United States starts gradual military withdrawal from Iraq, later Afghanistan; focuses attention on Iran

U.S. Defense Secretary talks about important military success in Iraq; believes Iran not close to have nuclear weapon

ElBaradei urges Arab intervention to solve Iranian nuclear issue

Israel continues action to mobilize world against Iran; threatens to use force

U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview with American PBS channel Jim Lehrer that the U.S. has no interest in leaving long term troops in Afghanistan.

Lehrer asked Obama if there is definition of victory in Afghanistan, and Obama replied, “I think there are achievable goals in Afghanistan, and the achievable goal is to make sure it's not a safe haven for terrorists, to make sure that the Afghan people are able to determine their own fate.

One of the things that I think we have to communicate in Afghanistan is that we have no interest or aspiration to be there over the long term. There's a long history, as you know, in Afghanistan of rebuffing what is seen as an occupying force, and we have to be mindful of that history as we think about our strategy.”

This is big news become some have been wondering not only what Obama’s intentions were in Afghanistan, but if Afghanistan could become his presidency’s version of Iraq.

One of the many mistakes that other nation’s have made in Afghanistan is that they tried to stay too long, and the local population turned against what they viewed as an occupying force. While the Obama administration would love nothing more than to get rid of the Taliban completely, that is a task that is easier said than done.

Former GOP presidential nominee John McCain warned that the United States is losing the war in Afghanistan.

Sen. John McCain recommended expanding the Afghan army to between 160,000 and 200,000 troops.

The Arizona senator, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that while he approved of President Obama's recent decision to send 17,000 more troops to the country, he believed an additional allied military and civilian surge would be necessary to prevent it from once again becoming an al Qaeda safe haven.

The Obama administration is conducting a review of overall U.S. policy in the troubled Islamic republic, the president said in his joint address to Congress.

"With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism," Obama said. "Because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it."

But McCain said, "When you aren't winning in this kind of war, you are losing. And, in Afghanistan, we are not winning." He delivered his remarks at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

McCain claimed that while the situation in Afghanistan is "nowhere near as dire as it was in Iraq," the number of insurgent attacks had spiked in 2008 and violence had increased more than 500 percent in the past four years.

Growing portions of the country "suffer under the influence of the Taliban," he added.

McCain's comments echoed those of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who acknowledged that the United States is facing a "very tough test" in Afghanistan.

"But I'm sure we will rise to the occasion the way we have many times before," Gates told a news conference in Krakow, Poland, where NATO defense ministers were meeting.

McCain said that the U.S. was winning the war in Afghanistan through early 2005, when some troops were withdrawn and "our integrated civil-military command structure was disassembled and replaced by a Balkanized and dysfunctional arrangement."

A Vietnam War veteran, former prisoner of war and longtime member of the Armed Services Committee, McCain said that while he knows Americans "are weary of war ... we must win [in Afghanistan].

The alternative is to risk that country's return to its previous function as a terrorist sanctuary, from which al Qaeda could train and plan attacks against America."

Among other things, McCain stated that the U.S. needs to establish a larger military headquarters capable of executing "the necessary planning and coordination for a nationwide counterinsurgency campaign."

He also said plans to expand the Afghan army from 68,000 to 134,000 troops were insufficient. He recommended expanding the Afghan army to between 160,000 and 200,000 troops.

At the same time, he said, the U.S. needs to boost the country's nonmilitary assistance to help strengthen "its [civilian] institutions, the rule of law, and the economy in order to provide a sustainable alternative to the drug trade."

Southern Afghanistan provides about two thirds of the world's opium and heroin. Over the years, those two drugs have served as a major source of revenue for the insurgency, including the Taliban.

McCain warned that, even if his recommendations are adopted, the violence in Afghanistan is "likely to get worse before it gets better. The scale of resources required to prevail will be enormous."

The timetable, he concluded, "will be measured in years, not months."

