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Detainees destined for air base

April 21, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The Department of Immigration says it expects to have Curtin Air Base up and running as a detention centre within two weeks.

The department says staff are conducting an audit of what beds and facilities are already available at the base and has already begun talking to local contractors about what services they can provide once the detainees arrive.

A spokesperson for the department says there are more than 200 beds available as part of the air base’s barrack-style accommodation.

It is understood the Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum seekers will use these rather than rely on dongas being brought in.

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Some Americans think opposition to Obama’s policies is based on racism

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep. 18 (ANI): Some Americans, including former President Jimmy Carter, believe that those who are opposing US President Barrack Obama’s policies have a racial element against him instead of simple disagreement.

According to a recent Fox News poll, 65 percent Americans think that opposition to Obama’s policies is based on honest disagreements, while 20 percent say it is mostly motivated by racism.

However, Black voters are twice as likely to say the opposition is motivated by race, with 63 percent citing racism as the reason for opposition and 27 percent say it is based on honest disagreements.

Most white voters (71 percent) say the opposition comes from honest disagreements.

Most Republicans (87 percent) and independents (69 percent) believe that opposition to Obama’s policies is based on honest disagreements, while 48 percent Democrats say honest disagreements and 34 percent say it is motivated by racism, the poll found.

Opinion Dynamics Corp. conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters with a 3-point margin of error.

The poll also found that 54 percent of Americans think Obama is a “new kind” of politician, while a large 39 percent minority says he is a “typical” politician.

As for Obama’s handling of health care, 44 percent approved and 48 percent disapproved.

Obama received better ratings on his handling of the economy (55 percent approve) and on the war in Afghanistan (51 percent).

By a wide 60 percent to 27 percent margin, Americans think the country has become more divided rather than more united since Obama took office in January, the poll found. (ANI)

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Obama pays tribute to Jacko

July 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 03(ANI): U.S. President Barrack Obama has finally paid tribute to King of Pop Michael Jackson more than a week after his death.

Obama was expected to issue a statement following Jackson’s sudden death last week, but he instead chose to send the superstar’s family a private letter of condolence.

A week after, Obama acknowledged the magnitude of the loss to the generation that grew up as followers of the icon, Contactmusic reports.

He paid tribute saying: “He will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers”.

Obama also revealed that he grew up listening to Jackson.

He added: “I grew up on his music. I still have all his stuff on my iPod.”

The pop legend died of a suspected cardiac arrest at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles on June 25, 2009. (ANI)

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White House’s delay in recognizing Jacko’s death draws flak

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 27 (ANI): The White House’s delay in issuing a statement on Michael Jackson’s death, and President Barrack Obama indifference towards the musical legend’s family, has raised many eyebrows.

Some 19 hours after the death of Jackson was officially confirmed, Obama recognized, through White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, the passing of the musical legend while also alluding to his personal difficulties.

“He said to me that obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer, a music icon. I think everybody remembers hearing his songs, watching him moonwalk on television during Motown’s 25th anniversary. But the president said he had aspects of his life [that] were sad and tragic. His condolences went out to the Jackson family and to fans that mourned his loss,” Politico quoted Gibbs, as saying.

In response to a question, Gibbs said he did not believe Obama had made an effort to contact the Jackson family.

Fans and media were puzzled by Obama’s lack of response to an event that dominated news coverage worldwide on Friday and Saturday.

“Why not issue a written statement for a man who’s come to this White House, who’s visited other presidents, who’s been honored by other presidents for his humanitarian efforts, he also worked for the Democratic Party, which this president is the head of, helped fundraise? Why not a written statement?” April Ryan of American Urban Radio Network asked Gibbs.

Responding to a question about the lack of official statement, Gibbs said: “Because I just said it. I thought I did a pretty good job. I asked the president what he thought about it today and as his spokesman passed that along to you.”

While a short written statement on the death of a notable figure in American life is usually a straightforward matter, it becomes more complicated in the case of a singer whose musical accomplishments were often obscured by allegations of darker behavior.

