due role in national politics. Asked whether his meeting with the MMA leader was the initiation of building bridges among political forces, Mr Zardari referred to various internal and external threats and stressed that someone must have the courage to work to evolve political harmony among political parties and the forces that mattered. “We cannot wish away anybody,” he said, adding that every political force, whether in Saudi Arabia or in jail must sit to create that harmony. Mr Zardari, who was released on Monday, called for forgetting the past and playing a political role for a better future. Mr Zardari was of the view that general elections would be held next year but the Maulana felt that local bodies’ elections would be held. He said that general elections should be held on time. Earlier in the day leaders of the PPP from various parts of the country and Azad Kashmir and of other political parties met Mr Zardari at the Bilawal House. |
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No solution possible sans Kashmiris: Pak panel
Islamabad, November 24 “We do not agree with General Musharraf’s proposal to divide the state into seven regions. Pakistan cannot deviate from its original stand on the Kashmir issue,’’ Kashmir
Committee Chairman Choudhary Hamid Nasir Chattha told the visiting Indian media delegation at a luncheon meeting here. Any deviation was only possible when all three parties to the dispute — India, Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir sat and evolve a different stand acceptable to all of them, he added. Mr
Chattha, who was also the Pakistan National Assembly Speaker, said the first step in finding an amicable and lasting solution to the vexed issue would be to involve the Kashmiri leadership in the dialogue process. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir are the basic party to the dispute. Without their involvement the problem can never be resolved. If India and Pakistan come to a solution but that is not acceptable to the Kashmiris, what will happen then? We will back to square one,’’ he said. |
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Woman sells infant daughter for $5
Dhaka, November 24 Salma Khatun, mother of three daughters, sold her one-month-old daughter for adoption to a neighbour, according to local lawyer Azharul Islam who produced a copy of an affidavit filed with a notary public regarding the sale. Unable to provide meals, she sold her baby to his neighbour, Abdul Mazed, for 300 taka ($5), Islam said. “Following the sudden death of my husband, I can’t look after my children properly and am giving away my youngest daughter Parvin Akhter for adoption,” the affidavit said according to Islam. “We have heard the news today and we are going make an inquiry into it since it is illegal to sell a baby,” said Abdur Rahim, superintendent of police in southwestern Satkhira district. “People can adopt a child if they want to do so, but selling a child for adoption is not a lawful act,” Rahim said. — AP |
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US job market down, immigration up
Houston, November 24 Despite tough immigration changes, weak job market, immigrants continue to flock the country in millions, breaking historic patterns in which immigration levels rise and fall with the economy, Washington-based Centre for Immigration Studies (CIS), a group that advocates tighter immigration enforcement, found. Immigrants now account for 13 per cent of the country’s population. A 13 per cent increase of US immigrants, more than four million, since 2000 included over two million illegal aliens, who now total about 10 million or 30 per cent of the immigrant population, CIS said in its report, based on as-yet-unpublished US Census Bureau data. “The idea that immigration is a self-regulating process that rises and falls in close step with the economy is simply wrong,” said Steven Camarota, CIS Director of Research and the author of the report released yesterday.
— PTI |
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