The US spent $1.5 million a day since 2001 fighting the opium war in Afghanistan. After hundreds of airstrikes failed to curtail the Taliban's $200-million-a-year opium trade, the US military quietly ended the campaign when the Trump administration officials engaged in direct peace talks with the Taliban, notes Atanu Biswas.
Describing Iran as the 'most significant threat' to regional stability, a top American commander has accused Tehran of carrying out clandestine activities in more than a dozen countries including India.
The Indian American Leadership Initiative, founded by political activist Varun Nikore a decade ago to promote Indian-American participation in the mainstream political process and to support the community's candidates at the local, state and national levels, formally launched its political action committee on Capitol Hill in September-end.
With this, the DoD has reprogrammed USD 800 million CSF destined for Pakistan.
"As part of the President's ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters, the President directed the Department of Justice to provide the Congressional Intelligence committees access to classified Office of Legal Counsel advice related to the subject of the Department of Justice White Paper," an official said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak on such sensitive matters.
Five former American ambassadors to India have written to top US lawmakers urging removal of visa provisions which, they say, are not in US economic interests and also stand to complicate relations with India.
Trump said he may call a national emergency to build a border wall which, he argues, is essential to stop the illegal immigrants from entering the United States.
'Any normal human being, even if he is the American president, will find it hard, at least in the initial stages, to get over the gnawing feeling that Modi is Trump's man.' 'Modi should not be surprised if India and its requirements are treated as of low priority by Joe Biden,' warns B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Events in America have strengthened the hand of those leaders there who wish India well, but think of India as being a collection of Indians.
If Indians are mistreated, they will object, asserts Aakar Patel.
Bera now leads Scott Jones by over 2 per cent, increasing the prospect of him being elected for the third time.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is the federal agency responsible to process the visas, on Monday started accepting applications for H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2019, beginning October 1.
Soon-to-be Indian American United States Congressman Dr Amerish 'Ami' Bera has appointed long-time Democratic and community activist and erstwhile Congressional staffer Mini Timmaraju as his chief of staff.Hyderabad-born and Texas-raised Timmaraju, 39, is currently the director of the Office of the President at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and a former district director for US Congressman Nick Lampson of Texas.
It behooves US to encourage integration of India into the Asia-Pacific, says US Congressman Ed Royce.
The 119 nearly identical construction sites, that could potentially house powerful weapons capable of reaching the American mainland, are similar to those seen at existing launch facilities for China's arsenal of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, the report said.
United States lawmakers, who attended the annual Sikh American Heritage Dinner on Capitol Hill organized by the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, pledged to support the community's efforts to serve in the armed forces without compromising their religious principles.
The spell that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast over US lawmakers nearly two months during his visit to the United States has still not worn off, as was manifest by the gushing nostalgia of the Modi magic by both Democratic and Republican party representatives at the Congressional Diwali celebration on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Chinese military build up is a cause of concern for the countries in the region, a top American commander said on Tuesday after China announced a 10 per cent increase in its defence budget.
A US congressional paper says the recent arrest of eleven men in Virginia, allegedly connected with the Lashkar, raises the prospects of a new terrorist threat in the US.
The United States House of Representatives on Thursday passed by unanimous consent House Resolution 775, a legislation condemning the horrific massacre that killed six Sikh worshippers and priests at a gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on August 5.
The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify before key Congressional committees on January 22, on the deadly militant attack on a US Consulate in Benghazi, in which the US Ambassador to Libya and three other American were killed.
A key United States Congressional Committee on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that imposes conditions on Pakistan for receiving American economic and military aid which will depend on the action Islamabad takes against terrorists and the menace of improvised explosive devices.
Ed Royce, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, became an original cosponsor of the legislation introduced on Monday to condemn the shooting that killed six innocent people at the gurdwara Wisconsin, on August 5, 2012 by avowed white supremacist and neo-Nazi, Wade Michael Page.
Indian-American political leaders, contesting Congressional elections, are outraged at the remarks of "legitimate rape" by a United States lawmaker, which President Barack Obama had termed as offensive.
An influential immigration advocacy group representing Indian-Americans on Thursday urged the Biden administration not to issue the most sought-after H-1B work visa to any individual born in India, till the time the discriminatory country-cap on green cards or permanent legal residency is removed. The current per-country cap on issuing of green cards in the US has resulted in Indian professionals, mostly from the IT sector, having to wait for decades for their legal permanent residency. Issuing new H-1B visas to more Indians would add to this agonising painful wait for green cards, Immigration Voice said in a statement.
The only Indian American lawmaker in the United States Congress, Dr Amerish 'Ami' Bera, on Tuesday made his debut as a member of a Congressional Committee that has jurisdiction over matters pertaining to South Asia.
As with the last 37 years, this year too the India Day Parade in New York saw thousands of Indian Americans throng Manhattan's Madison Avenue to celebrate India's Independence Day. For the thousands of Indians who turned up, it was a once in a year chance to showcase their country's rich cultural diversity.
'There are voters that may only come out to vote for him because he's speaking to their issues and they may not be Democrat or Republican'
A top United States intelligence official on Thursday said the attack on its consulate in Benghazi, in which US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed, was an act of terror.
Two of the US Cabinet members -- Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transport Secretary Elaine Chao -- have resigned over the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters. US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has also announced that he would resign this month after he faced criticism for failing to prevent Trump supporters from storming the building.
'There is now a new paradigm and that is also somewhat begrudgingly recognised by China. They are not all that thrilled that we have come to all these agreements.'
Obama's winning will underscore that in America anything is possible. My hope is that young Indian Americans will see Obama and say, 'I can go into public service as well'. My hope is that Obama will inspire Indian Americans to see politics as something noble, as something that can make a difference in people's lives, says Ro Khanna
"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said.
An influential American Senator has moved a Congressional amendment to strip all US aid to Pakistan, Egypt and Libya -- totalling about $4 billion per annum -- and divided the fund equally for veterans jobs bill and deficit reduction programme.
Getting ready to travel to the United States on a fellowship, blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng spoke to American lawmakers for the second time in a week and gave a detailed account of his alleged persecution and that of his family by Chinese authorities.
So far this month, another $4.5 billion (Rs 33,000 crore) has flown into domestic stocks.
China said the US delegation's visit to Dharamshala and their meeting with the Dalai Lama has "sent a very wrong signal to the outside world about supporting Tibetan independence and violated the US government's commitment not to support Tibet's independence."
US lawmaker recalls the sad irony of hearing news about the massacre of innocent Sikh worshippers in Wisconsin while he was on his way to address concerns of the community regarding hate crimes at a gurdwara in Walnut, California.
The US House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included key components of Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi's resolution language urging the Chinese government to end its military aggression against India along the LAC.
Obviously having gotten the green light from the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi that if they lobby the Speaker to address a joint session of Congress, which he has not been able to do despite his three visits to the US, the Congressmen informed Paul Ryan that 'It is our understanding that if invited, the prime minister would accept.'
Three years after the horrific massacre of Sikh worshippers at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, gurdwara by a gunman with ties to supremacist organisations, a federal system to help track hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindu, Arab American communities has been formalised.
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