Bleeds India once again!
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Bleeds India once again! India is going to pay the price of War Against Terrorism with US Lead in Indian Ocean. Without addressing naitionality problems and serious internal security concern strategic regrouping invoving USA, Japan and Israel has changed the security scenerio critically as the extremists strike back. Battle ready status of Indian defence may not save the innocent masses targeted.
HYDERABAD, India:In a Bleeds India once again!In a Serial Blast atleast 44 persons were killed and over 50 injured at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar here on Saturday evening at around 2000 hrs. According to reports, the first blast took place at Lumbini Park open-air auditorium, opposite State Secretariat when a laser show was going on. The second blast took place at around 2015 hrs at Gokul Chat shop in Koti area, 5 Km from here. Following the blasts, people were seen running helter-skelter as a number of them were congregated for the event.
Central security agencies on Saturday said that banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami militant outfit of Bangladesh was possibly behind the twin blasts in Hyderabad, in which more than 30 people were killed.Sources said that there could be similarities between the explosives used in Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in May this year and Saturday's explosion.It was suspected that Shahid and Bilal, who were the masterminds of the Mecca Masjid blast were also behind Saturday's explosion.Shahid is reported to be in Karachi and is instrumental in bringing people for arms training from Hyderabad.CBI has already procured a red-corner notice from Interpol against Shahid.
The first blast occurred at around 7.45 p.m. at the Andhra Pradesh government-run Lumbini Amusement Park near the state secretariat, while the other took place about 15 minutes later at Gokul Chat, a popular eatery in Koti, a commercial area. The spots are five kilometres apart.
Both places in the heart of Hyderabad were thronged by hundreds of people including women and children, out to enjoy the weekend evening.
The two blasts come merely 3 months after terrorists planted bomb in Makka masjid of the city during Friday prayers killing nine people. Makka masjid blast occurred on May 18.
The chief minister YSR Reddy who visited the spot shortly after the blasts said that the blasts were handiwork of terrorists. Reddy also appealed for calm. While talking to media person there he said, “some terrorist activity has taken lives of people”.
The chief minister that said about 500 people were in the auditorium at the time of the incident. The blast ripped through the middle row of the auditorium when the show had just begun. So powerful was the blast that some of bodies were flung into the air and scattered over the area.
On the other hand,Left-Congress pow-wow over the US-India nuclear deal is likely to set up a battle of attrition that will see the Red brigade harry and harass the Manmohan Singh government on a range of issues - from ties with US to price rise.
Newly uncovered ``rules of engagement'' show the U.S. military gave elite units broad authority more than three years ago to pursue suspected terrorists into Pakistan, with no mention of telling the Pakistanis in advance.
The documents obtained by The Associated Press offer a detailed glimpse at what Army Rangers and other terrorist-hunting units were authorized to do earlier in the war on terror. And interviews with military officials suggest some of those same guidelines have remained in place, such as the right to ``hot pursuit'' across the border.
Pakistan, a key U.S. partner in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, has long viewed such incursions as a threat to its sovereignty. Islamabad protested loudly this month when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama pledged to grant U.S. forces the authority to unilaterally penetrate Pakistan in the hunt for terrorist leaders.
Washington repeated assurances it would consult before any such incursions.
But summaries of the rules of engagement on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in April 2004 say chasing al-Qaida leaders across the frontier was fair game.
Eye-witness: Send us pics, videos of the blasts
Enlarge PhotoBy IBNlive.com
Saturday August 25, 10:14 PM
If you have a friend or relative who is missing in the Hyderabad blasts please send us their pictures. We may be able to help. If you have any pictures or video of the blast site at Mumbini park or Gokul Chat do send them to us.
You can SMS 'CJ' to 2622 or send them to citizen@ibnlive.com. You can also send videos via MMS on 09873544444.
If you are an eye-witness to the blasts please call us at 0120-4341895.
Photo: Suicide bomber hits Western troop convoy in Kabul
Saturday August 25, 09:05 PM
Afghan police try to douse fire after a suicide attack on a convoy of Western troops in Kabul August 25, 2007. A suicide car bomber struck a convoy of Western troops in the Afghan capital
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070825/137/6jwuq.html
Pakistan Bleeds. Bleeds the divided geopolitics.
