US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that she is not interested in contesting for presidential elections in 2012 or ever again. “I am very happy doing what I”m doing, and I am not in any way interested in or pursuing anything in elective office,” Politico quoted Clinton, as saying. “I love what I”m [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Hillary’
Donald Trump calls Clintons’ pals ‘tacky’
August 5th, 2010 |
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Donald Trump has labelled friends of Bill and Hillary Clinton as ‘tacky’ for using their daughter Chelsea’s name to sell their property. Kathleen Hammer and her husband Arthur Seelbinder own the Rhineback estate where Chelsea got married to banker Marc Mezinsky last weekend. According to The Daily Express, the estate is on the market and, [...]
Chelsea Clinton Wedding Weekend Underway In Rhinebeck, New York
July 31st, 2010 |
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Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, 30, has gone from an awkward, fashion-challenged tween to a blushing bride-to-be before our very eyes. The poised and cosmopolitan only child of two of the nation’s most noted politicos — Bill and Hillary Clinton — will tie the knot Saturday afternoon during a reported $6 wedding million ceremony at [...]
Brooklyn Bride: “Chelsea Clinton’s Wedding Is Ruining My Life!â€
July 22nd, 2010 |
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It seems like yesterday she grew up before our eyes, a 12-year-old curly-haired girl tolling around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Now 30, Chelsea Clinton is ready to take the next step in life: marriage. Sadly, this news hasn’t put everyone in a nostalgic kinda mood! A New York City bride-to-be who is getting married the [...]
7 Richest Porn Stars on Earth
May 19th, 2010 |
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Sex may sell, but it is porn that pays. Many have felt up to the job, but most last only a few brief minutes before fading back into obscurity. For those that succeed in going the distance and making a career as a porn star, a life time of on-demand, under the spotlight, bring-me-my-sedatives pleasure [...]
Pak knows where Osama is: Hillary
May 10th, 2010 |
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NEW YORK – Following up on her stiff warning to Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that there are people in the Pakistani government who know the whereabouts of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar.
“I’m not saying that they’re at the highest levels but I believe that somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda is, where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is and we expect more cooperation to help us bring to justice, capture or kill, those who attacked us on 9/11,” she told CBS programme “60 Minutes”, which was broadcast in full on Sunday night.
“Some Pakistani officials were more informed about the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban than they let on,” Clinton added.
Political observers here were stunned by her statement about Pakistanis knowing the whereabouts of Osama and Mullah Omar even though she was not asked a specific question about the Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.
In an excerpt of Clinton’s interview released on Friday night, she warned Pakistan that it would face “very severe consequences” if any terror plot like the failed Times Square bombing was traced to that country.
“We’ve made it very clear that if, heaven forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan was to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences,” she had said.
Experts believe ClintonÂ’s threat means that the US could slow millions of dollars in economic and military aid, rather than mount directly military action in the tribal belt, although some American politicians have raised voices in favour of that, too.
In fact, the US is already engaged in its most ferocious campaign on Pakistan soil for decades through the CIA drone strikes, which are currently averaging about two per week.
A senior Pakistani intelligence official said there had been 40 drone attacks so far this year, compared with 49 in the whole of 2009. Other tallies have counted just over 30 strikes in 2010.
The CIA has received permission to strike a much wider range of suspected militants than before, including those whose identities have not been established, the Los Angeles Times reported last week. Previously, the CIA could only attack individuals on a vetted list of Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders.
When asked why Obama administration was not piling up pressure on Islamabad to hand over Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, Hillary replied, “I have to stand up for the efforts the Pakistani government is taking. They have done a very significant move toward going after the terrorists within their own country.”
Her comments come as other senior US officials including Attorney General Eric Holder said they had obtained new evidence that Pakistani Taliban were behind the attempt to trigger a car bomb blast in the heart of New York.
“We know they facilitated the bomb plot and they probably also financed it,” the Attorney General told ABC News.
Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old naturalised American citizen of Pakistani origin, was arrested last Monday for rigging a SUV vehicle to explode in the Times Square.
In the wake of the incident, Washington has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to crack down on militantsÂ’ safe havens in North Waziristan.
The New York Times said the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley A McChrystal, met Pak Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad on Sunday and pressed for a new military offensive in North Waziristan, the main base of the Pakistani Taliban.