Japan plans to place more weight on Afghanistan and Pakistan in its antiterrorism policy to stay consistent with U.S. President Barack Obama's pledge to end combat missions in Iraq by the end of August 2010, the government said.

Japan will continue efforts to provide the $2 billion aid package it pledged to help rebuild the war-ravaged country while reaffirming its support of Pakistan, which Tokyo considers a "frontline state" in the fight terrorism, the officials said.

Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged to make extensive contributions to help stabilize and reconstruct the strife-torn country during his brief summit with Obama in Washington.

The officials said Japan's efforts now include participation in a policy review on support for Afghanistan.

In an effort to enhance Japan's civilian contributions, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone in January announced a plan to send civilian officials to engage in reconstructing Afghanistan as members of a provincial reconstruction team led by Lithuania.

Japan will host a donor conference on support for Pakistan in April.

U.S. President Barack Obama laid out his long-awaited plans for ending the war in Iraq, announcing a date further into the future than first promised but coming sooner than some of his anxious generals would like.

Even Obama's bottom line – an end to the combat mission by August 2010 and a full withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of 2011 – comes with enough wiggle room to enable troops to stay longer to help stabilize the fledgling Iraqi regime.

Addressing thousands of Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Obama used the moment to speak expansively about American plans abroad, promising a thaw in communications with Iran and Syria as part of a "comprehensive" approach to Mideast diplomacy.

"Every nation and every group must know – whether you wish America good or ill – that the end of the war in Iraq will enable a new era of American leadership and engagement in the Middle East," he said. "And that era has just begun."

Obama, who campaigned on the pledge to end American involvement in Iraq within 16 months of taking office, struck a pragmatic compromise to extend the combat deployment another three months after hearing the concerns of his generals on the ground, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

"The real concern has been how do we get through this year of all the elections that will take place (in Iraq)" and the "period of adjustment afterward," said Gates.

"It was weighing all the risks involved – the risks of sustaining progress, but also issues relating to the stress on the force and the need for additional capabilities in Afghanistan. All these things were taken into account," said Gates.

Of paramount concern is Iraq's fragmented body politic. Despite dramatic reductions in violence, both the capital of Baghdad and the country as a whole remain divided along sectarian lines, with the heavy U.S. footprint – which today numbers 142,000 troops – standing as the main guarantor of peaceful coexistence between Sunni and Shiite Muslim Arabs and the northern Kurds.

Obama said the pace of drawdown would be "flexible," with the intent of ending the U.S. combat role by the end of August 2010, as "non-sectarian" Iraqi national forces assume a leadership role in holding the country together. The mission then will shift, with up to 50,000 troops remaining until 2011 to advise Iraqi forces, target terror and protect U.S. reconstruction efforts.

In a message for Iraqi ears, Obama said, "The United States pursues no claim on your territory or your resources." And he reminded Iraqis of America's own experience with "the pain of civil war, and bitter divisions of region and race."

Iran is not close to having a nuclear weapon, which gives the United States and others time to try to persuade Tehran to abandon its suspected atomic arms program, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

"They're not close to a stockpile, they're not close to a weapon at this point, and so there is some time," Gates said on NBC television's "Meet The Press

." Gates' comments followed a televised interview with Adm. Mike Mullen, head of the U.S. military Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told CNN's "State of the Union" that he believed Iran has enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb.

"We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen said.

Mullen had been asked about a watchdog report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency last month that said Iran had built up a stockpile of low-enriched uranium. The reported stockpile of 1,010 kg would be enough -- if converted into highly-enriched uranium -- to make a bomb, analysts have said.

The United States suspects Iran of trying to use its nuclear program to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is purely for the peaceful generation of electricity.

Gates said there has been "a continuing focus on how do you get the Iranians to walk away from a nuclear weapons program" in the Obama and Bush administrations.

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration favors diplomatic engagement with Tehran to defuse the dispute over its nuclear intentions, but has called Iran's nuclear program an "urgent problem" the international community must address.