But Zionist Brahminical Manusmriti Galaxy Order agenda has become the topmost priority of the Ruling Comradors of the neocolonies of US imperialism. Bush not only intensifies the US War in Middle east, he also successfully escalates the killing field right into South asia!
NDTV showed at least two dead bodies slumped under rows of blue plastic seating in the park, both with blood-soaked clothing.Several college students were among those killed, a Reuters reporter on the scene said, and friends were crying near their bodies. As blasts rocked Hyderabad on Saturday evening, the BJP began its blame-game and called the incident UPA’s failure.
The Party critisised Government's handling of internal security for the Hyderabad bombings and sought a high-level investigation into the explosion.
The India-Pakistan peace process was launched in 2004 after the nuclear-armed neighbours came to the brink of war.
Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush, faced with growing calls to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, pleaded with Americans on Saturday for patience and cited progress in the past two months. Bush is facing mounting pressure from Democrats and a senior Republican lawmaker to begin pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq to show the government there that the American commitment is not open-ended.Earlier this week, Bush drew parallels to the Vietnam War, raising the example of the emergence of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and violence in Vietnam after U.S. troops pulled out to warn of the consequences of leaving Iraq.But, he acknowledged that despite increasing the number of troops in Iraq to tamp down the unrelenting violence, there was growing frustration that the government had not made much progress on political goals.Still, Bush argued that young men were signing up for the Iraqi military, police were patrolling the streets and more operations with both U.S.-led troops and Iraqi forces were being conducted.
"The success of the past couple of months have shown that conditions on the ground can change -- and they are changing," he said in his weekly radio address. "We cannot expect the new strategy we are carrying out to bring success overnight."
SPOTLIGHT: INDO-US NUKE DEAL
Govt won't fall over nuclear deal - Congress
- Reuters
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's ruling Congress party said its government would not collapse over a nuclear deal with the United States, despite warnings by its communist allies of "serious consequences" if it did not put the pact on hold.
Forward Block criticises CPI(M) for softening stand - PTI
Wait and watch, says Pranab before Left-Government meet... - IANS
RSS backs Left, says its posturing over 123 justified - PTI
Wait and see our options on n-deal: Pranab - IANS
Left, government to talk next week to iron out issues - IANS
http://in.news.yahoo.com/nukedeal.html
The Left is clearly showing signs of cooling down with the UPA over the Indo-US nuclear deal. Now the experts say the real issue is - getting the deal approved by the US Congress by the year-end and for this an early approval at the IAEA and the NSG is imperative.
CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said, “Who said there was a crisis? Where was it and where has it gone?”
Further confirmation that the UPA and the Left are cooling down the standoff over the nuclear deal.
The Left is now demanding a structured debate in Parliament to which the Government should respond.
The Government too is seeming to keep up the tempo of negotiations on the deal. Special Envoy Shyam Saran is winding up his visit to four key NSG members.
The IAEA Board of Governors meets next month. The draft of India's safeguards agreement could come up for discussion there if the Government wishes to force the issue with the Left.
Experts say the drafts of the safeguards agreement have gone back and forth between the IAEA and South Block.
They see no delay except in hammering out the India specific provisions relating to fuel supply.
Ex- ambassador to UN Arundhati Ghose said, “What we want to achieve is yes we will put it under safeguards this reactor for its lifetime but it must be matched by fuel supply for its lifetime.”
Passage through the Nuclear Suppliers Group is not expected to be too much of a problem either.
Nuclear scientist K Santhanam said, “There are some noises surfacing from some countries that say this kind of exception sends the wrong message. It is not in the spirit of non-proliferation. I would imagine these are minority voices.”
Experts say the real issue for India is the US Congress. The entire package must be approved by Congress by the end of the year otherwise it could get delayed to 2008 and perhaps beyond.
Hyderabad is one of India's biggest cities and a key information technology hub. It has a large Muslim minority and a history of communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims.Officials said Hyderabad and other cities, including the capital, New Delhi, had been put on alert.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the Hyderabad blasts and expressed shock over the loss of innocent lives.
The President condemned the blasts, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said in New Delhi.
In his message, the Vice President expressed profound shock at the twin blasts that caused loss of innocent lives and injured many people.He also expressed sympathy for the families of those killed and injured in the blasts.Ansari called for maintenance of peace and harmony at this juncture.
Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari said in a message, ''I am greatly shocked and pained to hear about the dastardly blasts in Hyderabad which have caused loss of lives and injuries''.
He conveyed heart-felt condolences to the members of the bereaved families and speedy recovery to the injured.
Recent major blasts in India
New Delhi, Aug 25: Following is a chronology of major bomb attacks across the country in recent times.
March 7, 2006: Three bombs ripped through the holy city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, killing at least 28 people and injuring 62 others in a crowded temple and a railway station.
The first blast occurred inside Sankat Mochan temple adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Minutes later, another bomb went off in the Cantonment railway station. The third blast occurred in a crowded coach of the Shiv Ganga Express train.
April 14, 2006: Fourteen people, including a woman and a girl, were injured in two explosions inside the Jama Masjid in the old quarters of Delhi after evening prayers on a Friday. Low-intensity crude bombs were used.
July 11, 2006: Seven bomb blasts occurred in a period of 11 minutes on Mumbai's Suburban Railway. A total of 209 people lost their lives and over 700 were injured in the attacks.
Sept 8, 2006: Thirty-eight people were killed and over 100 injured in three nearly simultaneous blasts, including one in a mosque, in communally sensitive Malegaon town of Maharashtra.
Feb 19, 2007: Sixty-eight people were killed and dozens more were injured after explosions triggered a major fire on the Samjhauta Express, the train connecting Delhi and Lahore.
Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff General Moeen U. Ahmed Saturday said that 'an evil force' wanted to destabilise the situation in the country but its designs were frustrated. Moeen made the comments following massive student demonstrations in the capital and five other major cities from Monday to Wednesday.The demonstrations that erupted after a brawl between some students and soldiers in the Dhaka University campus spread across the country quickly.The caretaker government imposed an indefinite curfew from Wednesday night and closed all universities and colleges in Dhaka and five other cities to contain the protests.
Gen. Moeen, who was addressing a meeting in flood-hit Shariatpur town, 60 km south of Dhaka, said 'an evil force taking the cue from a trifling incident in the Dhaka University campus on Aug 20 wanted to create anarchy'.However, the army chief said, 'the design could not succeed as we were vigilant. Their plan to destabilise the situation and undermine the government has been frustrated.' He said the intelligence agencies were investigating to find out the 'evil force engaged in creating anarchy and undermining the image of the government'.
A local court Saturday sent two Dhaka University academics to four-day remand for interrogation, a day after they were arrested for allegedly "instigating" student unrest that subsequently spread in the capital and major campuses across Bangladesh.
Security forces produced professors Anwar Hossain and Harunur Rashid before Metropolitan Magistrate Ahsan Kabir and sought a 10-day remand.
However, Kabir remanded them to four-day custody and asked the police to question the two with "caution".
The military-backed government today relaxed for 17 hours an indefinite curfew, imposed on Wednesday in six cities including the capital after riots left one person dead and over 400 injured.
Police today filed cases against 31,000 "unidentified" people in Dhaka under emergency rules for staging riots, a day after they raided major campuses arresting five university teachers.
Three other teachers, arrested from north western Rajshahi University yesterday, were yet to be produced in court. They are former Vice Chancellor of the university-professor Saidur Rahman, Moloy Bhaumik and Abdus Sobhan.
Hossain, the General Secretary of Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA), and Harunur Rashid were charged with "instigating" student unrest and "violating emergency powers rules" during the student unrest.
Azizul Bari Helal, the detained student wing president of ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was also remanded to custody for five days.
Security forces had arrested Helal yesterday and he is facing similar charges.
More Kidnappings in Violent Pakistan-Afghan Border Region
By VOA News
25 August 2007
Pakistani officials say Islamic militants have kidnapped an army officer and three other men in a tribal region near the Afghan border.
The men were seized in the town of Ladha, located in the troubled South Waziristan tribal region in northwestern Pakistan. They were headed to a religious school when they were abducted.
Along with the army officer, the militants kidnapped a government official and two soldiers.
Pakistani tribal people wait as authorities block the main road during an operation against militants near Miran Shah, Waziristan, 24 Aug 2007
South Waziristan is a stronghold for Taleban and al-Qaida militants, who have carried out attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent weeks. Rebels kidnapped 16 Pakistani soldiers two weeks ago, and later killed one of them.
