US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama once again touched on the ticklish issue of outsourcing and while vowing to end tax breaks to companies that ship works overseas conceded that all lost jobs could not be redeemed.
He admitted that some member countries of the 45-nation grouping have expressed concerns about the deal and 'we have talked to a lot of those various states'. "I am not going to name them, but we have talked to a lot of them. They have announced themselves publicly. You can look it up and what their concerns are," McCormack said.
United States President George W Bush has hailed the selection of Alaska's little-known female governor Sarah Palin as the running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, calling her a 'proven reformer who is a wise steward' of taxpayers' dollars."I applaud Senator McCain for selecting Governor Palin. This decision is yet another example of why the American people can trust him to make wise decisions and to confidently lead this country," he said.
After becoming the first ever Indian American to be elected Governor last year, Jindal has been given a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention at prime time, making him the first Indian American to speak at the political convention of a major party.Republican party sources told rediff.com that while it is unlikely that Jindal will be McCain's vice presidential nominee, he nonetheless remains "a strong voice on behalf of Senator McCain."
The final draft of the 2008 Democratic Party Platform, which will be voted on during the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver, Colorado, has declared that the United States and India are 'natural strategic allies'. In the section entitled 'Renewing American Leadership', which contains a paragraph that calls for 'Lead in Asia', the platform stated, "We are committed to US engagement in Asia."
Despite intense lobbying, it is unlikely that the Nuclear Suppliers Group will approve an India-specific draft waiver to conduct nuclear trade with its members during a two-day meet scheduled to begin on Wednesday, a prominent arms-control think-tank opposed to the India-United States nuclear deal has said."The US and India are certainly using strong-arms tactics,"said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.
In a statement made available to rediff.com, Obama, said, 'Musharraf has made the right decision to step down as President of Pakistan. It is in the interests of his country and the Pakistani people to end the political crisis that has immobilized the coalition government for too long.'
"President Musharraf has been a good ally and everyone knows that we disagreed with his decision in terms of the state of emergency that he declared. But he was just to his word, he took off his uniform. It is now a democratic government in Pakistan," she said. "I want to keep our focus on what we must do with the democratic government of Pakistan," she said while answering a question on the political crisis in Pakistan.
The nonproliferation lobby in the United States, which is vehemently opposed to the India-US nuclear deal, has objected strongly to the new draft proposal submitted by the Bush administration to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna, before it convenes on August 21 to consider the India-specific exemption from NSG rules. The group has termed the proposal 'an abomination that should be flatly rejected by the NSG'.
'Al Qaeda is identifying, training and positioning operatives for attacks in the West, including in the US. These operatives include North American and European citizens and legal residents with passports that allow them to travel to the United States without an American visa,' said Ted Gistaro, National Intelligence Officer for Transnational Threats in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
'We are relying on the understanding of other partners in this effort. We are asking people to look closely and quickly in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, to move expeditiously, and we hope that will happen, and then we'll go to the US Congress,' Boucher was quoted as saying last week in Japan, a transcript of which has been released in Washington.
Both the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama, have issued messages congratulating India, its people, and the Indian-American community on India's 61st anniversary of its Independence, with Obama issuing a similar message congratulating Pakistan, its people and the Pakistani-American community too.
What has peeved the administration most is the civilian government's lack of control of its border areas and failed peace deals with extremist elements. These failed efforts by Islamabad have led to exponential growth of these jihadis. The mounting evidence of the collusion of Pakistani intelligence with the Taliban and Al Qaeda, in launching attacks against American forces in Afghanistan, is worrying the Bush administration.
The US, which backed President Pervez Musharraf for aiding the 'war on terror', on Friday said the decision to impeach the embattled leader is an "internal matter" of Pakistan, but must be "consistent with the rule of law and their constitution."
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has all but confirmed the Central Intelligence Agency's assertions that certain elements in Pakistan are working with the Al Qaeda and undermining the United States-led war on terror. "I would say they're not our theoretical ally; they are our ally," she said, but acknowledged, "there are elements in Pakistan that one worries that there are connections to the militants in the region."
Even before the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement gets a nod from the Nuclear Supplier's Group, a hint of the US Congressional opposition has surfaced, in the form of a salvo fired by Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.Berman, a California Democrat, was the author of several 'killer amendments' to the enabling Hyde Act when it was debated and voted on the floor in 2006, all of which were defeated.
Neel Kashkari, who was nominated by President George W Bush to the post of Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs, has been confirmed by the Senate and has begun work in his new job, even if it is only for the next six months.
The influential Indian-American community has swung back to action to push the N-deal ahead.
At a press briefing at Washington DC's National Press Club on the eve of the IAEA board of governors meeting, nonproliferation experts called on the NSG not to reach a consensus on the accord, since it was 'seriously flawed and would undermine the professed objectives of the NSG'
The Bush administration's point man for South Asia, Richard Boucher, has said that while Washington fully recognises the terrorist threat Sri Lanka continues to face from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, it should continue acting like a democracy and protect all of its citizens. The senior diplomat feels that there is a need for a political solution "alongside whatever is going on militarily and we hope the Tamil Tigers will see that as well."
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances