Pakistan Information & News

Stephen Hadley

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush’s national security adviser said Tuesday that Iran is the major challenge President-elect Barack Obama will face in the Middle East and that more approves will be needed to force Tehran to relinquish its nuclear objectives and hold up for radicals.

Exterior the Mideast, the next administration’s pinnacle priority should be stabilizing an increasingly unstable Pakistan, Stephen Hadley said.

In a nearly hour-long discussion with media, Hadley said the Bush White House has been trying to “prop up and store up influence” on Iran to bestow to the Obama government. Obama’s challenge, he said, will be to use those sanctions to force Iran to change its actions.

Saying that European officials have pointed to Tehran’s dependence on gasoline imports and its need for additional refining equipment, Hadley added that “one of the questions is whether these kinds of vulnerabilities provide a potential source of leverage, and this is the kind of dialogue that we will continue to have with the Europeans.”

While the Middle East presents challenges, he said Obama might also find his largest far-off policy prospect there, in the form of a calm agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. That’s a supercilious goal considering the current growth of aggression between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that joystick the Gaza Strip.

Last month, Obama recommended a mixture of economic inducements and tighter sanctions might influence the Iranian administration to change its behavior and change its nuclear program. The U.S. and its associates think that Iran is following nuclear weapons capabilities and has demanded it hang up its enhancement program, but Tehran persists it is concerned only in nuclear power generation.

Iran, however, has cast off the carrot-and-stick move toward as intolerable and insists it has the right to continue.

Hadley would not offer suggestion on whether the inward government should boost dialogue with Iran. But, he said, the U.S. “would be idiotic to talk without influence, because talking and negotiating without leverage won’t get you a deal that will go forward your interests. If you want to change the deeds of a country like Iran, you have to have leverage.”

And right now, he said, the U.S. is still short of the leverage needed to force that change.

Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama Monday spoken anxiety about the Gaza calamity but harassed he would not obstruct in “fragile discussions” by the gregarious US government.

Asked about whether Israel’s unpleasant against Hamas was off-putting him from his economic agenda, Obama told reporters “obviously, worldwide affairs are of bottomless alarm.”

“I sturdily consider that a president or president-elect or his team should be able to do more than one thing at a time. With the circumstances in Gaza, I’ve been getting briefed every day,” he said.

Obama has countenanced censure for his silence on the Middle East violence, especially in the Arab world and European press. It adds to the huge challenges awaiting him when he succeeds President George W. Bush on January 20.

But the president-elect stressed: “I will continue to insist that when it comes to foreign affairs, it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time, because there are delicate negotiations taking place right now and we can’t have two voices coming out of the United States when you have so much at stake.”

Barack Obama

CRAWFORD: President-elect Barack Obama’s evolution team is wishing its words cautiously in commerce with Israel’s attack on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The losses of hundreds of Palestinians in Israel’s deadly air stabbing on Hamas will extra make difficult Obama’s challenge to attain a Middle East peace, something that escaped both the Bush and Clinton administrations.

David Axelrod, senior adviser to Obama, chose his words carefully, saying the president-elect would honor the “important bond” between the United States and Israel.

Pressed about how much support Obama will offer Israel, Axelrod said: “He’s going to work closely with the Israelis. They’re a great ally of ours, the most important ally in the region, but he will do so in a way that will promote the cause of peace, and work closely with the Israelis and the Palestinians on that, toward that objective.”

The Bush administration has blamed the renewed violence on the militant Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, saying it broke a cease-fire by firing rockets and mortars deep into Israeli territory. The Arab world, however, has reacted with rage to the aggressive Israeli counterattacks, which have left at least 290 Palestinians dead and more than 600 wounded.

It’s unclear whether Obama will be as supportive of Israel as President George W. Bush has been.

Bush, who is staying at his Texas ranch, spoke on the phone with national security adviser Stephen Hadley to receive an update on the situation and was being kept abreast of developments throughout the day, said Gordon Johndroe, a presidential spokesman. He said Bush would receive an intelligence briefing via a secured video hookup at the ranch early Monday morning and would be briefed then on any overnight developments.

According to an aide on Obama’s transition team, the president-elect, who is in Hawaii, continues to closely monitor global events, including the situation in Gaza. He had an intelligence briefing Sunday and plans to talk with his incoming national security adviser, Gen. James Jones, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his nominee for secretary of state.

Shah Rukh Khan

It couldn’t get better than this. After conquering Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan has now been ranked at the 41st spot among the 50 most powerful people in the world by the prestigious Newsweek magazine, with Barack Obama topping the list. The other Indian besides the King Khan in the list happens to be the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who’s at the 17th spot.

