Visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday assured the United States that with a strong security force, Afghanistan would not be threatened by terrorists from across its borders post-2014 when the America-led international force withdraws from the war-torn country.
The series of tough international sanctions have weakened Iran, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta on said on Monday, adding that even though Tehran has not taken a decision on building nuclear weapons, intelligence information says that it continues to develop their nuclear capabilities.
United States faces an imminent threat of a "cyber Pearl Harbour" attack, which could cause massive physical destruction and loss of life, paralyse and shock the nation and create a profound new sense of vulnerability, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said.
The exercise is taking place at a time India and China are locked in a nearly six-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties.
Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping on Wednesday met visiting US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, in the first public meeting with a visiting foreign dignitary since his mysterious disappearance early this month that sparked rumours about his health.
China on Tuesday warned that it reserves the right to take "further actions" over its maritime dispute with Japan even as fresh anti-Japan protests erupted across the country forcing top Japanese firms to remain padlocked.
United States is still facing some severe challenges like terrorism and cyber security and needs to be prepared to confront them wherever they are, outgoing US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday.
The Taliban has chosen to interpret the lack of open Indian enthusiasm on the US idea of Indian military training role in Afghanistan as Indian rejection of the US feelers, says B Raman.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the government will not allow India's pride to be hurt under any circumstances even as he said bilateral talks were on at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the row.
India and US on Wednesday night signed a new strategically important 10-year defence framework agreement setting the stage for co-development and manufacture of defence equipment.
Chinese analysts say that United States' efforts to make India part of its alliance against China will not succeed, as they believe India pursued independent foreign policy focusing on its national interests.
The United States on Wednesday promised to initiate measures to provide access to dual use technology to India which has been contending that American norms were leading to denial of export of such sophisticated items.
Top Pentagon leaders have warned US lawmakers against including their "pet projects" in the annual defence budget, particularly at a time when it is struggling to save money in view of the tough economic environment.
The elephant in the room will permeate the conversations, predicts Rup Narayan Das.
The talks between Singh and Esper came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump.
A military strike against Iran would have "unintended consequences", US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has warned, sounding the Obama administration's strongest reservation about an attack since the release of a UN report, which suspected Tehran was working on a nuclear explosive device.
The United States Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Leon Panetta, the Central Investigation Agency director, to be the next Pentagon chief. He would succeed Robert Gates, who is one of longest serving US Defence Secretary.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to make announcements in this regard on Thursday unveiling the annual budget of the Pentagon and the new defence strategy for the US to meet the needs of the time within the financial constraints.
In a major goof-up, new US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta clubbed India and China, describing them as emerging "threats", but his office quickly retracted the remarks, saying Washington strongly values close ties with New Delhi.
Distancing himself from former United States Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Mike Mullen's remark about the Inter-Services Intelligence-Haqqani network links, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Pakistan has been asked to take action against the Haqqani network.
The excavated skeletal remains of soldiers and artefacts of a US Air Force B-24 bomber that had crashed in north-east India during the Second World War were given a full honors ceremony at New Delhi's airport on Wednesday before being sent to the United States.
The United States on Thursday formally ended their nine-year mission in Iraq, which began with the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, with a low-key ceremony in Baghdad.
After a year-long hiatus, the US and China resumed high-level defence talks to improve relations in the field and iron out differences over each other's strategic perceptions in the regional and global arena. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guanglie began their talks as the two countries try to improve bilateral military ties and discuss ways to ease US concerns about China's military modernisation.
Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta will move to Pentagon to become new US Defence Secretary to replace Robert Gates while his top military commander in Afghanistan Gen David Petraeus is to takeover as the new CIA Director.
Defence Minister A K Antony, during his visit to Washington, DC, in September, bluntly told US Defence ecretary Robert Gates that India would not sign the agreements, which Washington calls the 'foundation' for transferring high-tech communications equipment to India. Ajai Shukla reports.
The United States on Thursday said that it is not trying to 'hold China down,' despite crucial differences over issues like supplying arms to Taiwan and was trying to 'manage' differences with the 'global power.'
The United States has announced to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each by January 15 next year, which drew sharp reaction from influential lawmakers across the aisle.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who is on a three-day visit to China, has warned that North Korea could attack the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile within five years, adding that the country "is becoming a direct threat to America" with its efforts to expand its nuclear program.
The top US commander in Afghanistan appeared to be on his way out after the White House and Pentagon took strong objection to his controversial comments against key aids of Obama administration in an interview.
Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Taliban is not only trying to overthrow the government in Islamabad, but is also launching attack against other countries, including the US, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.
Ahead of his meeting with Indian counterpart A K Antony, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said the Pentagon wants to strengthen and expand its military to military ties with India.
Despite taking strong military action against militants in recent months, the Pakistani establishment has maintained relationship with those extremist groups as a hedge, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday held a meeting with visiting Chinese General Xu Caiho during which they discussed smoother military cooperation and a combined strategy to create a more stable and secure environment in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
They will serve as a rifleman, machine gunner and mortar Marine.
Describing the Pakistani Army's offensive against the Taliban and other extremist groups as "terrific", US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has assured Islamabad that Washington would keep supporting the troubled nation in future also.
Suspicious of deepening ties between India and the United States, Pakistan is reluctant to plunge into war with Afghan militants and even high-profile visits of US officials have failed to win over a military and civilian establishment in Islamabad, a media report said.
Making a distinction between some violent extremist groups and others is counterproductive, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday told Pakistan that the Taliban's safe havens along the Af-Pak border have to be eliminated or both nations would suffer "more lethal and brazen attacks".
The US is "fully alive" to the dangers involved in India's neighbourhood, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said on Wednesday.
The lawmakers have asked the Defence Secretary to give full consideration to the soldiers' requests. They, in their letter, cited other Sikhs' service in the US Armed Forces and in its allies' militaries to support their argument that these men should be permitted to serve.
United States President Barack Obama has signed into law the $618 billion defence budget for 2017, which enhances security cooperation with India and conditions nearly half of the funding to Pakistan on a certification that it is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances