Washington: The US is pushing Islamabad to address the issue of prevalence of Pakistan-manufactured improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan that continues to be a major point of friction between the two countries. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told lawmakers on Tuesday that IED is the major reason of casualties of American soldiers in Afghanistan and that these explosives are manufactured in Pakistan. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Panetta,...
11:45 AM, Feb 15, 2012
Santa Clara: US will take every possible step to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear-capable state, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said. "If they (Iran) proceed and we get intelligence that they're proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon then we will take whatever steps are necessary to stop it," Panetta told CBS '60 Minutes' in an interview aired on Sunday. "There are no options that are off the table," he...
12:06 PM, Jan 30, 2012
Washington: With China in mind, US plans to set up a new base in Australia and expand its existing one in the Philippines, besides increasing its fleet of drones to cut its burgeoning defence budget, media reports said on Thursday. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to make announcements in this regard today unveiling the annual budget of the Pentagon and the new defence strategy for the US to...
03:46 PM, Jan 26, 2012
Washington: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta believes the US is headed in the right direction in Afghanistan where 2011 was a "pivotal" year that witnessed weakening of the Taliban. Panetta told US soldiers at a town hall meeting at Fort Bliss in Texas that for the first time in five years the level of violence was down in Afghanistan and this shows the US and Afghanistan had made progress in...
02:18 AM, Jan 14, 2012
Washington: For the second time in less than two months, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the country is facing challenges from rising powers in Asia - China in particular and also includes India in 21st century. "We have got the challenges of dealing with rising powers in Asia. We have got the challenge of, you know, dealing with countries like Russia, rising countries that - like India...
11:32 AM, Jan 06, 2012
Baghdad: Nearly nine years after American troops stormed across the Iraq border in a blaze of shock and awe, US officials quietly ended the bloody and bitterly divisive conflict in Baghdad on Thursday, but the debate over whether it was worth the cost in money and lives is yet unanswered. While many of the speeches painted a picture of victory - for both the troops and the Iraqi people now...
08:58 AM, Dec 16, 2011
Groton: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta appeared to call China and India "threats" on Thursday, in comments that the Pentagon quickly sought to correct. Panetta, addressing workers at a submarine plant in Connecticut, was talking about emerging challenges facing the United States as it looks beyond the Iraq and Afghan wars. After detailing the threat of cyber warfare, Panetta turned to concerns over "rising powers." "We face the threats from...
05:27 PM, Nov 18, 2011
Sigonella: Top military commanders in the Libyan mission told Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Friday that they are nearing a turning point in the NATO operation that could signal its end, a senior defense official said. Commanders meeting with Panetta in Naples, Italy, told him that ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi no longer has command and control of regime forces and that opposition troops could be within days of wresting control...
01:53 AM, Oct 08, 2011
Washington: The US military passed a historic milestone on Tuesday with the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in uniform, ending a prohibition that President Barack Obama said had forced gay and lesbian service members to "lie about who they are." Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pledged not to allow other issues of equal opportunity, such as allowing women to serve in combat roles, to be ignored or set...
02:54 AM, Sep 21, 2011
Washington: Large new cuts in defense spending would "terribly weaken" US national security, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday as he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton used a rare joint interview to argue that the nation cannot afford to keep playing partisan chicken with its finances. Panetta expressed optimism about progress by American-led forces against the Taliban in Afghanistan and by NATO forces in support of anti-government...
03:16 AM, Aug 17, 2011
Washington: The US on Tuesday acknowledged that its ally Pakistan keeps ties with anti-India terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, but said Washington had "no choice" but to maintain its relations with Islamabad if it has to fight al Qaeda in the region. In possibly the first such hard-hitting statement on Pakistani establishment's links with terror networks by the top Pentagon official, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the US is concerned by this...
10:53 PM, Aug 16, 2011
Washington: President Barack Obama on Friday formally signed off on ending the ban on gays serving openly in the military, doing away with a policy that's been controversial from the day it was enacted and making good on his 2008 campaign promise to the gay community. The president joined Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, the joint chiefs of staff chairman, in signing a notice and sending it...
03:02 AM, Jul 23, 2011
Washington: In a stern message to Pakistan, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the US would not give out a 'blank cheque' to the country until it fulfills its obligations to go after the terrorist targets. "We have to show that this is a two-way street, not just a one-way street. They have some obligations," Panetta said in an interview to the NBC News on Monday during his visit...
10:06 AM, Jul 12, 2011
Baghdad: A blunt and frustrated US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expressed exasperation on Monday with Iraqi indecision on whether it wants US troops to stay next year. He threatened stronger US action to stop Iranian-supplied weapons from killing Americans as they prepare to depart. To reinforce the message of concern about Iran, the US military gave reporters a rare look at samples of what they described as improvised rockets and...
02:12 AM, Jul 12, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistani called on the United States on Sunday to share information about new al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri after US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he believed that Osama bin Laden's successor was in Pakistan. During his first trip to Kabul on Saturday as Pentagon chief, Panetta said he believed that the new al Qaeda leader was living in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border. The...
06:31 PM, Jul 10, 2011
Kabul: The US and its allies are within reach of defeating al Qaeda after killing Osama bin Laden and gaining new insights about the terrorist group's other leading figures, new US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Saturday. The former CIA director offered an upbeat assessment about the prospects for ending al-Qaeda's threat as he spoke with reporters flying with him on his first visit to Afghanistan since taking over...
12:21 AM, Jul 10, 2011
Washington: Terming the killing of Osama bin Laden as one of the "greatest successes" in the CIA's history, its outgoing Director Leon Panetta said that the agency is now much stronger and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities. Panetta now heads to Pentagon as the Defense Secretary. As Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) head in the last 28 months, Panetta oversaw the agency pass through different phases, from its seven officials...
07:35 AM, Jul 01, 2011
Washington: The US Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to confirm outgoing Central Intelligence Agency chief Leon Panetta as the new secretary of defense, replacing the retiring Robert Gates. Panetta, 72, who has held a variety of senior posts in Washington dating back decades, was nominated by President Barack Obama to head the Pentagon. Panetta is expected to start his new job on July 1. The rare 100-0 vote followed a...
07:39 AM, Jun 22, 2011
Islamabad/Washington: CIA chief Leon Panetta has confronted Pakistan's military leadership with evidence of collusion between militants and security officials in the country, causing fresh strains in the troubled US-Pak ties. Panetta, who arrived in Islamabad on Friday, presented the evidence during meetings with Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI head Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha late on Friday night, media reports said on Saturday. The CIA had...
11:28 AM, Jun 11, 2011
Islamabad: CIA Director Leon Panetta met over dinner on Friday with Pakistan's spy chief and army head for talks on how to repair ties between the two countries that were fractured by the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a Pakistani and an American official said. Panetta's visit was his first to Pakistan since the unilateral American operation on May 2 killed the al-Qaida leader in a Pakistani army...
01:20 AM, Jun 11, 2011
