Khan was known to directly participate in attacks against US and coalition forces, and the actions of his network terrorised Afghans, especially in Nangarhar.
'Everybody spies on their friends as well as their enemies. That's the way the world works these days'
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.
Two Sikh-American military recruits, both medical professionals already in the US Army, who have been denied the right to report for active duty in July unless they remove their turbans and cut their unshorn hair and beards, have called on the Pentagon to allow them to serve their country without having to compromise their religious principles.
Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, who wrapped up three days of intensive discussions with the hierarchy of the new Obama administration at the State Department, White House, and Pentagon, and also met with the leadership in the US Congress, apparently has every reason to be satisfied that the transformed US-India relationship is ready to be launched to the next level of the partnership.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
United States Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin arrived in India on Friday on a three-day visit, aimed at further boosting bilateral defence and security ties in the wake of China's growing military assertiveness in the region including the Indo-Pacific.
The Associated Press, in a story widely reproduced in the US media, cites top US military commanders as saying that Pakistan's tribal areas are the new Ground Zero in the battle against global terrorism -- even more so than Iraq.
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet with United States President Barack Obama at the White House next month, where the two leaders will chart a course seeking enhanced bilateral ties and defence cooperation between the two countries, US officials have said. Dr Singh will visit the White House on September 27.
Trump said that he "absolutely" believes waterboarding works, but would defer to his CIA and Pentagon chiefs advice on whether to reinstate them.
The parade is to take place in November, most likely on Veterans Day (November 11).
Indians at large harbour a notion that their country is cherrypicking out of the American basket of goodies, but the policymakers in Delhi and the political leadership are well aware that it can only be a pipe dream since a military alliance with a superpower is a profound irrevocable commitment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump's trip to Brussels would be his first overseas visit after he was sworn-in.
Overt displays of physical machismo is the stamp of the strongman and it's a symptom that manifests itself in direct proportion to their sense of insecurity, says Kanika Datta.
Any form of entanglement with India or the US on the strategic plane will be anathema to Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa rulers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar expects to see progress in India-US defence relations at the speed of a year per month.
The US president said that there is a lot of "dislike" (between India and Pakistan).
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Trump administration has called Maduro a "dictator" and issued sanctions against him and more than two dozen other former and current officials, accusing Maduro's government of violating human rights and undermining the country's democracy.
Dismissing allegations that it is singling out China in maritime disputes, the United States has said in the last one year it has challenged the maritime territorial claims of 18 countries, including some of friendly nations like India and Brazil.
'India has been placed at a level, which would ensure that red tape is cut away. That's the biggest assurance that one can get -- the biggest takeaway.'
Both Mahinda Rajapaksa and Modi have learnt from their past mistakes. Modi has understood that Rajapaksa is a 'forever politician' that India has to live with, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If push comes to shove, Trump is probably planning to order the US army to clear his path for a second term. What if the armed forces refuse to obey their commander-in-chief?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Costing Rs 500 billion, the INS Vishal will be the Indian military's single most expensive defence platform.
'Biden's promise of returning to 'normalcy' after Trump appears to mean that the same old politicians, who are responsible for the 'endless wars' in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, are being brought out of the woodwork after four years,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Donald Trump blamed the Democrats after the bill, which would have provided short-term funding for the Pentagon and other federal agencies, did not receive the required 60 votes.
The US president's remarks came in response to the latest ballistic missile test conducted by North Korea on Friday.
The United States is not taking at face value Pakistan's actions against terrorists outfits.
'The domination of American foreign policy by the military poses some hidden dangers for us.' 'We must factor in that the Pakistani military and the US military have close ties going back three generations.' 'Pakistan will find sympathetic ears in the Pentagon against India as the bogey man.' 'This will be further milked to the maximum by raising the ante in Kashmir through its proxies,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale.
The US President, however, said he does not know if this would send a message to North Korea.
'Even as discord over US-India trade and commerce colours diplomatic relations, defence relations between the two countries remain on a firm footing,' points out Ajai Shukla.
Notwithstanding President Hamid Karzai's reluctance to sign the bilateral security agreement, the United States has said that though it is open to signing of the pact later in the year, the longer it takes the more challenging it will be to execute any mission post 2014 in Afghanistan.
'On Saturday, I drove my wife over to Beverly Hills for sushi.' 'Two blocks before Rodeo, we turned the car around, because we saw hundreds driving pickup trucks and marching down sidewalks, yelling, donning MAGA gear, and waving huge Trump flags.' I tell you... It was scary.' 'And this didn't look like a defeated throng.' 'These folks looked like they knew something we didn't,' notes Rajiv Satyal, the Los Angeles-based comedian and host.
The bench said that 'argument on the preliminary issue and the claim of privilege raised by the Government of India is reserved'.
The decision to go ahead with the mission is certain to anger China, which said last month it would "never allow any country" to violate its territorial waters and airspace around the islands, the Washington Post reported.
Pyongyang cited the ongoing military exercise between the US and South Korea as a reason behind the move.
China on Wednesday asserted that it has enough "will and ability" to enforce its unilaterally declared new air defence zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea after two US B-52 bombers challenged Chinese authority over the controversial airspace.
The city readies itself for the biggest economic, political and social event of the year
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