Asked what message she had for Pakistan following the Times Square bombing, Clinton said, “That this is a threat we share…we have a common enemy…there is no time to waste…go as fast and hard as we can.”
She then added, “We cannot tolerate having people encouraged, directed, trained and sent from Pakistan to attack us.”
When pressed by 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelly if Pakistan was the source of terrorism why the US was not leaning more on the country, Clinton reeled back a bit saying she had to stand up to the current dispensation in Islamabad because there was a sea change in its commitment and they had done a very significant move towards going after terrorists in their own country.”
Accusing Pakistan of having played a “double game” in previous years, the US foreign secretary warned, “We’ve made it very clear that if, heaven forbid, that an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences.”
Pelley: What do you mean exactly?
Clinton: I think I will let that speak for itself
Pelley: Developments to come?
Clinton: Right
No dictation needed on N-plan: Gilani
April 14th, 2010 |
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WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that invitation to first Nuclear Security Summit is a practical proof of a ‘great legitimacy of Pakistan’s nuclear programme’ as the US President Barack Hussain Obama has unequivocally expressed confidence in its security and safety.
Addressing a concluding press conference after the end of the Summit, the PM while answering the question what Pakistan gained out of it said, “Invitation and participation, in the first place, in this Summit itself is a great legitimacy for Pakistan’s nuclear programme.”
He was of the view that not only the visit remained successful in the bilateral context but also Pakistan gained its objective of legitimate recognition as responsible nuclear state. When asked about formal recognition as legitimate nuclear state, he said, “It needs patience.”
During a number of informal interactions with President Obama during the conference, the Prime Minister said that ‘we have convinced him about nuclear security action plan.”
Explaining about the issue of fuel recycling, the Prime Minister aided by PakistanÂ’s chief negotiator Masood Khan said that last meeting of the National Command Authority had proposed a fuel bank including those countries that have capacity to recycle fuel.
Regarding handshake and informal interaction with the Indian Prime Minister, Premier Gilani said, “He was aware of Pakistan’s role that was extremely important. And entire world is considering Pakistan’s position working for the global peace. Therefore, friends of Pakistan are trying to normalise relations between India and Pakistan so that Islamabad should focus totally on terrorism.”
“There was not even a single negative thing during my informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister that was in cordial atmosphere and he appeared with an open mind,” Gilani said answering another question. Still he was unable to say anything about a ‘purposeful or formal meeting with his Indian counterpart at the forthcoming SAARC Summit.”
The Prime Minister told the journalists that he twice held very exclusive meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and there was no mention of sanctions against Iran or anything of the sort.
Answering questions about the timeframe of strategic cooperation with US beyond security the Prime Minister said, “Our top priority is electricity, and the US has already committed to help us upgrade our existing structure.” The US, he added, has also ensured Pakistan to support for market access during the next Pakistan-European Union Summit in Brussels. President Obama has also promised to expedite ROZS.
Agencies add: Prime Minister said no country articulated concern over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal at the Nuclear Security Summit
Pakistan would take decision on country’s nuclear programme itself, Gilani said and added “We do not need dictation from anyone on our nuclear programme.”
On the other hand, Gilani separately met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chairman US Foreign Affairs Committee Senator John Kerry and a delegation of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During the meeting with Hillary Clinton, issues relating to Pak-US Strategic Dialogue, energy crisis in Pakistan, war against terrorism and regional situation were discussed.
Hillary assured her countryÂ’s assistance to overcome energy needs of Pakistan.
N-retaliation if US hit by WMD: Hillary
April 11th, 2010 |
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WASHINGTON (Agencies) – The Obama Administration’s nuclear posture review may have removed some of the intentional ambiguity from US nuclear policy, but it does not leave the country any less safe, US President Obama’s top national security advisers said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
In fact, they said, it gives a clear warning to other state actors that the US will not ignore any growing threats.
“This is putting everybody on notice,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer in an interview aired on Sunday. “We don’t want more countries to go down the path that North Korea and Iran are.”
The revised nuclear policy says that the US will not use nuclear weapons to respond to a chemical or biological attack from a non-nuclear country.
The policy, however, leaves significant contingencies, said Secretary of Defence Robert Gates who also appeared on “Face the Nation”.
Countries which are non-signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (such as North Korea) or have been found to be non-compliant (such as Iran) are not exempt from nuclear retaliation under the Obama policy.
