"For more than a year, General Allen has served with distinction as the Commander of US Forces and NATO International Security Assistances Forces in Afghanistan, seeing us through a critical period in our military efforts and in Afghanistan's transition," Obama said.
A mechanism for Europe which will link together the missile defence assets from different allies under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's command has been declared operational by the organisation. Announced by the alliance 18 months ago, the system has been termed by NATO Director General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as a step towards the organisation's long-term goal of providing full coverage and protection for all its European partners.
The US president is deeply grateful for the honour, courage and determination of the US' men and women who served in Afghanistan for almost two decades, as well as the sacrifices made not just by those troops, but also by their families, a senior Biden administration official told reporters during a conference call.
Noting that the United States and its NATO allies have been successful in its mission in Libya, the United States President Barack Obama on Wednesday said that the Muammar-al Gaddafi needs to step down.
India will continue to be a strategic partner for the United States despite concerns over its ties with Russia, the Biden Administration has said.
There is nothing to be worried about as bilateral ties are robust with solid foundations. Both are on the same page on the economic and defence/security ties bilaterally and globally and that shall continue irrespective of change in political dispensation in either country, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
The United States has put on hold all its military-to-military engagements with Russia, attributing the move to Russia's intrusion into Ukraine.
"Throughout our history we've learned this lesson -- when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising," Biden said addressing the joint session of the Congress in his first State of the Union.
In an exclusive interview with Business Standard, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insisted that the military alliance's relations with close ally Pakistan would not be developed at the expense of India.
Telling his fellow countrymen that America is at an inflection point, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he has decided that the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.
India said the US secretary of state Colin Powell should have shared the decision with India about Pakistan being accorded a major non-NATO ally status.
Mattis also warned Pakistan of global "diplomatic isolation" and losing its Non-NATO ally status if it failed to take action against safe havens to terrorists on its soil.
Pakistan on Saturday claimed that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation helicopters from Afghanistan fired on a military check post in northwest tribal region, killing eight soldiers and wounding four others.
A major allied offensive is reportedly being planned on the Musa Qala area of Afghanistan, to counter the resurgent Taliban.
Remember the US withdrawal agreement was signed in February 2020. In the intervening period, a proper evacuation plan ought to have been in place. It was not. Consequently, tens of thousands of Afghans who had worked as interpreters, drivers, suppliers of goods and services, etc, face brutal retribution from the Taliban, Virendra Kapoor points out.
Putin said work would be completed on building storage units for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus on July 1, a move he likened to US nuclear deployments in Europe.
Trump defended his decision saying that the United States has done its part and now it is the time for other regional players to play their part.
China has 'violated the sovereignty' of not just the United States but of countries across five continents, Secretary of State Antony Blinken alleged Wednesday, days after US fighter jets shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon.
Neither the BJP, nor the Congress before it, made any manifesto commitments on defence spending, even though allocations have plummeted from 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s to less than 2 per cent today, points out Ajai Shukla.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday that the United States is actively working to reach a diplomatic solution to de-escalate the crisis.
'In view of the continued high levels of tensions and uncertainties with respect to the situation in Ukraine, all Indian nationals whose stay is not deemed essential and all Indian students, are advised to leave Ukraine temporarily,' the embassy said.
Pak's role in Kabul is not sending a good message to India, a top American lawmaker has said
Biden stressed over "not fighting a third World War in Ukraine" but avowed sending an "unmistakable message that we will defend every inch of NATO territory".
'It is crucial today to realise where we have reached in this 15 year-period in order to fully and properly assess the profundity of what General Rawat has said,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to forcefully respond to Russia's "unjustified, unprovoked and premeditated" invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Putin and Lavrov.
On Friday, Putin formally announced the annexation of four regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia -- and claimed that "this is the will of millions of people".
Referring to how unified Washington Allies have been in isolating President Putin, Biden stated, "...The Quad is, with the possible exception of India being somewhat shaky on some of this, but Japan has been extremely strong -- so has Australia -- in terms of dealing with Putin's aggression."
'India's specific concerns about whether Russia will be a reliable defense supplier and diplomatic partner in the event of heightened hostilities with China has undoubtedly accelerated the process of US-India defense and intelligence cooperation intended to support Indian military positions along the Line of Actual Control.'
Amid deepening crisis in Afghanistan, United States President Joe Biden defended his move to withdraw troops from the country, saying history will record this as a 'logical, rational, and right decision'.
India on Tuesday advised its citizens in Ukraine to temporarily leave that country amid escalating tension between Russia and NATO countries over the eastern European nation.
The Democrats, especially the Biden administration, wanted to deliver a sharper message to Mr Modi than would be possible in a formal summit setting. So, why not get the most prominent Democrat in decades to deliver it?, explains Shekhar Gupta.
The blast, which could be heard several kilometers away, sent burning debris showering down over an area a few hundred meters from the Justice and Interior Ministries, a top courthouse, and the former office of the prime minister.
An entertaining spy thriller with world politics bunged in: Utkarsh Mishra endorses Jack Ryan, Season 3.
Biden and Modi committed that the US and India will work closely together to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries, and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism, the White House said in a readout of the call.
Biden said the US will continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates.
Notwithstanding how the current impasse is solved, at some point in the future, Russia will realise that just as centuries ago it developed the paradigm of securing its heartland's safety through annexing vast buffer zones between itself and the enemy, a more modern security is possible only through friendly relations and sustainable peace, observes Shyam G Menon.
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