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June 9 (Reuters) – Turkey voted against U.N. sanctions on Iran for its nuclear programme on Wednesday because it wants to continue diplomatic efforts, a source in Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s office said.
Erdogan travelled to Tehran last month to broker a nuclear fuel swap deal with Iran. Voting for sanctions would have meant Turkey no longer stood behind that deal, the source said. (Reporting by Pinar Aydinli, writing by Ayla Jean Yackley, editing by Tim Pearce)
The Obama Administration, which is making maximum use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in governance, feels these are “effective tools” that can enhance diplomacy.
Top officials of the Obama Administration are seen twitting round the clock and various wings of the US government have now dedicated team for sites like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.
“We think that 21st century diplomacy involves a combination of capabilities – one, having the Secretary go around the world and talk face-to-face to leaders, but also have the ability to communicate with populations around the world through a variety of means, including social media,” State Department spokesman P J Crowley said.
He said the US believed that the use of Facebook and Twitter in governance would be worth emulating by other countries.
Crowley, who tweets very frequently, says he has some 2,000 followers.
“We recognised from the outset that these are effective tools that enhance diplomacy. The Secretary (of State Hillary Clinton) has spoken about this. Under Secretary Judith McHale is leading this effort.
“We not only have the ability through social networking to communicate with governments, most importantly, we have the ability to communicate with people,” he said.
“…that is a powerful tool, and around the world we’re using it to clarify the position of the United States, but we’re also using it to help solve challenges that – in the places that the Secretary has visited,” Crowley noted.
“Absolutely, we are using these tools quite effectively. People are able to follow the Secretary and her travels at State.gov,” he said.
Noting that half of the population in Indonesia is on Facebook, Crowley said that becomes an important tool in terms of the emergence of democratic societies and accountable governments so that people can use social media to communicate to a government.
“We are working in Mexico, for example, where people can use cell phones and texting to communicate to the government where they have concerns about corruption.
“So we obviously see that technology allows the opportunity to – it both empowers people, it hold – makes governments more accountable. We think this is an important dynamic for global society in the 21st century,” Crowley said.
(For other news from the Reuters Global Energy Summit, click http://www.reuters.com/summit/GlobalEnergy10?pid=500)
Fresh sanctions on Iran will create difficulties but the Islamic Republic will be able to live with them, Libya’s top oil official told the Reuters Global Energy Summit on Wednesday.
The United States has said Russia and China, Iran’s allies, had agreed to a draft resolution that would expand U.N. sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt nuclear enrichment. Tehran has said its nuclear work is peaceful.
“It will create difficulties but it is not going to kill them,” Shokri Ghanem, the chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, said. “We had sanctions for 20 years. What did it do to us? Not very much.”
Sanctions on Libya were lifted in 2004 after Tripoli renounced banned weapons programmes and agreed to pay compensation to the families of those killed in the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
The draft sanctions on Iran, which have also been backed by Britain, France and Germany, will hit Iran’s banking and other industries. They include international inspection of vessels suspected of carrying cargo related to Iran’s nuclear or missile programmes.
“I don’t think this is a prudent policy,” he said, urging diplomacy. “Countries can live through difficulties,” he added.
Ghanem said he did not believe Iran, a fellow OPEC member, would be subject to sanctions on its oil exports.
“If you embargo oil exports from Iran you are taking 3 million or 3.7 million barrels a day from the market. That will lead to an immense increase in the price of oil,” he said. “They are cutting their own noses.”
Iran has been storing more crude oil on tankers at sea in recent weeks which trade sources said was related to lower sales of the country’s sour crude. There has been speculation that fear of sanctions was having an impact on buyers.
Ghanem said he did not see an increase in demand “on other crude” which would indicate “any pulling out” on Iranian crude.
Iran is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter and oil exports are the country’s key revenue earner. Other exports include commodities such as pistachio nuts.
“They are going to sanction pistachios first because they need more oil than pistachios,” Ghanem joked.
For a Reuters Insider interview with Ghanem, click http://link.reuters.com/qef56k
The Obama Administration, which is making maximum use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in governance, feels these are “effective tools” that can enhance diplomacy.
Top officials of the Obama Administration are seen twitting round the clock and various wings of the US government have now dedicated team for sites like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.
“We think that 21st century diplomacy involves a combination of capabilities – one, having the Secretary go around the world and talk face-to-face to leaders, but also have the ability to communicate with populations around the world through a variety of means, including social media,” State Department spokesman P J Crowley said.
He said the US believed that the use of Facebook and Twitter in governance would be worth emulating by other countries.
Crowley, who tweets very frequently, says he has some 2,000 followers.
“We recognised from the outset that these are effective tools that enhance diplomacy. The Secretary (of State Hillary Clinton) has spoken about this. Under Secretary Judith McHale is leading this effort.
“We not only have the ability through social networking to communicate with governments, most importantly, we have the ability to communicate with people,” he said.
“…that is a powerful tool, and around the world we’re using it to clarify the position of the United States, but we’re also using it to help solve challenges that – in the places that the Secretary has visited,” Crowley noted.
“Absolutely, we are using these tools quite effectively. People are able to follow the Secretary and her travels at State.gov,” he said.
Noting that half of the population in Indonesia is on Facebook, Crowley said that becomes an important tool in terms of the emergence of democratic societies and accountable governments so that people can use social media to communicate to a government.
“We are working in Mexico, for example, where people can use cell phones and texting to communicate to the government where they have concerns about corruption.
“So we obviously see that technology allows the opportunity to – it both empowers people, it hold – makes governments more accountable. We think this is an important dynamic for global society in the 21st century,” Crowley said.
Considered to be the dean of diplomacy in the US, Nobel Laureate Henry Kissinger believes that a nuclear Iran, in the middle term, poses greater danger to Russia than America.
“I would say that in the middle term, a nuclear Iran is a greater danger to Russia than it is to the United States, because it is contiguous, and the restive populations of Russia, which are mostly Islamic, are joining Iran,” Kissinger told US lawmakers Tuesday.
“Based on my own conversations with Russian leaders, I’m convinced that they are very concerned about Iran,” the former US Secretary of State said in response to a question during a Congressional hearing on the New START (for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty convened by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Inked between the US and Russian Presidents, the New START treaty proposes to reduce the nuclear stockpile of the two countries by one third.
Kissinger said despite being well aware of the dangers of a nuclear Iran, the Russians are reluctant to be drawn into a conflict in which they might bear the brunt while the US begins to ease out of it.
“Secondly, their economy creates temptations to benefit from sales to Iran, even while they recognize the long-term dangers. But if present trends continue and if Iran continues to build its nuclear establishment, I don’t see how Russia can avoid facing some of the consequences,” he said.
Kissinger said the New START treaty is an evolution of treaties that have been made by a series of American and Russian administrations.
“An unconstrained nuclear arms race has appeared too dangerous to leaders of both American political parties and almost every incarnation of Russian leaders over the last 30 years,” he said.
Noting that one should not look at this treaty as a means by which Russia can achieve a great advantage over the US, Kissinger said: “The best you can say in that respect is that Russia is trying to mitigate the decline of its global role by a measure of parity with the United States.”
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave his rare news conference on Monday to mark the ruling coalition’s first year in office.
Following are the highlights of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s news conference:
ECONOMY
* Expects inflation to moderate to 5-6 percent by December 2010
* Expects 8.5 percent GDP growth in FY11
* Medium-term target to achieve 10 percent economic growth annually
* Prices showing signs of moderating trend
* Prices continue to be matter of deep concern
* Government attaches highest priority on containing inflation
* Together with state governments will take more steps to bring down prices
DIPLOMACY
* Nuclear agreement with the United States will move forward
POLITICS
* Prime Minister hopes all political parties will support nuclear liability bill
(Compiled by Bappa Majumdar, Rajesh Kumar Singh and Abhijit Neogy; editing by Malini Menon)
(For more business news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)
Karachi, May 10 (ANI): Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Faisal Shahzad, the man accused of plotting the botched Times Square bombing, is not a resident of his country but a ‘naturalised American citizen.’
Qureshi, however, said that Pakistan would provide all help to the United States concerning the probe into the failed New York bombing plot.
“I will have to check. I am not aware of that but I am aware that he is a naturalised American citizen, and the Government of Pakistan will cooperate with the United States and help them in whatever way we can,” he said while responding to a question on reports regarding the recovery of two Pakistani passports from Shahzad.
Qureshi reiterated that Islamabad is sincerely probing the Mumbai terror attacks, adding that the Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JeM) chief Hafeez Muhammed Saeed, who India says had masterminded the 26/11 attacks, was released as there were no evidence against him.
“Pakistan wants cordial relations with India and we will not let any terrorist outfit sabotage the process of dialogue between the two countries,” The News quoted Qureshi, as saying.
Replying to a question during an interview, Qureshi said back channel diplomacy was of no use until front channel diplomacy between New Delhi and Islamabad succeeds, adding that he would soon invite his Indian counterpart S M Krishna to Pakistan for talks. (ANI)
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Apr 27 (ANI): Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar has said he is hopeful about securing the extradition of Danish national Kim Davy, the prime accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case.
Kumar noted that certain legal formalities are to be completed for the custody of Kim Davy.
“We are trying for his (Kim Davy”s) extradition since 2002 and Denmark government has agreed for it. Diplomacy has also agreed. Only the legal process remains since Kim Davy has filed an application in a court there that he doesn”t want to be extradited. India has given them all the guarantees but now we”ll have to fight the case because Kim Davy also has his rights and he doesn”t want the extradition,” said Ashwani Kumar.
“Thus, we will have to fight the case and hire a lawyer. We”ll fight the case and we have good evidence and government of Denmark is with us and I am sure we”ll be able to get him soon,” he added.
The Interpol had recently informed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that the Denmark authorities have decided to extradite Purulia arms drop case mastermind Kim Davy aka Neils Holck to India.
CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal had said the Interpol would facilitate the extradition of Davy to India after receipt of documents formally from the Danish authorities though diplomatic channels.
The CBI accused Davy as the person behind arms drop near Anand Marg ashram in West Bengal”s Purulia District.
On April 9, the Danish Police apprehended Davy.
The CBI said Davy has demanded that the legality of the decision should be tried by the Danish courts.
The CBI also accused Davy for conspiring to procure a huge quantity of arms and ammunition and to traffic it illegally into Indian territory for the purpose of waging war against India.
In course of investigation, the CBI had revealed that the aircraft AN-26 having call sign YLLDB had flown over the sky at West Bengal”s Jhalda Police Station on the night of 17 and 18 December 1995, while it was coming from Varanasi to Calcutta and dropped huge quantity of arms and ammunition.
The immigration authorities at the Sahara International Airport in Mumbai, where it was forcefully landed on 22 December 1995, detained the crewmembers of the aircraft– Peter Bleach and five other Latavian citizens– Alexender Klichin, Igor Moskvitine, Oleg Gaidach, Evgueni Antimenko and Igor Timmerman.
Davy, who was said to be in the aircraft managed to escape from the airport.
The investigators recovered several articles such as arms, ammunition, laptop and brief case of Davy, G.P.S. flight data recorder, Cockpit Voice Recorder, Velocity height gravity recorder from the aircraft.
On conclusion of trial, all the six accused persons were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- each under section 121A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and for violating Explosives Substances Act, 1908. (ANI)
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards began three days of large-scale war games in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, state television reported.
The military manoeuvres, in a waterway crucial for global crude supplies, coincided with rising tension between Iran and the West, which fears Tehran’s nuclear programme is aimed at developing bombs. Iran denies the charge.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon said U.S. military action against Iran remained an option even as Washington pursues diplomacy and sanctions to halt the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities.
Iran’s armed forces often hold drills in an apparent bid to show their readiness to deter any military action by Israel or the United States, its arch foes.
State Press TV said Iran had begun the exercise in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz “to show off its defensive capabilities and its determination to maintain security” in the region.
The Guards’ naval, air and ground forces were taking part in the “major drill that seeks to display Iran’s constructive and determined military power in establishing security in the strategic region”, the English-language station said.
It said new weapon systems would be demonstrated during the exercise, but gave no details.
The United States is pushing for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions on Tehran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear activities as demanded by the U.N. Security Council, including proposed moves against members of the Guards.
Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, has described Iran’s nuclear programme as a threat to its existence. Although it says it wants a diplomatic solution, Washington also has not ruled out military action.
Iran, a predominantly Shi’ite Muslim state, has said it would respond to any attack by targeting U.S. interests in the region and Israel, as well as closing the Strait of Hormuz.
About 40 percent of the world’s traded oil leaves the Gulf region through the strategic narrows.
(Writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Michael Roddy)
Wed, Mar 31 08:56 AM
The United States is optimistic the U.N. Security Council will reach an agreement on what to do about Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.
Clinton, saying sanctions were a part of diplomacy, said Iran had repeatedly shown an unwillingness to fulfill its international obligations over the last 15 months.
“That’s the basis on which I express my optimism that we’re going to have a consensus reached in the Security Council,” she told a news conference after a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight leading nations.
Western members of the U.N. Security Council are pressing for more sanctions against Iran. China is more reluctant, saying it wants to see a diplomatic solution.
“We see a growing awareness on the part of many countries, including China, as to the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran,” said Clinton.
(Reporting by Andrew Quinn and David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)
President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday he still supported diplomacy to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme but added that sanctions should not be ruled out.
“We are convinced that the path of sanctions is not optimal,” the Russian president said in his address to participants of the conference of the League of Arab States.
“At the same time, such a scenario cannot be excluded,” he added, according to a transcript provided by the president’s press service.
Russia, which together with China, had been reluctant to endorse broader sanctions against Tehran for its denial of seeking nuclear weapons, has softened its stance on punitive measures against the Islamic Republic in recent months.
During his visit to France earlier in the month, Medvedev said that if diplomacy fails, Russia would support “smart” sanctions against Iran, because it cannot wait forever for cooperation by Tehran.
On Saturday, Medvedev said any sanctions that are introduced should be “well-calculated and not targeted at the civilian population of Iran”.
(Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Islamabad, Mar. 24 (ANI): In what certainly puts Pakistan’s claims on clamping down on extremist groups under scrutiny, hundreds of armed militants, including those from the banned Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD), and the Hizbul Mujahideen, gathered in Kotli town of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) vowing to wage ‘jihad’ against India and fight for Kashmir’s ‘freedom.’
Hundreds of people attended the public rally shouting slogans against India and urging people to fight for the freedom of Kashmir through placards reading: “We are ready for jihad.”
Addressing the terror gathering, which was organised on the occasion of Pakistan Day, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Salahuddin said ‘jihad’ against India must continue unless India liberates Kashmir.
“Diplomacy, talks and negotiations spanning several decades have not worked. The only way to liberate Kashmir is jihad. Jihad will continue until India ends its occupation of Kashmir,” The Daily Times quoted Salahuddin, as saying.
He also denied the involvement of ‘jihadi groups’ in the wave of terror attacks that has killed hundreds in Pakistan in the recent past.
The rally comes less than a month after the Pakistan government was urged not to create hurdles in the way of ‘freedom fighters’ struggling for the cause of an ‘independent Kashmir’ during a ‘terror meet’ in Muzaffarabad.
The ‘terror meet’, which was organised by anti-India jehadi organizations and was attended by former Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul and other extremist leaders, called for continuing the jihad till freedom is won from India.
Although the event was organised by the lesser known Tehrik Azadi-i-Jammu Kashmir last month, it was in effect a show of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which maintainined a low profile in the region since 26/11. (ANI)
Beijing, Mar. 19 (ANI): Chinese experts believe that the deadlock over the Google case would give a golden opportunity to the US to employ a hard-line approach towards China and shift focus from its “smart diplomacy” – coined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Professor Jin Canrong, a leading US studies expert at the Renmin University of China, said Washington was adopting a tougher approach, as the “smart diplomacy” had not worked very well with Beijing.
“Now, she is focusing more on issues like human rights and press freedom. The Google case is part of that,” China Daily quoted Jin, as saying.
While the experts termed Google’s possible exit as a ”politicised affair”, they urged the Chinese government to ensure that a monopoly situation does not prevail in the search engine market.
They were referring to the perceived gains Baidu, Google”s arch rival in China, would make in case the US search giant pulled out of the country.
“The government should oppose Baidu”s monopoly if Google leaves,” Jin said.
However, Yu Guoming, the vice-president of the Journalism School at Renmin University, said it would be a huge loss both for China and Google, if the company did leave.
“China had a lot to review over the Google case. China”s Internet censorship system is not transparent enough,” he said.
“But, the key is that the law enforcement needs to be transparent. Many contents are censored not for national security reasons, but to protect some interest groups,” he added.
In January, Google threatened to stop censoring its results on Google.cn and pull out of the country. (ANI)
Islamabad, Sep.17 (ANI): An editorial in one of the leading English dailies of Pakistan has highlighted that President Asif Ali Zardari is being unnecessarily targeted and criticized by certain quarters in the country even if he attempts to address the long pending issues with India in his bid to de-escalate tension between the two neighbour countries.
The Daily Times editorial said while Zardari is condemned for his overture to India, similar actions taken by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif goes unnoticed in the country.
“President Zardari is pilloried if he makes a friendly overture to India; a similar overture made by Mr Nawaz Sharif is either ignored or actually praised,” the editorial said.
It also brought to light how several retired army officials and bureaucrats have suddenly jumped out of their retirement to denounce Zardari’s every action.
“Retired generals and retired bureaucrats whose ‘stand-still’ strategy with India in the past has brought Pakistan to its present crisis point, have crept out of their retirement to express their shock at how President Zardari is harming Pakistan through his diplomacy with China, the United States and the European Union,” the editorial stated.
The editorial went on to add that Zardari is right in his part to woo the international community, especially China and the US.
“Pakistan needs a lot of placatory diplomacy, not hostile ‘action’, given its past failed strategies,” it concluded. (ANI)
Islamabad, Sep.14 (ANI): India and Pakistan are likely to start their stalled composite dialogue through backdoor channel diplomacy to resolve outstanding issues, The Nation quotes a report, as saying.
Former Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan is considered the best diplomat to handle issues related to India after the death of one of his predecessors Niaz A. Naik.
Track II negotiations are being considered ever since the two governments suspended the composite dialogue process after the 26/11 terror strikes on Mumbai. (ANI)
Jerusalem, Sep. 11 (ANI): Following an apparently unyielding diplomatic engagement in Iran, the Obama administration is preparing the groundwork for sanctions against the Islamic country, two senior US officials have told Jewish leaders in Washington.
The Jerusalem Post quoted US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, William Burns, as saying that the Obama administration wants to lay the sanctions now, so that it will be ready to implement them at the end of the year.
US President Barack Obama has long backed diplomatic outreach, though he has also warned of the possible need for sanctions. He has given Teheran a deadline of September 24, when the G-20 nations will next convene, to evaluate Iran’s response to his offers of engagement, the report said.
However, top White House Middle East adviser Dennis Ross told Jewish leaders that the administration’s focus on diplomatic engagement had shifted following the Iranian elections, and indicated that the White House now had a more sceptical view of that approach which could give way to sanctions, it added.
Top officials have spoken of imposing “crippling sanctions” should diplomacy fail, though that hasn’t been fleshed out.
Both officials, addressing a forum of more than 300 Jewish activists in Washington to press for action on Iran, pointed to a wide menu of sanctions options beyond the narrower targeting of Iran’s refined petroleum imports proposed in bills before Congress.
However, according to the paper, the White House and State Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for confirmation of the two officials’ comments. (ANI)
New Delhi, Aug.24 (ANI): Thirteen of Canada’s elite universities will be in India from August 23 to September 4 to hold information sessions on Canada as a destination for higher education.
The delegation is led by Ginette Sanfaçon of HEC Montréal (Business school affiliated with the Université de Montréal) and Michelle Beaton of Ryerson University in Toronto.
The tour is organized by the Canadian Higher Education Committee under the aegis of the Council of International Schools (CIS).
The Council’s fifth annual tour to India will begin in Mumbai and continue in Pune, Delhi and Bangalore.
According to a Canadian High Commission press release, the tour is of special interest to Standard XI and Standard XII students who exhibit strong academic standing, their school guidance counselors as well as to their parents. The schedule includes school visits, information fairs, and an indepth Canadian university admission workshop for guidance counselors.
“India is a key undergraduate student market for Canadian universities,” said Ginette Sanfaçon of HEC-Montréal and Tour Director. “Indian students are sought for their academic strength and their rich contribution to student life on Canadian university campuses. In turn, increasing numbers of Indian students are making Canada their first choice for study – as evidenced on this tour.
Indian students are drawn to our universities’ common attributes of international reputation for academic excellence, state of the art resources, and safe campuses in welcoming locations,” Sanfaçon said.
Each year, tour organizers strengthen existing relationships with secondary schools in cities they visit and also expand outreach to new regions. For example, guidance counselors from schools in Dehra Dun, Hyderabad, Chennai and Chandigarh as well as Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are receiving invitations to attend the Tour’s counselor workshop in Delhi.
List of participating universities:
The University of British Columbia; Carleton University; Dalhousie University; HEC MONTRÉAL (Business School affiliated with Université de Montréal); Memorial University of Newfoundland; University of Manitoba; University of New Brunswick; Ryerson University; University of Saskatchewan; University of Toronto; Vancouver Island University; University of Waterloo; York University.
Canadian universities are engaged internationally as leaders in education through teaching, research and partnerships. Undergraduate education in Canada is a hybrid of US and UK styles offering breadth of program options, flexibility in choice and a degree that is ultimately recognized world-wide.
Indian students choose Canada because a strong education and a positive international experience is the foundation for their exciting and successful futures. The quality, affordability and renowned research opportunities are key factors in this decision. University campuses across Canada offer multicultural environments, beautiful spaces and friendly people. As a leader in business, political diplomacy, arts and culture and technology – Canada’s education system is at the core of its success and its graduates are players on the world stage. (ANI)
Washington, July 28 (ANI): A reception for ambassadors held in the Grand Foyer of The White House Monday night saw the Obamas’ exhibiting a united front, both philosophically and sartorially, reports the Huffington Post.
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama wore a sheath with a white skirt, black bodice, and red ribbon belt. Her hair was worn down and elegantly slicked back.
The president was perfectly in sync with his wife, wearing a black suit, white shirt, and red tie.
From a philosophical angle, President Barack Obama described diplomacy as being more important now than ever before.
He told ambassadors to the United States that his administration was committed to working with countries to advance common goals, and that he looked forward to working with them to advance peace and prosperity.
Obama said diplomats previously discussed war and peace, but they now discuss everything from education, environment and even athletics.
He emphasized that the United States cannot solve its problems unless the solutions involve cooperation among nations. (ANI)
Washington, July 10 (ANI): By the time President Obama returns from Ghana, the last stop on his latest three-country tour, he will have visited nine countries without Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
According to Fox News, when the president travels out of country, his secretary of state customarily follows, but such is not the case with Clinton.
Clinton has accompanied Obama on several key international visits this year, including Egypt and Trinidad and Tobago, but the fact is that Obama has spent far more time than his predecessors without his foreign policy point person.
Some analysts say this could be a product of Obama’s acute interest in diplomacy and international affairs, or perhaps his wariness to promote on the world stage a former rival whose star power could detract from his.
“Whenever the president is on foreign travel, it’s typical that the secretary of state would travel with the president,” said a former top State Department official in the Bush administration.
“It seems that (Clinton has) had a bit lower profile over the past couple months as opposed to when she entered office,” he added.
The former official said Clinton entered the post with the “widest public recognition” of any secretary of state, but that she’s since drifted more into the background.
“That could be by design, on her part or his part,” the official said.
Aides to both Clinton and Obama took pains to describe the close working relationship between the two, citing Clinton’s attendance at weekly meetings with Obama and Vice President Biden and her participation in other meetings the president holds with foreign leaders.
Recently, Clinton’s absence on the world stage can be attributed in part to her broken elbow.
The State Department announced last week she wouldn’t be going to Russia either, where Obama was meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, before heading to Italy and then Ghana.
Aides said she had used her personal relationship with Russia’s foreign minister to shape this week’s summit but that the injury prevented her from attending.
Kelly called the injury a “serious break” and said she was spending some time working at home to recover.
Contrast this with the last four secretaries of state, who were pretty much buddy-buddy with the president overseas during their first six months on the job — whether the president traveled a lot, or a little.
– Secretary of State Warren Christopher accompanied Clinton on all three foreign trips the president took in the first half of 1993.
– Albright and Clinton hit up a whopping nine countries together during their first six months together. Clinton did veer off on his own to visit former Prime Minister Tony Blair in Britain and later to visit Denmark dignitaries.
– Secretary of State Colin Powell tagged along with President George W. Bush on three foreign trips in their first six months, with Bush going on his own once to Britain.
– Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made three separate European tours with Bush after she took her post in the first half of 2005. In July, Bush took a solo trip to Scotland and Denmark. But Rice accompanied Bush on every trip after that for the rest of the year, through South America and then through Asia.
Clinton and Obama aren’t quite as tight. She did not accompany Obama on his first foreign trip in office to Canada. She was on a multi-country tour through Asia at the time.
She later met up with Obama in April for stops in three European countries, but left when Obama headed to Turkey — his first visit as president to a Muslim country.
She met up with Obama again later that month for the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, after the president made a solo stop in Mexico while Clinton went to Haiti and the Dominican Republican.
And she joined him in Cairo, Egypt, in early June for one day, in the middle of Obama’s Middle Eastern and European tour. Obama had already visited Saudi Arabia, and then went on to Germany and France without her. Clinton had spent three days prior to the president’s departure in El Salvador and Honduras.
Like her predecessors, Clinton has kept a vigorous international schedule of her own.
She’s visited Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Central America, as well as Canada and Mexico, on her own time.
Clinton plans to head to India on a separate trip late next week. To mark her first six months on the job, she is also scheduled to deliver a major policy speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (ANI)
Islamabad, June 25 (ANI): The Pakistan government sees the failure of the United Nations (UN) to issue a resolution regarding the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks despite unprecedented pressure from India, as its diplomatic win over its neighbour.
Addressing a joint press-conference with Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairwoman Farzana Raja here, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Hussain Haroon said Pakistan was emerging as the most important country on the world map due to Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts.
Haroon said it was primarily due to Islamabad’s effective diplomatic batting which prevented the UN from releasing a resolution on the Mumbai attack.
“This was surely an outcome of strong diplomacy that no resolution has yet been presented over the Mumbai attack,” The Daily Times quoted Haroon, as saying.
Commenting on the Kashmir issue, Haroon said the matter has been tabled before the UN Security Council thrice, but nothing substantial has been done in this regard.
Referring to exodus of over three million people in the Swat and Malakand Divisions of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) due to the military offensive, Haroon said the UN has assured all help to Pakistan to pull it out from the present precarious condition.
He said that the UN has initiated several programmes for the rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). (ANI)
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