“I think people want [Obama] to talk about the Michael Jackson they love, not the Michael Jackson that was weird,” said Paul Glastris, a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. (ANI)

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Paint your roofs white to slow global warming, says Obama’s energy adviser

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 27 (ANI): US President Barrack Obama’s energy adviser has suggested that as part of efforts to slow global warming, all the world’s roofs should be painted white.

According to a report in the Telegraph, Professor Steven Chu, the US Energy Secretary, said that the unusual proposal would mean homes in hot countries would save energy and money on air conditioning by deflecting the sun’s rays.

More pale surfaces could also slow global warming by reflecting heat into space rather than allowing it to be absorbed by dark surfaces where it is trapped by greenhouse gases and increases temperatures.

The Professor described climate change as a “crisis situation”, and called for a whole host of measures to be introduced, from promoting energy efficiency to renewable energy such as wind, wave and solar.

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist said the US was not considering any large scale “geo-engineering” projects where science is used to reverse global warming, but was in favour of “white roofs everywhere”.
He said that lightening roofs and roads in urban environments would offset the global warming effects of all the cars in the world for 11 years.
“If you look at all the buildings and if you make the roofs white and if you make the pavement more of a concrete type of colour rather than a black type of colour and if you do that uniformally, that would be the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars in the world by 11 years – just taking them off the road for 11 years,” he said. (ANI)

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Obama invites Singh to Washington

May 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 24 (ANI): US President Barrack Obama has extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to visit Washington during a conversation on Saturday night. He also congratulated him on his re election as premier.

Earlier, Obama described Dr.Singh as a wise man and expressed his intention to visit India soon.

Indian Prime Minister shared very warm relationship with Obama’s predecessor George W bush and a good chemistry seems to be building up with Obama.

During the telephonic conversation on Saturday both leaders also recalled their warm meeting in London on April 2 and discussed their mutual desire to strengthen U.S.-India relations and work together to address common global challenges, such as the economic downturn, climate change, and counterterrorism.

With Indo-US civil nuclear deal as a cornerstone the strategic relationship between the two countries peaked during the last five years. Despite the apprehensions raised by UPA coalition partner Left parties which have ideological differences with the US, Dr Singh steered the relations smoothly.

Now With the fresh mandat when left parties out of the way , Indo-US relationship is expected to reach a new high in Dr Sing second innings.

The mains reasons why New Delhi has become even more valued partner for Obama in the current times because India is playing a crucial role in his Af Pak policy as a regional contact partner, In these difficult times of economic stress Washington also see great potential in the field of nuclear energy in India and is also bidding for the big ticket 40 billion dollars defence deal which includes the purchase of 126 fighters planes ,this deal is touted as one of the world’s biggest current arms deals.

The two leaders are expected to meet on the margins of July G 8 summit that is going to take place in Italy. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)

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Obama says Pak Army’s focus is shifting from India to Taliban

May 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 18 (ANI): US President Barrack Obama has expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan Army’s recognition of the Taliban being a more serious threat than India in recent weeks.

“One of the encouraging things is, over the last several weeks we’ve seen a decided shift in the Pakistan Army’s recognition that the threat from extremism is a much more immediate and serious one than the threat from India that they’ve traditionally focused on,” the Newsweek quoted him, as saying.

On being asked whether he was willing to have American troops secure Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if the country gets unstable, Obama said he would consider all options as the US Commander-in-Chief, keeping in mind Pakistan’s sovereignty.

“We have confidence that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is safe. As commander in chief, I have to consider all options, but I think that Pakistan’s sovereignty has to be respected. We are trying to strengthen them as a partner,” he said.

Obama said he had decided to send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan after recognizing that the Taliban were destabilizing Pakistan in addition to Afghanistan. (ANI)

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India not pushed on ties with Pakistan, consulted on Af-Pak: Holbrooke

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) With India a ‘vital leader’ in the region, the US Wednesday maintained it was not pressuring New Delhi on its ties with Islamabad and would like to see a greater role for this country in Afghanistan, even as it said India had been consulted on President Barrack Obama’s new Af-Pak strategy.

‘The subject (India-Pakistan ties) did not come up,’ Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan said at a joint press conference here with Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, after talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.

Holbrooke and Mullen were here on the concluding leg of a five-day ‘whirlwind’ swing through the region that has already taken them to Afghanistan and Pakistan as they seek to take forward Obama’s Af-Pak policy on the war against terror.

‘We didn’t come here to get the Indian government to do something. We came to inform and consult the Indian government (about the Af-Pak strategy),’ Holbrooke said.

In this context, he noted that India had been kept in the loop while the Af-Pak strategy was being formulated and would continue to be consulted in future.

‘We consulted the Indian government very closely,’ Holbrooke said.

‘India plays a critical role in the region. We have the same priorities but no coordination. So we need to move forward on that,’ he explained.

Added Mullen: ‘India is a vital leader in the region. Its role is critical in so many constructive and positive ways.’

Apart from Menon, Holbrooke and Mullen also met National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and the prime minister’s special envoy S.K. Lambah for ‘terrific talks’, as the envoy put it, on regional and security issues.

Holbrooke also noted that Menon had spoken on the telephone with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US National Security Advisor James L. Jones while the Af-Pak policy was being strategised.

‘India’s views will be welcomed in Washington at any and every level,’ the envoy maintained.

Mullen separately met Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta — who is also chairman of the Indian chiefs of staff committee — to discuss issues relating to maritime security.

According to Holbrooke: ‘What happens in Afghanistan depends on what happens in Pakistan. They are deeply inter-related. For the first time since partition, India, Pakistan and the US face a common threat, a common challenge and have a common task.

‘It’s in the national security interest of all three to work together and Pakistan is central to that. It’s going to be difficult but we’ll get there,’ the envoy maintained.

Holbrooke also lauded India’s role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction, particularly its initiatives in the agricultural sector.

‘(Indian) Ambassador (Jayant) Prasad outlined for us what is being done. It’s an impressive and very, very comprehensive agricultural programme,’ he said.

He also pointed out that the US effort in Afghanistan was focused ‘not just on the military side but in engaging civil society too. We have to see how to work together better’.

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India consulted on Obama’s Af-Pak strategy: Holbrooke

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) India had been kept in the loop while US President Barrack Obama’s new Af-Pak strategy on the war against terror was being formulated and would continue to be consulted in future, a top American diplomat said Wednesday.

‘We consulted the Indian government very closely,’ said Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He was addressing a joint press conference here with Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, after talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.

He also noted that Menon had spoken on the telephone with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US National Security Advisor James L. Jones while the Af-Pak policy was being strategised.

‘India’s views will be welcomed in Washington at any and every level,’ Holbrooke maintained.

Holbrooke and Mullen were here on the concluding leg of a five-day swing through the region that has already taken them to Afghanistan and Pakistan as they seek to take forward Obama’s new Af-Pak strategy.

Apart from Menon, Holbrooke and Mullen also met National Security Adbvisor M.K.Narayanan and the prime minister’s special envoy S.K. Lambah for discussions on regional and security issues.

Mullen separately met Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who is also the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, to discuss issues relating to maritime security.

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Tihar gang war turns bloody

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

As many as eight inmates at Tihar Jail received serious injuries in a fight between two gangs in the Capital on Sunday. The police said the inmates used blades, iron strips and pipes in the fight.

According to jail officials, the fight between the two groups started over sharing of corner space for sleeping inside barracks. The groups attacked each other twice inside the barracks and they later had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.

The jail officials said that a group of four inmates – Manish, Mobinuddin, Nazim and Mohammad Mehfuz – all lodged in cases of dacoity in jail number 1 (Ward number 2), attacked another prisoner Rashid. “They attacked him at around 6.30am while he was sleeping.

Rashid is the sevadaar appointed by jail authorities and he also has the duty of deciding sleeping space in barracks,” said an official. Rashid is in jail in connection with a murder case.

Mehfuz is a convict while the other three are undertrials. They were shifted to this barrack on Saturday.

“We usually keep on changing their barracks. Rashid had reportedly attacked Mehfuz few days back,” said Tihar Jail spokesperson Sunil Gupta.

The accused thrashed Rashid and when they realised that they would be booked, they inflicted injuries on themselves as well. The jail officials also said that Manish and the other three received injuries while they were being shifted into the Special Security Ward number 7 after the fight.

“At around 10.30 am, when we were shifting them to another ward Rashid’s friends attacked Manish and his accomplices,” said an official. Officials said that Bhupinder (convict), Sachin and Irfaz (both undertrials) attacked Manish and his friends.

They were all taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where they were provided treatment and discharged in the afternoon. According to unconfirmed reports, Rashid had informed the jail superintendent around 15 days ago that Manish and members of his gang could attack him.

Gupta said the jail authorities were conducting an enquiry into the incident and CCTV footage is being analysed to know the chain of events. “These kind of incidents take place between rival groups to show superiority over each other,” said a jail official.

After the incident, Manish and members of his gang were shifted to a high security ward (Ward number 2) while Rashid and the members of his gang have been lodged in Special Security ward (Ward number 7), where Manish and his men were attacked when being shifted. The security in the compound has been increased.

Both the groups have registered complaints against each other at Hari Nagar Police Station. Police are taking their statements and waiting for medical reports to register a case.

The police said a case for causing hurt would be lodged.

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Pakistan fighting for survival but will not succumb: Zardari

April 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, April 7 (IANS) Pakistan is ‘fighting for its survival’ but will not ‘succumb’ to the militants, President Asif Ali Zardari told top US officials here Tuesday.

‘Pakistan is fighting a battle for its own survival,’ a statement issued by the presidency quoted Zardari as saying at a meeting with Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, and Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

‘The president said the government would not succumb to any pressure by militants,’ the statement added.

The talks covered regional security issues, the new Afghanistan strategy US President Barrack Obama unveiled late last month and the surge in militancy and extremism in the region, the statement said.

Mullen and Holbrooke will also hold talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi before leaving for New Delhi later Tuesday.

With the Pakistani Taliban threatening to carry out ‘two attacks a week in Pakistan’, Gilani Monday called a meeting of the chief ministers and police chiefs of the four provinces to mull a fresh strategy to counter the growing number of terror strikes in the country.

At least 24 people, including four children, were killed and 35 others injured Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of a Shia mosque in Punjab province.

On Saturday, six police personnel were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Frontier Corps (FC) checkpost near the crowded Jinnah Super Market in a high security area of Islamabad.

On March 30, heavily armed terrorists stormed into the Manawan police academy on the outskirts of Lahore and held over 400 trainees hostage for over eight hours before the security forces recaptured the complex.

Eight terrorists were killed and three were captured alive. Eight police trainees and two civilians were also killed.

On March 3, militants attacked a bus transporting the Sri Lankan cricket team to Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium for the third day’s play in the second Test against Pakistan.

Six players and the team’s assistant coach were injured in the assault that saw the Sri Lankan government immediately calling off the tour and flying the team back home.

Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians lost their lives in the attack

As terror incidents spiral, a leading US think tank has noted that Pakistan ‘is a thriving sanctuary’ for both Afghan and Al Qaeda militants operating in Afghanistan and that Washington needs to get Islamabad on board with its new Af-Pak strategy, though progress is nowhere near assured.

To give its strategy of negotiating with Afghan Taliban even a remote chance of success, ‘involvement in Pakistan is both a headache and a necessity for the United States’, global intelligence agency Stratfor said.

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Report: China sending trade mission to US, AS

April 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

BEIJING (AP) China is sending a trade mission to the United States this month ahead of the first meeting of a high-level U.S.-Chinese economic forum since President Barrack Obama took office, a state newspaper said Wednesday. The group will visit Washington, Chicago and San Francisco, the China Daily said.

It gave no details of which industries might be represented or whether they might sign contracts to buy American goods. The trip comes ahead of a meeting of the U.S.-Chinese Strategic Economic Dialogue, a wide-ranging forum held twice a year on economic and trade issues.

No date has been set but China has said Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao will discuss the format during this week’s G-20 summit in London on the global economic crisis. The last meeting was in December.

Beijing sent similar missions to the United States ahead of past rounds of the dialogue to buy jetliners and other goods in an effort to diffuse trade tensions. In February, a 200-member delegation delegation of Chinese businesspeople and officials visited Europe and the government says it signed contracts worth more than $13 billion in Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Spain.

A second group followed in March to look at investment opportunities in auto manufacturing, textiles, chemicals, energy conservation and other areas. Beijing has described the missions as an effort to expand trade at a time when the global financial crisis is fueling protectionist sentiment.

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Iran ready to talk with America: Ahmadinejad

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tehran, Feb.10 (ANI): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that his government is ready to hold talks with the Barack Obama administration, but added that they must be based on mutual respect and in a fair atmosphere.

Ahmadinejad spoke Tuesday at celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution.

Fox News quoted Ahmadinejad as saying the Obama administration was willing to “bring about a number of changes.”

The hardline Iranian leader, however, said that he hoped the changes are “fundamental and not just tactical.”

On Monday, while addressing his first press conference after assuming charge as America’s 44th President,Barrack Obama said he was ready to explore every opportunity to engage with the Iranian leadership, and not see it as a rogue state with whom business could not be done.

On future relations with Iran, Obama said: “We should take an approach with Iran that employs all of the resources at the United States disposal, and that includes diplomacy, and so my national security team is currently reviewing our existing Iran policy, looking at areas where we can have constructive dialogue, where we can directly engage with them.”

“And my expectation is in the coming months we will be looking for openings that can be created where we can start sitting across the table face to face – diplomatic overtures that will allow us to move our policy in a new direction,” he added.

“There’s been a lot of mistrust built up over the years, so it’s not going to happen overnight, and it’s important that even as we engage in this direct diplomacy, we are very clear about certain deep concerns that we have as a country. That Iran understands that we find the funding of terrorist organizations unacceptable. That we’re clear about the fact that,” Obama said. (ANI)

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Iran ready to talk with America: Ahmadinejad

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ahmadinejad spoke Tuesday at celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution.

Fox News quoted Ahmadinejad as saying the Obama administration was willing to “bring about a number of changes.”

The hardline Iranian leader, however, said that he hoped the changes are “fundamental and not just tactical.”

India played key role in Afghanistan: Mullen

January 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Jan. 28 (ANI): Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen has appreciated India’s role in Afghanistan and said that New Delhi has taken “significantly positive steps” to rebuild that war-torn country.

“I believe India plays an important role here (in Afghanistan),” Admiral Mullen told reporters here at the Washington Foreign Press Center, when asked the role of regional countries in Afghanistan.

“I think the strategic leadership and views, opinions and support provided by India will be very clear. India has taken significantly positive steps to invest in Afghanistan – has for some period of time,” Admiral Mullen said.

Reiterating President Barrack Obama’s recent remarks on adopting a regional approach in resolving the Afghan problem, Admiral Mullen said, “I think there — when I talk about a regional approach, I include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, as well as India.”

Referring to the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, Admiral Mullen said, “There’s certainly a historic tension between Pakistan and India, obviously accentuated greatly as the result of the Mumbai attacks.”

Admiral Mullen remained hopeful that the strategic leadership in both Pakistan and India would not progress towards any conflict in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack.

“I think continuing in that direction is important – in the future is very important, as we resolve that particular – the Mumbai attacks, I think properly as opposed to getting in any kind of conflict,” he said. (ANI)

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Thai king congratulates Obama on his inauguration

January 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bangkok – Thailand’s 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Tuesday congratulated Barrack Obama on his inauguration as the 44th president of the US and sent his wishes for greater “progress and prosperity” for the American people.

“I am pleased to extend to Your Excellency my sincere congratulations and best wishes for your success and happiness as well as for the greater progress and prosperity of the United States of America and her people,” said the king in a congratulatory message to president-elect Obama.

Under Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the king is head of state, making him the appropriate government figure to congratulate the US president, who is also head of state.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was also planning to send Obama a separate note of congratulations.

Thailand and the US have a long history of close diplomatic relations.

Thai King Mongkut, King Bhumibol’s ancestor, famously offered US President Abraham Lincoln Thai elephants to assist him in the civil war. (dpa)

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Obama might establish channel of communication with Hamas

January 9, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

London, Jan 9 (ANI): Sources close to US President-elect Barrack Obama’s transition team have said that he is likely to establish a channel for communicating with the Islamist organization Hamas in Palestine.

According to a report in the Guardian, the incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon George Bush’s doctrine of isolating Hamas, by opening contacts with the organization.

The move to open contacts with Hamas, which could be initiated through the US intelligence services, would represent a definitive break with the Bush presidency’s ostracizing of the group.

The state department has designated Hamas a terrorist organisation, and in 2006, Congress passed a law banning US financial aid to the group.

There is no talk of Obama approving direct diplomatic negotiations with Hamas early on, but he is being urged by advisers to initiate low-level or clandestine approaches, and there is growing recognition in Washington that the policy of ostracizing Hamas is counter-productive.

A potential contender for a foreign policy role in the Obama administration suggested that the president-elect would not be bound by the Bush doctrine of isolating Hamas.

“This is going to be an administration that is committed to negotiating with critical parties on critical issues,” the source said.

A tested course would be to start contacts through Hamas and the US intelligence services, similar to the secret process through which the US engaged with the PLO in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, a UN resolution was agreed last night at the UN, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces in Gaza.

The resolution was passed, though the US, represented by secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, abstained.

The two weeks since Israel began its military campaign against Gaza have heightened anticipation about how Obama intends to deal with the Middle East.

He adopted a strongly pro-Israel position during the election campaign, as did his erstwhile opponent and choice for secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

But, it is widely thought Obama would adopt a more even-handed approach once he is president. (ANI)

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Obama likely to follow Bush’s foreign policy

January 9, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Washington, Jan 9 (ANI): Experts have said that US President-elect Barrack Obama is likely to follow President George W. Bush’s foreign policy.

According to a report in Politico, the assumption is based on the backgrounds of the people Obama has chosen to shape his foreign policy, who will chart a course fairly similar to the one Bush followed during his last couple of years in office.

Under the leadership of Bush, the US has intervened more often in more countries farther from its own shores than has any power in modern history.

Bush did so more brazenly and more recklessly than many of his predecessors, but he adhered to the American tradition more than he broke with it, the report said.

Bush had announced his breathtaking goal of quickly transforming the Middle East and its surrounding regions into a vast zone of prosperity, peace and political freedom.

His desire to embrace this Utopian project was based on two central beliefs: that the world will be stable only if all countries adopt American-style political and economic systems, and that the U.S. can make them do so by applying military power.

But, the dramatic weakening of American security over the past eight years has led many Americans to question these beliefs.

That may make it easier for Obama to avoid the temptation of military intervention abroad.

Nonetheless, the new administration is unlikely to challenge the assumptions that have traditionally guided U.S. foreign policy.

If the same policies are followed after Obama takes over from Bush, the new administration is likely to reduce troop strength in Iraq more slowly than Obama said he would during the campaign.

Under this scenario, after the end of 2011, when all U.S. troops are supposed to be out of Iraq, there will probably still be tens of thousands there.

As far as Afghanistan is concerned, it is a country where aggressive American military tactics have alienated much of the population.

There, the US will proceed with plans for a major escalation, which will drive even more Afghans into the arms of the Taliban. (ANI)

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Australians backing Obama for president

November 4, 2008 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Sydney – Sixty per cent of Australians think that during the two-term Bush administration the world has become more dangerous and more than 70 per cent want Barrack Obama to beat John McCain and become the next president of the United States, a Sydney-based political pollster said Monday.

UMR Research, which polled 1,000 people, found only 9 per cent believed President George W Bush had made the world safer.

The survey found 72 per cent preferred Democratic Senator Obama with only 9 per cent favouring Republican rival Senator John McCain for the presidential election. (dpa)

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