“We were concerned about the biological weapons,” Gates said, “and thatÂ’s why the President was very clear … if we see states developing biological weapons that we begin to think endanger us or create serious concerns, that he reserves the right to revise this policy.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US could not rule out using nuclear weapons if it came under biological attack, saying in that case “all bets are off.”
“If we can prove that a biological attack originated in a country that attacked us, then all bets are off,” she said.
Gates also pointed out that the policy dictates that any country that uses chemical or biological weapons against the US will “suffer a devastating conventional retaliation.”
In spite of recent strained relations between Kabul and Washington, Gates and Hillary defended Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a valuable and reliable partner, despite tensions over his outspoken comments.
Karzai had excellent relations with the head of US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, Gates said.
“What I can tell you is that General McChrystal continues to meet with him regularly. They have a very positive relationship. He gets very good cooperation out of President Karzai,” said Gates told ABC’s “This Week.”
Both Gates and Hillary expressed support and understanding for Karzai in the latest attempt by Washington and Kabul to repair a rift triggered by the AfghanÂ’s presidentÂ’s controversial outbursts.
Karzai had accused foreign governments of orchestrating the fraud at last yearÂ’s elections that returned him to power, causing dismay in Washington.
Gates, offering an explanation for KarzaiÂ’s recent angry tone, said Washington had to be careful in its public remarks about the Afghan President, as sharp criticism of his performance could be received in Kabul as disrespect for Afghan sovereignty.
The US Defence Chief said “when there are attacks on him (Karzai), on his family, and what he perceives to be on Afghanistan itself, or insults to the sovereignty of Afghanistan, he’s going to react.”
“And he’s going to react strongly.”
Hillary said Karzai, like some other foreign leaders, suspects harsh words in American newspapers may reflect the US governmentÂ’s official stance.
She further said she had “a lot of sympathy for President Karzai and the extraordinary stress he lives under every single minute of every day.”
Gates said Karzai is playing a key role in military efforts to win control of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, by talking with tribal leaders and local officials to get their views and concerns.
Hillary said the US has reached out to Russia for cooperation in its missile defence programme.
“We would like to see a joint effort on missile defence because we don’t see the principle threat in nuclear terms coming from Russia, we see it coming from state actors like Iran or non- state actors like a terrorist organisation like Al-Qaeda getting a hold of nuclear materials,” she said.
The Pentagon chief said Iran is not on the threshold of producing a nuclear weapon and that its programme was progressing slower than Tehran expected.
“I’d just say, and it’s our judgment here, they are not nuclear capable,” Gates said in the interview. “Not yet.”
He said Iran was “continuing to make progress” in a nuclear programme that Washington suspects is a clandestine effort to develop an atomic arsenal.
“ItÂ’s going slower… than they anticipated. But they are moving in that direction,” he said.
The Pentagon chief also denied that the US administration was resigned to Iran becoming a nuclear-armed power.
“We have not… drawn that conclusion at all. And in fact, weÂ’re doing everything we can to try and keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons,” he said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued that Washington’s “patience” had helped build international support for sanctions against Iran.
She told NBC that “what we have found over the last months, because of our strategic patience, and our willingness to keep on this issue, is that countries are finally saying, ‘You know, I kind of get it … theyÂ’re the ones who shut the door, and now we have to do something.’”
US and Pakistan seek to reverse mistrust
March 24th, 2010 |
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WASHINGTON (Agencies) – The United States and Pakistan have agreed to fast-track pending Pakistani requests for military equipment as the two step up security cooperation, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Wednesday.
“We’ve agreed to fast-track our requests, that have been pending for months and years, on the transfer of military equipment to Pakistan,” FM Qureshi told a news conference following a day of talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He said US suspicions of his country have evaporated, with officials no longer questioning IslamabadÂ’s commitment to fight extremism.
Qureshi, who was holding a first-of-a-kind “strategic dialogue” with the US, said “the mood was completely different” from previous visits to Washington.
“I was at the Senate; I was at the House. It’s a 180-degree difference,” he said.
“There were no more question marks, there was no suspicion, there was no ‘do more,’” he said. “There was appreciation for what we had already done.”
WednesdayÂ’s dialogue is part of efforts by the United States to show it has a long-term interest in relations with Pakistan beyond cooperation to fight in Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appearing with Qureshi, announced support for PakistanÂ’s energy and transport sectors as part of a high-level dialogue aimed at showing greater US interest. She said Washington will give $125m financial aid to Islamabad for boosting the energy sector and will extend cooperation for setting up three thermal power projects in Pakistan.