InAhmednagar, INDIA , Chief of the Army staff JJ Singh today said the army has to deal with "a number of challenges" in the near future and that it would have to take affirmative steps to deal with them. Singh was speaking at the concluding function of the second mechanised forces conference held here.He also expressed happiness over the deliberations carried out during the two-day conference which focussed on the requirement of the mechanised forces in the near future. In his speech, Singh emphasised the importance of integrated training and synergy between the various fighting arms of the force which include the Mechanised Forces, Armoured Corps and the Fighting Guards.
"It will be our ability to transform given any situation that will define how well we do in the future," Singh said in his gathering.
Earlier, Singh was briefed by the heads of all the three fighting arms who apprised him of their analysis and requirements for the future.
Sensitive data stolen from defence base in Cantonment area
In the first such case here, a computer containing "sensitive" military data has been burgled from the Administrative Commandant`s office in the cantonment area.
5 suspected fidayeens of Dera are innocent: Dera spokesman
In the wake of Punjab police releasing sketches of five Dera women alleging them to be suicide attackers, the Dera Sacha Sauda Saturday said their pictures were pasted in police stations even without a case being registered against them.
Forward Bloc warns of bloodshed over Reliance`s entry
The Forward Bloc, a senior partner in West Bengal`s ruling Left Front, Saturday warned there would be "bloodshed" if Reliance entered the agricultural retail business in the state.
SP is dead & I don`t want to strike at dumped leaders: Mayawati
Rubbishing Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav`s reported claim that she was trying to settle political scores with him, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Saturday said Yadav and his coterie would have been in jail had it been so.
The police officials reached on the spot and confirmed several deaths and injuries. Meanwhile, the injured persons have been admitted to nearby Medi City, Osmania and Yashoda hospitals. Forensic experts have also reached to ascertain the reason behind the blasts. High alert has been sounded in the city and security has been tightened throughout.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and expressed concern for the welfare of those affected, and state government officials said the blasts appeared to be terrorist attacks.In the last few years a series of bomb blasts have hit India and killed hundreds of people, the most deadly of which was an attack on Mumbai's railway system last July. Indian police and security analysts have blamed Islamist militant groups in Pakistan for previous attacks and say they have been using hardline Indian Muslims to plant bombs in an attempt to cover their cross-border links. The attacks have been widely seen as attempts to derail a slow-moving peace process between India and Pakistan and trigger widespread communal violence -- but they have failed to do either.
Some major bombings in India:
_ August 2007: Bombs rip through crowded public areas in the southern city of Hyderabad; police fear at least 20 killed.
_ May 2007: A bomb at a historic Hyderabad mosque kills 11 people.
_ September 2006: At least 30 people are killed and 100 injured in twin blasts at a mosque in Malegaon in western India.
_ July 2006: Seven bombs on Mumbai's commuter trains kill more than 200 and injure more than 700 others.
_ March 2006: Twin bombings at a train station and a temple in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi kill 20 people. Kashmiri militants are blamed.
_ October 2005: Three bombs placed in busy New Delhi markets one day before a major Hindu festival kill 62 people and wound hundreds. India blames Kashmiri militants.
_ August 2003: Two taxis packed with explosives blow up outside a Mumbai tourist attraction and a busy market, killing 52 and wounding more than 100.
_ March 1993: Muslim underworld figures tied to Pakistani militants allegedly carry out a series of bombings on Mumbai's stock exchange along with trains, hotels and gas stations in the city, killing 257 people and wounding more than 1,100.
Photo: India investigates mosque bombing that killed 14; Muslim groups call for strike
Saturday May 19, 09:12 AM
Authorities searched for clues Saturday after a bomb ripped through a historic mosque, leaving this southern Indian city tense with Muslim groups calling for a daylong strike to protest the attack and ensuing clashes with police that left 14 dead.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070519/210/6fzdm.html
U.S. allowed pursuit of suspects into Pakistan
August 24, 2007
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070824/NEWS07/708240392/1009
BY SCOTT LINDLAW
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Newly uncovered so-called rules of engagement show the U.S. military gave elite units authority more than three years ago to pursue suspected terrorists into Pakistan, with no mention of telling the country's officials in advance.
The documents offer a glimpse at what Army Rangers and other units were authorized to do. Interviews with military officials suggest some guidelines have remained in place, such as the right to "hot pursuit" across the border.
Pakistan has long viewed such incursions as a threat to its sovereignty.
The government protested this month when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., pledged that if elected, he would grant U.S. forces authority to unilaterally penetrate Pakistan in the hunt for terrorism leaders. Washington repeated assurances it would consult before any such incursions.
But summaries of the rules of engagement on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in April 2004 say chasing Al Qaeda leaders across the frontier was fair game.
As for geographic limits, one memo says: "General rule: penetrate no deeper than 10 km," or 6.2 miles.
Told of the guidelines, Pakistani military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said, "This is all nonsense. Pakistan never allowed the coalition forces to enter into our territory while chasing militants. There was no such agreement, there was no such understanding."
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician said this week he couldn't comment. "As a policy, we don't talk about rules of engagement, certainly not about current rules in place for any operations in Afghanistan, Iraq or any other operation," he said.
But one summary among the 2004 documents mentions a chain of required notifications, which resulted in Pakistan being apprised -- apparently after the fact. One rule says "joint task force commander must inform CENTCOM immediately" and ensure the "Mil Liaison team" in Islamabad was notified.
Operations officers had a hotline to that liaison office, which would in turn inform Pakistani officials, according to a U.S. officer who served in the region. On some occasions, the officer said, Pakistanis would detect incursions and request explanations from U.S. military officials, who would open inquiries.
Interviews with officers in the field, and the public statements of top U.S. commanders, indicate similar guidelines remain in place.
At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee in March, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., asked Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute: "Do we have to have the approval of the Pakistani government in hot pursuit across the border?"
No, Lute replied. If U.S. forces spot so much as a so-called hostile intent against them and chase the threat toward the border, "then we have all the authorities we need to pursue, either with fires or on the ground, across the border," he said.
Even a surveillance report of enemy fighters setting up a rocket and pointing it west into Afghanistan is enough to trigger a unilateral response, said Lute, then the chief operations officer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and now President George W. Bush's deputy national security adviser.
Last month, White House homeland security adviser Frances Townsend was asked why special operations forces and drones weren't being sent into Pakistan.
"Well, just because we don't speak about things publicly doesn't mean we're not doing many of the things you're talking about," Townsend said. She didn't elaborate.
On Aug. 5, Bush would not say whether he would consult with Pakistan before ordering U.S. forces to act inside that country. "With real actionable intelligence, we will get the job done," he said, without elaborating.
Union Home Ministry on Saturday sought a report from the Andhra Pradesh government on the situation in Hyderabad, in the wake of serial blasts in the city. The security has also been beefed up in the national capital.
"The Home ministry is in constant touch with the state government," an MHA spokesman said, adding the situation is being closely monitored in the MHA.
Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta spoke to the State Chief Secretary to monitor the situation and sought details of the incidents.
Meanwhile, security was beefed up in the capital tonight following serial blasts in Hyderabad.
We have been constantly warning the Centre that it should take adequate measures to strengthen internal security, but the Congress-led Government has never bothered to rein in terror. These condemnable blasts appear yet another act of terror in the face of the UPA's soft approach on terrorism," PTI quoted senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra as saying.
The BJP leader added that the Government needed to bring back anti-terror laws to combat the terror. "We came with POTA and they(UPA) scrapped it for their own vote-bank politics. Time and again, it has been proved that you cannot deal with terror with ordinary laws, you have to have tough measures to fight the scourge," PTI quoted Malhotra as saying.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy and top police officials confirmed that the blasts were, indeed, meticulously planned and coordinated and aimed at causing terror in public places and highly commercial areas. “It is definitely an act of terror. But I request everyone to maintain calm,” he said.
MoS Home Sriprakash Jaiswal echoed Reddy’s view. “I appeal to the people to stay calm. This is definitely a terror attack. We will try our best to get the perpetrators to justice. We will provide the state police will all the help they need,” he said.
Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told CNN-IBN on Saturday evening that he was in touch with the state government. "Whatever is necessary would be done . We are sending a senior officer to the Hyderabad . I would not like to speculate on the organisation behind the blast," he said.
Government officials have condemned the act of terror in Hyderabad. “We are hoping that Koti blast is not big and that it was a gas cylinder and not explosives that caused it. The blasts at Lumbini park is unfortunate as families with children were also there,” said MP from Khammam Renuka Chowdhury.
"A general alert was sounded. Rank and file have been asked to be more vigilant," police sources said.
Personnel have been asked "vigorously" to conduct routine checks. "There is nothing to panic," the sources added.