The challenge, Gates said, is finding a balance between sanctions to pressure Iran and incentives for engagement with the United States and Europe. A sharp decline in oil prices since last year increases the chances for a resolution. "There are economic costs to this program; they (the Iranians) do face economic challenges at home."

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appealed to NATO allies to help the United States tackle worsening security in Afghanistan, saying the alliance was struggling to deal with a threat to the West as a whole.

"We are not now winning the war, but the war is far from lost," he told a news conference after three hours of talks.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called on NATO to boost efforts before Afghan elections due in August. "It is important that this alliance delivers in the short-term," he told the same news conference.

U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power in Kabul in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. targets planned by Osama bin Laden from bases in Afghanistan.

Western powers are concerned not only by the Taliban's advances in Afghanistan but also by its influence in Pakistan, where Islamic militants have disrupted NATO's supply convoys to Afghanistan and are securing concessions from the government in Islamabad.

Biden said U.S. President Barack Obama wanted to consult with allies on a strategy review and that Washington would "expect everyone to keep whatever commitments were made in arriving at that joint strategy." However, a U.S. official said the trip was not designed to push for more troop pledges.

Obama last month approved the deployment of 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan as Washington and other NATO nations try to stabilize the country, where insurgent violence is at its highest since the Taliban were toppled.

There are currently some 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, of which the United States supplies 38,000.

Biden said his trip to Brussels was intended to listen to the United States' allies, who faced calls by the former Bush administration to deploy more troops in what often became noisy trans-Atlantic matches over strategy.

"When we consult ... we get the type of consensus that our political leadership needs," Biden said. "Absent that kind of cohesion, it will be incredibly more difficult to meet the common threats we are going to face."

A senior U.S. administration official said European nations could offer non-military assistance including training of the still weak Afghan police force.

"We are aware obviously that not every country is able to contribute more troops," said the official. Biden was expected to raise the issue with EU officials later.

The European Union runs a program for training the Afghan police but has failed so far to meet a promise last year to double the number of trainers

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left Turkish capital Ankara, after she completed her one-day visit.

Clinton arrived in Ankara early and was welcomed by Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry, Ertuğrul Apakan and US Ambassador to Turkey, James Jeffrey.

Clinton firstly met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

A statement by the Prime Ministry’s Office says that relations between friend and ally of the two countries were taken up as well as other global issues like Palestinian problem, Iraq, Afghanistan and fight terrorism.

Following the meeting, the US Secretary of State visited Ataturk’s Mausoleum, laid a wreath, observed one minute silence and signed the visitor’s book.

Clinton then met with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan tête-à-tête.

After the meeting the two counterparts held a press conference.

Ali Babacan said that they confirmed their friendship and strategic alliance, and their countries have the same values and will continue to fight terrorism.

Hillary Clinton said that Turkey has a special place in her heart and underlined America’s support for a comprehensive, two-state solution in the Middle East and Turkey’s EU bid.

The US Secretary of State also reiterated Obama’s visit to Turkey for next month.

Answering to a question regarding the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Clinton said that the US was only at the first stage and will consult with Turkey.

Babacan replied to the same question saying that Turkey leans towards the decision and they will talk details later.

President Abdullah Gül said the relations between Turkey and the US are multidimensional and strategic.

Receiving US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Gül welcomed the news of Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey.

The meeting of the two took up fight against terrorism and regional issues which concerns the international community.

Gül said the approaches of both the countries regarding the regional and international issues showed similarities.

Underlining that he is really satisfied to hear that US President Barack Obama will visit Turkey, Gül said Obama’s messages raised some excitement, opportunities and expectations all around the world.

Noting that Turkey is in close cooperation with the US, Gül said this cooperation should be pursued in the fight against the terrorist organization PKK.

The visiting Secretary of State also made some evaluations about the relations between the two ally countries and international matters.