The magazine describes SRK as ‘King of Bollywood’, a title that every cinegoer is aware of, like they know their A-B-C. The magazine also stated that ‘It’s not just that his (Shah Rukh Khan’s) romantic flicks make gazillions, it’s where those gazillions come from. Khan is huge in the Muslim world, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the mullahs ban his films. (The movies thrive on the black market). Their main appeal is certainly the song-and-dance numbers, but Khan (a Muslim married to a Hindu) makes devoutly secular films where love trounces bigotry.’

Now with even the Newsweek in his kitty, one is simply left wondering as to what will be the King’s next conquest.

Barack Obama

From his perch at the New York Times, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist James Risen has been at the forefront of uncovering some of the Bush administration’s worst abuses of power. As a result, he has been hauled before a grand jury and pressured by the government to name his anonymous sources.

A few days after this interview was filmed, one of Risen’s key sources, Thomas Tamm, was featured on the cover of Newsweek as “ The Fed Who Blew The Whistle “ Risen spoke with ANP about the rise in executive power during Bush’s tenure and how the media failed to be vigilant in the wake of 9/11.

Hong Kong

HONG KONG: Earlier President Bill Clinton kicked off his first generous conference overseas in Hong Kong on Tuesday after his wife, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, was named secretary of state by President-elect Barack Obama.

The two-day Clinton worldwide plan in Hong Kong marks the first time the former U.S. leader has held his yearly generous conference overseas, but it also will be the previous while his wife holds her new job.

Bill Clinton’s worldwide business connections posed possible conflicts of interest for his wife’s post, and as part of the deal for her meeting, he agreed to stop holding the meetings overseas and to decline donations from overseas governments.

He also agreed to reveal every contributor to his foundation since its beginning in 1997, step away from the everyday running of the foundation, and allow Obama’s management to appraisal his verbal communication agenda and new sources of income.

Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama plans to proclaim longtime advisers and supporting foes alike as his picks for peak management jobs at a Monday news meeting, nominating one-time political vengeance Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

Obama’s announcements take in members of his nationwide security team and further than, implementation the nominations for one-third of his Cabinet as he moves rapidly to bring together the country’s new leadership in times of war and a troubled economy.

His selections consist of some of his most faithful campaign advisers and particularly some who were not, including Democratic primary rival Clinton and President Bush’s protection secretary, Robert Gates, staying in his current post.

Obama also intended to name Washington lawyer Eric Holder as legal representative general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary, according to Democratic officials. He also planned to announce two senior foreign policy positions outside the 15-member Cabinet: campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador and retired Marine General James L. Jones as national security adviser.

The Democratic officials disclosed the plans on a condition of anonymity Sunday because they were not authorized for public release ahead of the news conference.

Those names had been discussed before for those jobs, but the officials confirmed Sunday that Obama will make them official Monday in his hometown.

Last week, he named key members of his economic team, including Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as treasury secretary. Obama is not yet ready to name his intelligence advisers, one Democratic official said.

Clinton’s nomination is the latest chapter in what began as a bitter rivalry for the Democratic presidential nomination. After Obama defeated her, Clinton backed his general election campaign against Republican Sen. John McCain, and she now has agreed to give up her Senate seat to be his top diplomat.

Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama on Friday expressed sorrow for the victims of the attacks on Mumbai and said the militants who staged the assault would not defeat India’s “great democracy” or the global coalition arrayed against them.

“Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the American citizens who lost their lives in the outrageous terrorist attacks in Mumbai,” Obama said in a statement, following reports that a Virginia man and his daughter had been killed as well as a rabbi from New York.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and with all who have been touched by this terrible tragedy,” Obama said.

“These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India’s great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them. The United States must stand with India and all nations and people who are committed to destroying terrorist networks, and defeating their hate-filled ideology.”

In a phrase he has used repeatedly since his electoral victory on November 4, Obama said there was only “one president at a time,” saying he was receiving regular updates from President George W. Bush’s administration.

“I will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Mumbai, and am grateful for the cooperation of the Bush administration in keeping me and my staff updated.

“We fully support the Bush administration’s efforts to protect American citizens and assist the government of India during this tragic time.”

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner

PARIS: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday of the possible perils concerned in his plans to contract extra in a straight line with Iran and drive more troops to Afghanistan.

Obama has completed clear he plans a new move toward to commerce with Iran and its nuclear programme, as well as direct talks if needed, a break from the outgoing management of President George W. Bush, which pursued an isolation strategy.