In Tamil Nadu also security has been tightened with special vigil on places where people congregate.
"Bus stands, airports, railway stations and other places where people move in large numbers will be kept under check and security has also been beefed up at these places," state Director General of Police D Mukherjee said tonight.
Intense checking of vehicles and lodges were also underway as a precautionary measure, he added.
In Chennai, checkposts had been set up in and around the city while night vigil had been stepped up. "Vehicle check is on at all places, including the entry points of the city," Police Commissioner D Nanchil Kumaran said.
All police officers had been put on alert.
Three explosions within minutes, one at a street-side food stall and two in an amusement park, killed at least 44 people in Hyderabad on Saturday, police and officials said. . A senior police officer told Reuters the two blasts occurred within 10 minutes of each other.
"The blasts took place almost simultaneously and we are still counting the number of dead," Balwinder Singh, Hyderabad's commissioner of police, told reporters.
"I saw chairs flying in the air along with bodies," said Vineet, a young man who had been watching the show with about 200 other people.
Four unexploded bombs were also found, two in Lumbini and two others in cinemas in the city, which were defused once people had been evacuated, police said.
On Thursday, he suffered a setback when Sen. John Warner of Virginia, an influential congressional voice on military affairs in Bush's Republican Party, urged for an initial pullout of 5,000 troops who would be home by December.
Warner declined to back setting a withdrawal timetable but Democrats are expected next month to ratchet up pressure to do just that.
In about three weeks, Congress will receive a pivotal report on the state of war in Iraq by the U.S. commander on the ground in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, which could trigger a change in Iraq policy.
Democrats argued the failures of the Vietnam War should not be ignored as the United States tries to chart its future course in Iraq but that U.S. soldiers could no longer bear the brunt of the failures by the Iraqi government.
"We can't expect our soldiers to continue to risk their lives especially when the Iraqi leaders themselves show no interest in achieving a peaceful political solution," Max Cleland, a former Democratic senator from Georgia and a Vietnam veteran, said in his party's weekly radio address.
Bush on Tuesday will try to build his case further for remaining in Iraq when he speaks to the American Legion annual convention in Reno, Nevada, the second of two such speeches.
"I will focus on the Middle East and why the rise of a free and democratic Iraq is critical to the future of this vital region and to our Nation's security," Bush said.
UP supermarkets shut, middle class dreams fade
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070824/137/6jvc4.html
Saturday August 25, 12:45 PM
By Alistair Scrutton and Surojit Gupta
NOIDA, India (Reuters) - The new supermarket was slated as the shape of retail to come in globalising India. Now shutters covered its windows, staff meandered outside and customers picked final bargains before its closure.
The store, open just two months, was the latest to close after Uttar Pradesh told Reliance Industries to shut its supermarkets, citing law and order problems after protests from small traders and political activists.
"In the street markets it's not hygienic, their weights don't work and there's no air-conditioning," said V.P.S. Nanda, a stationery shop owner whose bags bulged with groceries in the fading minutes before the store's temporary closure.
"Everything is so convenient here," he said, pondering a while for the right phrase. "That's the word -- convenient."
The closure of 10 Reliance stores by Uttar Pradesh highlighted the choppy progress of India's modernisation, beset by political wobbles and fears for the livelihoods of millions of Indians who work in street markets or small shops.
Following Thursday's closure in the state capital Lucknow, authorities ordered the closure of more stores in Noida and Ghaziabad -- towns on New Delhi's outskirts that are symbols of a middle-class consumer boom -- because of security concerns.
The stores could be shut for up to 60 days as authorities look into law and order problems. A Reliance official, who asked to remain anonymous, said plans to inaugurate more supermarkets in the states had been suspended for now.
It was a blow for Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of top conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd and which plans to spend $5.6 billion on hundreds of stores and already has more than 250 Reliance Fresh grocery stores.
The potential profits are huge. About 3 percent of India's market is organised retail, a tiny amount compared with other large economies.
India's $350 billion retail industry could double in size by 2015. Companies like Wal-Mart are also keen to enter the market even though foreign retailers are hampered by laws restricting multibrand retailers to cash-and-carry and franchise operations.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Bharti Enterprises have signed a deal to set up wholesale outlets jointly, but the project has also seen protests.
Tesco and Carrefour have eyed the market but are waiting for changes in the investment law.
New supermarkets have sparked protests in other states, like