Hillary Clinton said they appreciated Turkey’s taking part in energy security field in the Middle East and the Caucasus.

Clinton said they take Turkey’s opinions serious regarding these issues noting that they desire to be in close cooperation with Turkey on the matter.

Touching on Gül’s visit to Iran within the next week, Clinton said this visit bears importance given Turkey’s status as a NATO member and its relations with Iran.

Clinton left Ankara upon the completion of her contacts.

Iran recently understated by a third how much uranium it had enriched and U.N. nuclear inspectors are working with Tehran to ensure such a significant gap does not recur, diplomats said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency believes the discrepancy was a technical mistake rather than subterfuge, but the matter is important given concerns, denied by Tehran, that it is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons.

An IAEA report showed a significant increase in Iran's reported stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) since November to 1,010 kg, which U.S. analysts said could be converted into enough high-enriched uranium for one bomb.

Even then, the technical steps needed to "weaponize" enrichment would probably take two to five years.

New figures in the report revealed that Iran had under-reported how much LEU it had amassed, raising new questions about the ability of the restricted inspectors' mission in Iran to keep track of Iranian nuclear advances.

The report said the 1,010 kg was based on an additional 171 kg from new production on top of 839 kg of previous output which inspectors had verified in November. But the last IAEA report at that time put the amount at 630 kg, based on Iran's estimate.

Diplomats familiar with the matter said the IAEA had concluded the discrepancy was due to faulty estimates that can arise from complexities in the phased enrichment process, not to any maneuver to divert LEU out of sight.

The report stressed that all nuclear material at Iran's underground Natanz enrichment plant, except for some waste and samples, was under regular IAEA containment and surveillance.

"I really think they are on the verge of getting the genie out of the bottle, and leaving our children with a nightmare," the Israeli envoy said at a news conference at the Council on Foreign Relations, a private think tank.

Meridor said Iran was having trouble with the process of installing centrifuges to get them spinning, and was trying to decide between "quantity and quality" in its program.

"2009 is the worst-case scenario to have the bomb," Meridor said, while renewing an Israeli vow to try to derail any nuclear weapons program.

"They are not there yet," he said.

Iran insists that its program is designed to produce civilian energy. It has resisted Western offers of diplomatic and economic benefits if it would suspend enrichment programs.

The latest report from the U.N. nuclear agency saying Iran was still refusing to suspend uranium enrichment has set the stage for an attempt by the United States and its allies to impose tough economic sanctions against Tehran.

The head of the agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said last month he agreed with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency estimate that Iran was three to eight years from being able to make nuclear arms. He urged the United States and other Security Council members to abandon "rhetoric" and pursue dialogue.

Meridor said that Iran was susceptible to economic pressure because it was dependent on foreign investment, but, apparently referring to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he said "the world continues to fund this madman."

If economic and diplomatic pressure fail, Meridor threatened action by Israel. "An option is on the table is, they will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons," he said.

Asked to elaborate on what actions Israel might be considering, the ambassador said, "I hope you will forgive me for not sharing that."

Stressing the importance of reinforcing ties, Ahmadinejad told visiting Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Shara: “Taking into account the victories of [Lebanon’s] Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance against the Zionist [Israel] regime, the conditions have turned in favor of justice and the Islamic world,” the semi-official ISNA news agency reports.

Al-Shara was in Tehran to attend the one-day summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization [ECO], a 10-member regional economic group.

President Asif Ali Zardari called for a regional approach to deal with the menace of terrorism and militancy, while taking into account the interests, capacity and the aspirations of sovereign states and their peoples. “A regional approach has to take into account the interest, the capacity and the aspirations of sovereign states and their people. And has to build solid stakes in lasting peace”, President Zardari said while addressing the 10th ECO Summit here in the Iranian capital.

The President said as terrorism does not have any faith and frontiers, it was important to focus on addressing and eliminating its root causes which include injustice, deprivation and dispossession.

“Terrorism knows neither faith, nor frontiers. It breeds on injustice, deprivation and dispossession. Terrorism has roots across the region and its root causes have to be addressed”, he stressed.

President Zardari said the democratic government in Pakistan has made a promising beginning with Afghanistan and the two brotherly countries are making steady progress in building a relationship of deeper trust and understanding.

“We have revived the Jirga process and set the directions of future cooperation”, he remarked.

The President said the ECO family bears a special responsibility towards Afghanistan, adding, Pakistan has been at the forefront of ECO’s efforts for the reconstruction of this brotherly country.

“Let us give these efforts a strong impetus”, President Zardari said and announced that Pakistan will shortly be remitting an additional US $ one million to the ECO fund for Afghanistan .

President Zardari said with important strides being made across the world, the ECO has yet to realize its potential to the fullest measure.

“We have to fashion ECO to the specifications of our region and the demands of our times”, he said.

The President in this respect made some vital proposals which include the creation of ECO free trade area, development of an ECO Energy Ring of pipelines and electricity grids, greater connectivity through road , rail, air and sea links and forging of closer links with adjoining regions particularly SCO and SAARC.

President Zardari called for increased cooperation and deeper integration among the ECO states for mutual benefit as well as for the global economic growth.

“By ensuring deeper integration, and leveraging our economic complementarities, ECO can become the engine of growth for the world”, he added.

The President said with ECO’s vast resource base and positive fundamentals, this region can contribute significantly to a global economic upsurge.

To realize this goal, President Zardari proposed various measures including the activation of the ECO Central Bank to coordinate monetary policies and consider the development of a stimulus package for the region.

“Trade barriers must be lowered on priority. Currency swap arrangements be put in place”, he suggested.

The President further said that mega projects of regional significance such as IP and TAP gas pipeline projects should be launched to stimulate demand, create jobs and generate momentum for growth and prosperity.

He said Pakistan welcomes the proposal of commissioning as expert panel to study the financial crisis and will make a substantial contribution to the study.

Highlighting the importance of connectivity as a cornerstone of the ECO agenda, President Zardari said, the rich tapestry of this region’s history and heritage was woven around the fabled Silk route. “And its future is premised on modern highways, physical and virtual, that create common space”, he remarked.

President Zardari said since antiquity, this region has been the crossroads of world civilizations. “Our songs are stories, our sages and sagas, our memories and mores germinate from interplay of ages”.

“We are the children of the same legacy. We are heirs to a profound and splendid heritage”, he remarked and added in the contemporary scheme, this region occupies a pivotal position, as its vast expanse bridges the world; boasts unmatched wealth and is home to 380 million industrious people.

The President said ECO, which represents our natural and human potential, “is the essential link between our common past, our shared present and our desired common future.”

President Zardari said with sixteen years of the journey of highs and lows, the ECO has emerged from its formative years, mature and strong. “Today its flagship frameworks in Trade and Transport and the ECO Bank provide firm foundations for effective cooperation.

Referring to the global recession, which is verging on depression, the President said it is imperative to turn this challenge into opportunity.

He said the current economic downturn will be reversed with conventional wisdom or cosmetic changes, adding, “We must seek a profound transformation.”

President Zardari while this malady has germinated elsewhere, Asia is in the best position to help a turnaround. There was a need encourage meld of money and markets, skill and knowledge, and bring resource to consumer, and capital to entrepreneur.

He said Pakistan lauds the ECO Council of Ministers’ decision to launch the Islamabad‑Tehran‑Istanbul train. “We also welcome China ‘s participation in ECO transport projects”, he added.

The President also announced that Pakistan will host the next ECO Summit in 2010. “We may be victims of circumstances, not of our own making, but we are masters of our own fate”, he remarked.

“The times demand innovation, the times demand boldness, the times demand courage”, she had said while addressing the 3rd ECO Summit in Islamabad in March 1995.