Kouchner, whose country holds the revolving presidency of the European Union, said he welcomed Obama’s plans but urged him to be cautious when dealing with the Iranians, who have been negotiating with major powers for years.

“We have negotiated at great length. People came to France, we sent people to Iran, we met them and unluckily this conversation produced nothing. And so, one must be careful,” Kouchner told media.

Major powers have twice offered Iran a package of incentives to convince it to abandon uranium enhancement, a responsive technology that can create fuel for power plants or potentially nuclear weapons, but Tehran has rejected the advances.

The West says Iran is looking for to build up the atom bomb under the cover of a civilian nuclear programme, but Iran says it only wants to master nuclear technology to engender electrical energy.

Ayman al-Zawahiri

DUBAI: Al-Qaida passed its first reply to America’s election today in a video that used ethnic abuse aligned with Barack Obama, and said the president-elect did not stand for a authentic force for alter.

The communication from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two to Osama bin Laden, appeared to be intended at persuading its own faction that the election of an African-American president whose middle name is Hussein does not really represent a break with the George Bush presidency.

“America has put on a new countenance, but its spirit full of hate, mind drowning in greed, and spirit which spreads evil, murder, repression and despotism continue to be the same as always,” Zawahari said.

He resorted to racial slurs to make his point, calling Obama a “house slave” in Arabic who just did the bidding of his white masters. Subtitles supplied by al-Qaida translated the term as “house negro”.

The video, which ran more than 11 minutes, called Obama the “direct opposite of honourable black Americans” such as Malcolm X.

It showed footage of Malcolm X using the term “house negroes” to describe people who did the bidding of whites. There was also footage of Malcolm X kneeling in prayer at a mosque.

The pictures of Obama showed him in a skullcap at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Zawahari accused Obama of revealing his father, who was born a Muslim, and of humanizing ties with Jewish organisations to further his political ambitions.

“You have reached the place of president, and a heavy inheritance of breakdown and crimes awaits you. A failure in Iraq to which you have admitted, and a failure in Afghanistan to which the commanders of your army have admitted,” the message said.

Zawahiri issued no precise intimidation, and US officials said there was no sign of a sensitive warning against Obama or American well-being.

The al-Qaida leader criticised Obama’s plan to move more forces into Afghanistan. “Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them,” he said.

In spite of his argument that Obama did not stand for a force for modify, he said the elections showed that Americans now believed the policies of George Bush had failed.

The video referred to US air strikes on Afghanistan on November 5, which suggested it was produced after that date.

President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: U.S. president-elect Barack Obama has named longtime lawyer Eric Holder as lawyer general, making him the first African-American ever in the post, U.S. media reported Tuesday.

Holder, who served as second-in-command attorney general under earlier president Bill Clinton, will head the impartiality Department, Newsweek magazine said, citing lawful sources close to the presidential transition.

Obama’s transition team did not immediately comment on the report.

“Obama offered Holder the job and he accepted,” the magazine said on its website, adding that “the declaration is not likely until after Obama announces his choices to lead the coffers and State departments.”

Holder was co-chief along with Caroline Kennedy of Obama’s vice-presidential selection process and, like Obama, is a fellow alumnus of Columbia University in New York, the report said.

Barack Obama

CHICAGO: President-elect Barack Obama and his whitewashed Republican competitor John McCain pledged Monday a “new epoch of improvement” to work out the US financial calamity, make over get-up-and-go strategy and defend countrywide safety.

Two weeks after the November 4 election, the couple said in a combined declaration after talks here that Americans of all parties wanted their leaders to come mutually and “change the bad habits of Washington.”

The hour-long congregation in Obama’s transition head office added heft to his swears to reach out to aged opponents as the self-governing president-elect crafts an expansive schedule for the next four years.

“It is in this strength of mind that we had a creative tête-à-tête in the present day about the need to launch a new era of improvement where we take on administration waste and astringent partisanship in Washington in order to reinstate faith in government, and bring back affluence and opportunity for every meticulous American family unit.

“We hope to work mutually in the days and months ahead on dangerous challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation’s security,” Obama and the Arizona senator said.

At the start of the meeting, McCain was asked by reporters whether he would help the president-elect’s new administration and replied: “Obviously.”

McCain’s close senate friend, Republican Lindsey Graham, and Congressman Rahm Emanuel, whom the president-elect has chosen as his White House chief of staff, joined the two politicians.

According to reports, Obama’s conversion squad is in the meantime conducting an in detail selection of the finances of his former primary competitor Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill Clinton with a view to naming her his secretary of state.

In an interview on a program broadcast late Sunday, Obama confirmed that he had met with the former first lady in Chicago last week but refused to say if he made her a job offer.