Former Republican senator Chuck Hagel has been confirmed as the new US Defence Secretary by the Senate, in the midst of a controversy over his remarks that India ‘financed problems’ for Pakistan in Afghanistan.
66-year-old Hagel, a Vietnam war veteran, was confirmed by the Senate after a bruising confirmation hearing.
Senators voted 58-41 to approve Hagel, ending a long and acrimonious nomination process and clearing President Barack Obama's choice for the top post held by Leon Panetta.
Hagel's confirmation comes as a great relief for the Obama Administration as his nomination was held up for weeks and the Democrats and the White House had to do a tough convincing act to get him approved by the Senate.
Welcoming the confirmation, President Obama said Hagel is the kind of Defence Secretary America needs. ‘With the bipartisan confirmation of Chuck Hagel as our next Secretary of Defence, we will have the defence secretary our nation needs and the leader our troops deserve,’ he said.
US DESCRIBES INDIA AS ‘ECONOMIC LINCHPIN’ FOR AFGHANISTAN
Amid Chuck Hagel’s controversial remarks on India’s role in Afghanistan, a top US official has termed New Delhi as the ‘economic linchpin’ for the war-torn country’s future after the withdrawal of American troops.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake yesterday termed India as one of the most trusted and valuable partners of the US in the region, noting that ‘any discussion of South Asia has to start with India.’
‘We appreciate very much the significant role that India is playing in Afghanistan. In fact, we see India as kind of the economic linchpin for future,’ Blake told lawmakers during a hearing by Asia and the Pacific Sub-committee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Hagel, the new Defence Secretary, in a video remarks in 2011 had claimed, ‘India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border’.
Reacting to this, the Indian Embassy in Washington said, ‘Such comments attributed to Senator Hagel, who has been a long- standing friend of India and a prominent votary of close India-US relations are contrary to the reality of India’s unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghan people.’ India will play a crucial role into turning Afghanistan into a ‘trade-based economy’ from an ‘aid-based economy’ once the US spendings get scaled down after the withdrawal of troops in 2014.
66-year-old Hagel, a Vietnam war veteran, was confirmed by the Senate after a bruising confirmation hearing.
Senators voted 58-41 to approve Hagel, ending a long and acrimonious nomination process and clearing President Barack Obama's choice for the top post held by Leon Panetta.
Hagel's confirmation comes as a great relief for the Obama Administration as his nomination was held up for weeks and the Democrats and the White House had to do a tough convincing act to get him approved by the Senate.
Welcoming the confirmation, President Obama said Hagel is the kind of Defence Secretary America needs. ‘With the bipartisan confirmation of Chuck Hagel as our next Secretary of Defence, we will have the defence secretary our nation needs and the leader our troops deserve,’ he said.
US DESCRIBES INDIA AS ‘ECONOMIC LINCHPIN’ FOR AFGHANISTAN
Amid Chuck Hagel’s controversial remarks on India’s role in Afghanistan, a top US official has termed New Delhi as the ‘economic linchpin’ for the war-torn country’s future after the withdrawal of American troops.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake yesterday termed India as one of the most trusted and valuable partners of the US in the region, noting that ‘any discussion of South Asia has to start with India.’
‘We appreciate very much the significant role that India is playing in Afghanistan. In fact, we see India as kind of the economic linchpin for future,’ Blake told lawmakers during a hearing by Asia and the Pacific Sub-committee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Hagel, the new Defence Secretary, in a video remarks in 2011 had claimed, ‘India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border’.
Reacting to this, the Indian Embassy in Washington said, ‘Such comments attributed to Senator Hagel, who has been a long- standing friend of India and a prominent votary of close India-US relations are contrary to the reality of India’s unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghan people.’ India will play a crucial role into turning Afghanistan into a ‘trade-based economy’ from an ‘aid-based economy’ once the US spendings get scaled down after the withdrawal of troops in 2014.