Sri Lanka on Saturday rejected a top United States military commander's statement that American special forces were deployed in the island nation. There was no American or any other foreign forces stationed in the country, Sri Lankan military spokesman Brig Nihal Hapuarachchi said.
United States Special forces teams are currently stationed in five South Asian countries including India as part of the counter-terrorism co-operation with these nations, a top Pentagon commander has disclosed.
There has been no evidence that Pakistan leadership knew of the presence of Osama bin Laden inside their country, a top Pentagon commander has said citing post-raid analysis of the secret operation that killed the most wanted terrorist of the world.
"The military relationship at the strategic level has been sustaining itself. Advancing military relationship in other ways at the operational and tactical levels -- getting our two militaries more acquainted with one another through operations or through counterpart visits -- has not advanced," Pacific Command Commander, Admiral Robert Willard, said.
"We have a special focus area on our relationship with India -- a strategic partnership that continues to grow, both government-to-government and military-to-military. India is the largest democracy in South Asia. It's the most consequential military in the region," he said.
When corruption eats into the vitals of a nation, the State structures decompose and collapse. And when the leadership loses respect of the people, the war is lost, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
Admiral Philips Davidson, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, also told the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that China's recent activities along the Line of Actual Control have opened India's eyes to what cooperative effort with others might mean for their own defensive needs as he observed that New Delhi, in the very near term, will deepen its engagement with the Quad.
"Militants operating out of Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to threaten Afghan stability as well as stoke tensions between Pakistan and India," Gen Votel said.
"The first lesson from the Indian ASAT is just the simple question of why did they do that. And the answer should be, I think to all the committee looking at it, is that they did that because they are concerned about threats to their nation from space," US Strategic Command Commander General John E Hyten told members of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Pentagon has sought direct dialogue between India and China 'free of any coercive aspects'.
New Delhi should resist any temptation to act as spoiler and instead should cooperate with its SCO partners in reaching a regional consensus behind the formation of an interim government in Kabul, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan-based terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Tayiba are likely to turn their attention to India with the drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan, a top Pentagon commander has told lawmakers.
'The Modi government would chaff at the very idea of holding talks with Pakistan, facilitated by Washington and under close US monitoring, when the 2019 poll is sailing into view.' 'But in politics and diplomacy, there may be moments when drinking from the chalice of poison is necessary,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Robin Raphel, a former US diplomat now under a counter intelligence investigation, has spent much of her professional life dealing with Pakistan and defending it against criticism as she doled out billions in aid to the "frenemy".
'The danger today is that out of sheer fatigue and exasperation, the US might cut loose and exit from Afghanistan leaving it to the region to cope with the debris, which it is ill-equipped to handle,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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