She said the US would sign a letter for “significant road infrastructure” in Pakistan’s troubled northwest without offering a figure.
She further said the US has also agreed to let Pakistan International Airlines fly to Chicago via Barcelona. It will be the flag carrierÂ’s second destination in the United States after New York.
The PIA will be allowed to operate in five American cities, the chief US diplomat stated.
USAID, the government agency, will also sign a deal for three thermal rehabilitation plans to help ease PakistanÂ’s chronic energy shortages, she said.
The US government will also give financial assistance to Pakistan for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
The United States has already committed to $7.5b in aid over five years in a law approved last year.
Pakistani products will be given access to US markets, she said.
“Pakistan is on the frontline of confronting the violent extremism that threatens us all and Pakistan’s civilian and security forces continue to bear the brunt of that fight,” she said.
Hillary said the US supported dialogue between India and Pakistan, after Islamabad appealed for a larger US role on Kashmir.
Qureshi, taking part in high-level talks that the US hopes will show goodwill, called for a “constructive engagement” by the United States on Kashmir.
Asked about his remarks later at the joint news conference, Hillary said the US supported reconciliation efforts between India and Pakistan.
“The issues that are part of that dialogue need to be addressed and resolution of them between the two countries would certainly be in everyone’s best interest,” she said, without explicitly mentioning Kashmir.
She said the US wanted to be a partner of Pakistan on “a full range of matters.”
“We can’t dictate Pakistani foreign policy or Indian foreign policy. But we can encourage, as we do, the in-depth discussion between both countries that we think would benefit each of them with respect to security and development,” she said.
Qureshi hoped that India will review its policy.
Earlier in the day, Hillary Clinton said the United States had started a “new day” with Pakistan in hearing its concerns, but some of Islamabad’s requests were set for a cool reception.
Mrs Clinton opened a first-of-a-kind “strategic dialogue” with Pakistan, hoping to show the country’s widely anti-American public that the United States wants a relationship that goes beyond short-term battles against militants.
In an early-morning ceremony timed for broadcast in Pakistan, Mrs Clinton said she wanted to speak directly to its people, acknowledging that the two nations “have had our misunderstandings and disagreements in the past.”
Pointing to Pakistan’s growing action against extremism, Mrs Clinton pledged full support, saying, “Its struggles are our struggles.” “There are sure to be more disagreements in the future, as there are between any friends or, frankly, any family members,” she said. “But this is a new day. For the past year, the Obama administration has shown in our words and deeds a different approach and attitude towards Pakistan.”
“The dialogue we seek is not only with the government of Pakistan, but you the people of Pakistan,” she said, vowing that both she and President Barack Obama had a “personal commitment” to building ties with Islamabad.
The United States invited General Ashfaq Kayani, the army chief, to take part in the dialogue, along with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Qureshi looked for improved ties with Washington, a close ally in fighting against militants as the United States battles the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.
“Now is the time to look forward,” said Qureshi in his opening remarks. “Such a partnership, we are convinced, is good for Pakistan, good for America and good for international peace, security and prosperity,” he added.
Qureshi expressed gratitude for US assistance and pledged that Pakistan would keep up the fight against extremism. But he made clear that Pakistan wanted benefits in return.
Qureshi said that Pakistan was seeking “non-discriminatory” access to energy resources as well as a “constructive” role by the United States on its dispute with India over Kashmir.
“Pakistan is committed to doing its part to facilitate the world community’s effort for peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Qureshi said. “We hope the world community will be equally responsive to our legitimate concerns and help advance common interests,” he said. Pakistan has long sought international intervention on Kashmir, which has been the focal point of two of the nations’ three full-fledged wars with India.
The United States has declined mediation on Kashmir, which India considers a domestic issue. India has said it is willing to engage in dialogue on all issues related to Kashmir except redrawing borders.
Pakistan has said it wants a civilian nuclear deal with the United States similar to a landmark agreement reached by India in 2008. The rival nations stunned the world with nuclear tests in 1998.
US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, and Mrs Clinton both played down any talks on nuclear cooperation, indicating this could be a source of tensions in two days of talks.
“Let’s just see how it develops,” said Holbrooke. “We’re ready to listen to anything.”
Asked by a Pakistani TV if nuclear cooperation could assuage the country’s chronic energy shortages, Mrs Clinton said there were “more immediate steps that can be taken” including upgrading power plants.
“India and Pakistan, we have been in this together in South Asia, so what is good for India should be good for Pakistan,” Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told reporters.
“We have a relationship that goes back 60 years, but I’m here to build a partnership,” Qureshi said Tuesday at the Pakistani embassy. “And when you build a partnership, it has to be built on trust.”
Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is also a key player in the Washington meetings and Holbrooke said the military was crucial to any future relationship with Pakistan.
Pakistan is also seeking greater cooperation on water and education and wants unmanned attack drones. The United States has so far only given Pakistan surveillance drones.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell downplayed expectations for major announcements, saying it was a mistake to see the dialogue as “a discussion of requests and replies.”
Qureshi and Kayani met Tuesday with Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, who authored last yearÂ’s bill that promised 7.5 billion dollars in aid over five years to build PakistanÂ’s infrastructure and democratic institutions.
Many Pakistanis are distrustful of the United States, remembering how it distanced itself in the 1990s after teaming up with Islamabad to arm Jihadists who ousted Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Holbrooke said that the dialogue – which will include working groups on Thursday and further rounds in Islamabad – was part of a “strategic vision” by the United States.
“That is that Pakistan is important in its own right. We don’t view it simply as a function of its giant neighbour to the east or its war-torn neighbour to the west,” Holbrooke said.
Bashir said many Pakistanis had grown irritated by US calls for the country to do more against extremists.
“Pakistan has done much more. We are doing it for our own sake,” he said. “So I think it’s perhaps best not to get into that argument.”
Afghanistan security transition by 2010-end
January 28th, 2010 |
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LONDON (Agencies) – World powers welcomed Afghanistan’s plan Thursday to take responsibility for its security within five years and persuade moderate Taliban fighters to renounce violence with a promise of a new start through jobs, according to a final communique issued after a major conference in London.
“Conference participants welcomed the government of Afghanistan’s stated goal of the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) taking the lead and conducting the majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years, and taking responsibility for physical security within five years,” it said.
The statement described the persuasion as an offer to give “an honourable place in society to those willing to renounce violence, participate in the free and open society and respect the principles that are enshrined in the Afghan constitution, cut ties with Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, and pursue their political goals peacefully”.
Participants of London conference also committed to establish a peace and reintegration trust fund to finance the Afghan reintegration project. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said 140 million dollars was pledged for the first year on Thursday.
On the transfer of responsibility for security from international to Afghan forces (the ANSF), the communique said both sides were committed to making this happen “as rapidly as possible”.
“This is with a view to a number of provinces transitioning to ANSF lead, providing conditions are met, by late 2010/early 2011, with ISAF moving to a supporting role within those provinces,” it said.
The communique welcomed the Afghan government’s stated goal of conducting the majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years “and taking responsibility for physical security within five years”.
International forces committed to support the Afghan security forces with the goal of boosting them to about 300,000 by October 2011.
International aid delivered through the Afghan government will be increased to 50 percent in two years, but only if Kabul acts to fight corruption and improve governance, world powers agreed Thursday.
The final communique from an international conference in London “supported” the Afghan government’s request that donors increase the proportion of aid they deliver through the government budget from about one-third currently to half.
“But this support is conditional on the government’s progress in further strengthening public financial management systems, reducing corruption, improving budget execution, developing a financial strategy and government capacity towards the goal,” it said.
Outside experts will be invited for an independent “monitoring and evaluation mission” within three months to audit the scale of corruption in Afghanistan, the statement said.
Earlier, Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged Western partners to help him woo moderate Taliban insurgents at the conference Thursday in London.
He presented a six-point framework aimed at ensuring peace and development of his war-torn country.
Addressing the 70-nation conference, Karzai said Afghanistan and its Western supporters must “reach out to all of our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers who are not part of Al-Qaeda”.
The moot was co-hosted by the UK, United Nations and the Afghan government. Pakistan is represented at the conference by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
He said when more powers are transferred to Afghan forces, the international community can focus more on rebuilding the countryÂ’s economy and institutions.
However, the Afghan President was critical of mounting civilian casualties through night time raids by the international forces and demanded that they be not only curtailed but conducted by the Afghan forces.
