US ‘reversing Taliban momentum’ in Afghan south

KABUL: Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday hailed US Marines for reversing Taliban gains in one of the toughest Afghan battlefields as he toured the south ahead of a key war review.

He struck an upbeat note, with an imminent White House report likely to credit an extra 30,000 American troops with bolstering security while stressing that the nine-year insurgency is far from defeated.

“The Marines, since arriving a year ago last summer, have really been in the fight and I think have not just… stopped the momentum of the Taliban but in a lot of places reversed it as well,” Gates told members of the 1st Marine Logistics Group at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province.

“You are making a difference,” he told the marines, concluding that the war effort was “on the right track”.

His comments were the latest indication that Obama will likely stick to

Pakistani sues U.S. over drone aircraft strike

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani man whose brother and son were killed by what he said was a U.S. drone strike is on an ambitious courtroom quest to get $500 million in compensation and end attacks Washington launches against top militants.

Kareem Khan said a CIA-operated drone fired missiles at his house in Pakistan’s North Waziristan on the night of Dec 31 2009, killing his son Zaenullah, 18, and brother Asif Iqbal.

In a legal notice to U.S. officials including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and CIA Director Leon Panetta, his lawyer is demanding $500 million in compensation.

“We say to them that these drone attacks you are carrying out are killing innocent people,” Khan told Reuters, describing the message he wanted to convey to the Americans.

A U.S. embassy spokesman said no communication had been received over the case.

Pakistan’s government

Karzai remains US partner: Gates

KABUL: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai remains a partner of the United States, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday after harsh criticism of US military policy from the Afghan leader.

“We will continue to partner with him through this conflict,” Gates said at a Wall Street Journal conference at which he played down the Afghan president’s complaints, calling Karzai “our partner.”

Karzai called over the weekend for the United States to reduce its military footprint in his country, saying Afghans were losing patience with the continued US presence, which was worsening the war against the Taliban.

Karzai’s recent comments conveyed the frustrations of a country that has been in a state of war for decades, Gates said.

“I think President Karzai is reflecting the impatience of a country that’s been at war for 30 years,” he said. Karzai was

US sees Iran rift, says strike would unite country

WASHINGTON: Sanctions against Iran are biting hard and triggering divisions among its leadership, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday, as he argued against a military strike over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran has agreed to meet with a representative of the six big powers for the first time in more than a year over its uranium enrichment drive, but diplomats and analysts see little chance of a breakthrough in the long-running dispute.

Gates said he saw little choice, however, to pursuing a political strategy that includes sanctions and renewed his concerns that a military strike would only delay Iranian nuclear capabilities by two or three years.

He added that sanctions “have really bitten much harder than (Iranian leadership) anticipated,” and suggested Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was increasingly at odds with Supreme Leader

Bin Laden ‘hiding in Afghan-Pakistani border area’

JAKARTA: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday the “heart” of Al-Qaeda remained in the Afghan-Pakistan border area even as the network spreads its influence to the Arabian peninsula and northern Africa.

While Al-Qaeda’s leaders, including founder Osama bin Laden, continued to operate out of the border area, “they provide the guidance, they provide the priorities, they provide legitimacy to other Al-Qaeda affiliates that are developing in other places, including in the Arabian peninsula, in Yemen in particular and in northern Africa, in the Maghreb,” Gates told reporters.

“I would say the heart of Al-Qaeda remains … in the border areas of Afghanistan and Paksitan,” he said during a visit to Kuala Lumpur.

With Al-Qaeda “spreading its tentacles,” the United States was able to cope with the threat partly thanks to help from allies who see the dangers

US aspires to increase military personnel in Asia, says Gates

The US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has said that the USA aspires to increase the number of its military personnel in the Asian region. Speaking while leaving for security talks in Australia, Robert Gates said that Pentagon is making it sure that the US Army keeps an eye on the Indian Ocean, besides Far East and South East Asia.

US may boost Yemen training after bomb plot: Gates

MELBOURNE: The U.S. military may boost training of Yemeni forces as a way to put more pressure on al Qaeda following last month’s failed parcel bomb plot, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday.

Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based wing last week claimed responsibility for two U.S.-bound parcel bombs, which were intercepted and neutralized in Dubai and Britain after a tip from Saudi Arabia.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has previously taken credit for a failed attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner last Christmas.

“I think in terms of training and so on there are more things we could do to help the Yemenis and strengthen their capabilities,” Gates said, speaking to reporters shortly before landing in Australia for bilateral talks.

“And I think it’s fair to say that we’re exploring with them a variety of possibilities along those

Gates apologizes on NATO attack

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also apologized from Pakistan on NATO attack on Pakistani areas, after apologies from the NATO and US envoys.
Robert Gates expressed his apology in a meeting with the Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani in the presence of the US Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Admiral Michael Mullin. Pak-Afghan border issues and support in war against terrorism were also discussed in the meeting. United States said that Pakistans biggest enemy is extremism and not India.
Third round of Pak-US Strategic dialogue would commence from today in Washington. According to American television channel US would offer a security package to Pakistan worth $2 billion.

Asian territorial rows challenge stability: Gates

HANOI: Territorial disputes in Asian waters pose a threat to regional stability, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned on Tuesday, defending America’s naval presence in the Pacific, despite criticism from China.

“Disagreements over territorial claims and the appropriate use of the maritime domain appear to be a growing challenge to regional stability and prosperity,” Gates said, reflecting growing friction with China.

In a statement at high-level Asian security talks in Hanoi, Gates did not mention China but endorsed an international approach to solving maritime disagreements that Beijing opposes, and he insisted the US Navy would not back away from sailing into Pacific waters.

The Pentagon chief stopped short of direct criticism of China but his words underscored a mounting rivalry with China, as Beijing flexes its newfound military and economic might in a

No need to change Pak-Afghan strategy: Obama

US President Barack Obama has told lawmakers that no current changes were needed to his Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy, as US forces escalate operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Obama delivered the verdict, which had previously been voiced by senior members of his national security staff, as he handed over his administration’s latest classified report on the conduct of the war mandated by Congress. We are continuing to implement the policy as described in December and do not believe further adjustments are required at this time, Obama wrote. At the end of an exhaustive policy review in December, Obama announced plans to surge 30,000 troops into Afghanistan in a bid to seize the momentum in the long-running war but warned some soldiers would begin to withdraw by July 2011. The president is expected to mount a fresh review of strategy on Afghanistan by the end of the year, but again, no major adjustments are expected. The NATO-led strategy is designed to push Taliban insurgents out of major towns in the south and east while building up Afghan government security forces so that American troops can start withdrawing by July 2011. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top commanders say there are tentative signs of progress in Afghanistan, where nearly 150,000 US and allied troops are trying to turn the tide against a resilient Islamist insurgency. This year’s toll is the highest on record since the war began in late 2001 with a US-led invasion toppling the Taliban regime after it refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leaders following the September 11 attacks.

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