United States to send 17,000 troops to Afghan

US President Barack Obama approved adding some 17,000 American troops for the flagging war in Afghanistan, his first significant move to change the course of a conflict that his closest military advisers have warned the US is not winning.

"This increase is necessary to stabilise a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires," Mr Obama said in a statement.

That was a slap at his predecessor, Mr George W. Bush, whom Mr Obama has accused of slighting urgent national security needs in Afghanistan in favour of war in Iraq. "There is no more solemn duty as President than the decision to deploy our armed forces into harm’s way," Mr Obama said.

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National Defence Academy: Female cadets okay

The National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla is ready to open its doors to women cadets provided the government takes a decision first on the matter, authorities at the NDA have stated.

The NDA commandant, Air Marshal T.S.Randhawa, told reporters that the academy would be more than willing to admit women cadets but that it was up to the government to take a decision on the matter. Currently the NDA admits only male cadets training to become Permanent Commission (PC) officers in the armed forces.

Women are not permitted to join as PC officers except in the Army Medical Corps, Army Dental Corps and Military Nursing Service. But they work as Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in several branches of the services. Women SSC officers currently train at the SSC academies of their respective services (like the Officers' Training Academy in the case of the Army) before joining the armed forces.

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Army may run Commonwealth Games

The armed forces may have a new civilian role to play to make the Commonwealth Games in 2010 a success. One section of the government believes that, given the tardy pace of creation of infrastructure for the Games, it is best to hand over the projects in the National Capital Region to the defence services.

This will be over and above their task of providing an air-land-water security blanket for the Games.

Home minister Shivraj Patil has proposed that the construction of major infrastructure projects, which have already suffered huge cost and time overruns, be handed over to the defence establishment.

A ministerial group on the Games, headed by human resources minister Arjun Singh, will take a view on the proposal at its next meeting in a fortnight. It is likely that the proposal will have the blessings of the Prime Minister's Office.

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