Speaking about the national sovereignty, Karzai said the Afghan government wants to take charge of all the detention centres now currently under the control of international forces.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the conference marked “the beginning of the transition process” under which responsibility for security will gradually be transferred from international to Afghan control.
Brown added that a district-by-district, province-by-province handover would start later this year and warned Al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan.
“To those insurgents who refuse to accept the conditions for reintegration we have no choice but to pursue them militarily,” Brown said and added: “We will defeat you.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday it was necessary to engage with enemies in order to bring peace to Afghanistan.
She had been asked about Afghan government plans to invite the Taliban to a council of elders to discuss reconciliation.
“You have to be willing to engage with your enemies” if you expect to end an insurgency, she told a news conference. She did not directly address the question about the council which will be for Afghans only and which the United States will not attend.
Hillary stressed that Afghans and extremists needed to understand that the handover of security responsibilities was “not an exit strategy”.
Brown announced the international fund, believed to be worth 500 million dollars, to back a reintegration plan to give jobs to Taliban fighters who are prepared to renounce Al-Qaeda.
The United States, Germany and Japan are among nations that have voiced support for the Afghan-led plan.
Karzai said he would establish a national council for peace, reconciliation and reintegration and call a “peace jirga,” or traditional gathering of Afghans. He reiterated a call for Saudi King Abdullah to play a role.
“We hope His Majesty (Saudi) King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz will kindly play a prominent role to guide and assist the peace process,” he said.
He also said that Afghanistan needed the support of its neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to secure peace.
“We ask all neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to support our peace and reconciliation endeavours,” he added. “We are looking forward to the international community supporting this.
Karzai’s spokesman Elmi said a date had not yet been set for the meeting. If the Taliban want to attend, “they are most welcome,” he said.
If they did not, the peace “jirga”-the name for a traditional Afghan assembly of elders-would still go ahead and focus on how to bring insurgents into talks and end the conflict, Elmi said.
“The elders of Afghan society will talk about how to bring in the Taliban, what is the way forward,” Elmi said.
“We are inviting all people who are accepting the Afghan constitution, those who want to cut their relations with terrorism, those who are not international terrorists,” he said.
Karzai told the conference he would establish a national council for peace, reconciliation and reintegration, and then call the jirga.
KarzaiÂ’s plan is to offer militants jobs and a guarantee that they would not be arrested by Afghan or international security forces in exchange for their agreement to stop fighting.
What the Afghan people want is “Afghan leadership, Afghan ownership,” said Karzai. “Peace and security in the world is inextricably linked to peace and security in Afghanistan,” he said.
It reiterated a demand for “invading forces” – its term for foreign troops – to withdraw as a condition for any talks.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who also spoke on the occasion pledged the world bodyÂ’s complete support in ensuring peace and development of Afghanistan.
Iran was the most notable absentee from the conference, with Britain accusing Tehran of missing an opportunity to play a constructive role.
Around 100 protestors targeted the opening of ThursdayÂ’s conference at Lancaster House in central London also attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke.
About 110,000 international troops now are in Afghanistan, and their numbers are set to rise, and Karzai told BBC radio earlier Thursday that his country would need international help for years to come.
“With regard to training and equipping the Afghan security forces, five to 10 years will be enough,” Karzai said.
“With regard to sustaining them until Afghanistan is financially able to provide for our forces, the time will be extended to 10 to 15 years.”
Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told the meeting that Afghanistan was committed to taking the lead but its lack of security manpower was still a “critical obstacle”.
It would be a “strategic mistake” for international forces to leave the country too early, he said..
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged leaders at the conference to match the “sacrifice” of foreign soldiers in the war-torn country with clear plans for its future.
Our monitoring desk adds: The Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told the BBC that the Afghan government would benefit from involving moderate elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Qureshi said the militant group represented some of AfghanistanÂ’s large Pashtun community and had to be taken into consideration.
A “wedge” could be driven between moderates and hardliners, he said.
Qureshi argued that most Pakistanis had turned against the extremism of the countryÂ’s home-grown Taliban.
Speaking in London Qureshi said the Pashtuns were AfghanistanÂ’s largest ethnic community and could not be ignored.
“Get them into the mainstream, give them a respectable share in power, it will add to stability,” he told the BBC World Service.
He rejected the suggestion that giving the Taliban a role in Kabul might encourage the Pakistani TalibanÂ’s militant campaign.
“I think it will create a wedge between the hard core and the moderates,” he said.
“We in Pakistan have carried out our own national effort. Today in Pakistan people are convinced that this element which wants to Talibanise Pakistan is not in line with the overwhelming majority of people in Pakistan.”
While talking to The Guardian Qureshi said Pakistan is ready to mediate in reconciliation talks between the Western Alliance and Taliban, if the country is “asked to do so”.
Qureshi said Pakistan is uniquely placed to help in talks, which he said may aid in facilitating reintegration of the strife-torn nation. “Pakistan is perhaps better placed than any other country in the world to support Afghan reintegration and reconciliation. Why? We speak the same language, we have common tribes, a common religion, we have a commonality of history, culture and tradition,” Qureshi said.
“But it (Pakistani mediation) depends on whether we are asked to do so. If asked, the government of Pakistan would be happy to facilitate,” he was quoted as saying by British newspaper ‘The Guardian’.
Meanwhile, Saudi ArabiaÂ’s foreign minister said on Thursday The Taliban must deny sanctuary to Osama bin Laden before Saudi Arabia will agree to act as a mediator in any Afghan peace deal,.
Prince Saud al-Faisal was responding to Afghan President Hamid Karzai who had called on Saudi Arabia, which has hosted talks between Afghan government and Taliban representatives in the past, to help bring peace to Afghanistan.
“Unless the Taliban give up the issue of sanctuary (to bin Laden) I don’t think the negotiations with them will be possible or feasible to achieve anything,” Prince Saud told reporters on the sidelines of a London conference.
“We have two conditions for Saudi Arabia’s involvement: that the request comes officially from Afghanistan and the Taliban has to prove its intentions in coming to the negotiations by cutting their relations with the terrorists and proving it,” he said.
“By keeping their contacts with bin Laden they won’t be coming to any negotiations with a positive attitude.
Freedom to spend
January 21st, 2010 |
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The Supreme Court rules that businesses and unions may fund political messages in elections
BY THE narrowest of majorities, America’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday January 21st that Congress may not bar corporations and unions from paying to disseminate political messages at election time. The ruling is arguably a blow for free speech, although critics of the decision quickly concluded that it would lead to big business buying elections.
The case concerned “Hillary: The Movie”, a 90-minute documentary which portrays Hillary Clinton as a power-crazed gorgon. It is a dreary and unbalanced piece of hack work, but clearly protected by the Constitution. “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech,” says the First Amendment. Not “thoughtful, judicious speech”. Just “speech”. Yet the makers of “Hillary: The Movie” were forced to drop plans to distribute their work via cable for fear of being fined or jailed. …
First Lady Michelle Obama “Iron Chef America†Sunday, Jan. 3
January 3rd, 2010 |
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Hillary had healthcare — Michelle has childhood obesity.
First Lady Michelle Obama brings her platform of reducing kids’ waistlines through better school lunches, community gardens, and exercise to the world of reality TV this weekend. Mrs. Obama will appear on the Food Network series Iron Chef America this Sunday, Jan. 3. [Check your local listings....]
In the [...]
Hillary Clinton: We’ll Still Be In Afghanistan in 50 or 60 Years
December 23rd, 2009 |
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On December 1st, President Obama talked about withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan within 18 months.Everyone now knows that there is no firm withdrawal date from Afghanistan. See this and this.But in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committe…
Hillary Clinton ‘has the hots’ for British Foreign Minister
November 19th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confessed that she has a ‘crush’ on Britain’’s foreign minister, David Miliband.
Hillary, who is married to former US president Bill Clinton, gushed over youthful-looking, 44-year-old Miliband in the latest issue of US Vogue magazine.
“Oh my God! If you saw him it would be a big crush,” Herald Sun [...]
US committed to building wide-ranging ties with Pakistan: Holbrooke
November 11th, 2009 |
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Describing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to Pakistan as “extraordinaryâ€, US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke said Washington is committed to forging a wide-ranging relationship with Islamabad.
“Hillary is enormously popular, personally in Pakistan, but America is not popular. When she talked…. of a trust deficit, that’s what she was referring [...]
Hillary Clinton pledges support for terror-torn Pakistan
October 29th, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, has vowed Washington’s support for Pakistan in its struggle against terrorism.
“Pakistan is not alone in this fight as this is our struggle as well. Pakistan and the United States are facing the security issue and Pakistan is currently engaged in the struggle to fight terrorists,” Clinton said at a [...]