F-35C fighters from the U.S. Marine Corps’ VMFA 314 squadron aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln conducted multiple strikes on Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen. The F-35C stealth fighter model has longer, folding wings and, like the F/A-18, is designed to be launched from the catapults of aircraft carriers, allowing it to carry heavier payloads than the F-35B.
Many in the Indian security establishment believe India’s concerns about the post-2014 situation in Afghanistan will soon force it to make some hard choices and New Delhi will need to do more to protect its interests.
South Block is upset over events in Qatar where the Taliban betrayed the presumption of having secured international recognition, and has reserved for Kerry the frostiest reception accorded to a visiting US Secretary of State in recent times.
Slamming Pakistan for maintaining ties with “unsavory characters”, President Barack Obama has asked its key ally to stop hedging its bets in Afghanistan and adopt a peaceful approach towards India.
Karzai is expected to brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his revised strategy for reconciliation with the Taliban in the aftermath of the assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, his chief interlocutor with the Taliban.
Former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani was assassinated by a Pakistani, a statement issued by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s office stated Sunday.
Former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed Tuesday evening in a suicide blast at his house in Kabul. He was meeting a group of Taliban insurgents when the explosion was triggered, Xinhua reported, quoting an unnamed source from Rabbani’s office.
Pakistan has been an unreliable ally of the US in the war against terror and failed “on occasion” when forced to choose between Washington and the Al Qaeda, says US Vice President Joe Biden.
Amid Pakistan’s attempt to influence the Taliban integration process, India and Afghanistan Thursday discussed ways to jointly combat the common threat of terrorism and work for peace and stability in the region.
India is expected to convey its strong reservations over Pakistan’s attempts to influence the Taliban reintegration process when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday.
Does President Barack Obama’s ‘finishing the job’ mean the same thing as staying the course in Afghanistan, as urged by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?
“It’s too early to conclusively say the Taliban have changed their strategy and expanded the conflict to PoK. But while one attack doesn’t necessarily make a strategy, it (the frontline) has definitely been extended, and in such a way as to strike at the Pakistan Army out of the existing area of conflict.”
The operational capability of the Pakistan Army in the face of Taliban challenges in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has much to do with the command authority of its officer cadre. But judging from recent events and the perception of the integrity of the officer cadre, especially at senior levels, the Pakistan Army fails to encourage confidence in its abilities to effectively combat the Taliban.
“The US has to transmit an effective message that they are here to stay till the local population can defend itself. These messages need to be tailored very carefully for maximum impact, understanding and acceptance.”
