US President Barack Obama denounced waterboarding, offered cautious hope on the economy and looked to calm fears about swine flu as he held a major White House news conference to mark his 100th day in the White House.
Obama said he had no second thoughts.
“I do believe that it is torture,” he said flatly of waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
He appeared to acknowledge that useful information had been obtained in interrogations in which it was used, an assessment made in a memo by his administration’s top intelligence official.
Obama also gave assurance that one way or another, Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal would not fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.
He said he was confident “primarily, initially” because he believes Pakistan would handle the issue on its own. But he left the door open to eventual US action to secure the weapons if needed.
Obama said he was “gravely concerned” about Pakistan. He said he does not fear an immediate takeover of Pakistan by the Taliban, but said the Pakistani government seems unable to deliver basic services and thus gain the kind of public loyalty necessary to survive against challenges over the long term.
The wide range of issues raised at Wednesday’s news conference captured the whirlwind of Obama’s first 100 days. Obama has had to deal with two wars, the deepest recession in decades and, most recently, the swine flu outbreak, even as he pushes to overhaul healthcare, energy and education policies.
Obama said he did not want to meddle with private business, even though the government was moving toward ownership stakes in banks and auto companies.
He said he would be glad if someone could tell him that the banks and auto industry were healthy “and that all you had to worry about was Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, getting healthcare passed, figuring out how to deal with energy independence, deal with Iran, and a pandemic flu.”
“I would take that deal,” he said.
Obama took office on Jan. 20 amid high expectations. The first black US president, Obama, 47, won over Americans with his youth, intellect and commitment to change the nation after the unpopular presidency of former US president George W. Bush.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
RSS