WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pakistan has cut by more than half a visa backlog affecting U.S. officials and contractors needed to run American aid programs aimed at combating extremism there, a State Department official said on Tuesday.

The United States and Pakistan were developing a “more cooperative, constructive relationship” in the first year of a $7.5 billion, five-year civilian aid plan for Pakistan passed recently by Congress, said the official, Dan Feldman.

“But it’s going to take time,” Feldman, the deputy special U.S. representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told a House of Representatives subcommittee.

U.S. officials complained in December about hundreds of Pakistani visa delays, saying this could hamper aid intended to stabilize the Islamabad government and help Pakistan’s people.

“I think there was a backlog of 500 visas in January. It’s down to less than 200 at this point,” Feldman told the subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, part of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel.

Although the United States is Pakistan’s biggest aid donor and is now launching the five-year-plan of $1.5 billion in nonmilitary aid a year, there is suspicion on both sides, and analysts speak of a “trust deficit.”

Pakistan’s support is crucial for the United States as it strives to defeat al Qaeda and bring stability to Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a test of congressional support for President Barack Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy, lawmakers are set to vote on Wednesday on a resolution that would direct him to pull U.S. forces out of the war.

The resolution by liberal Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich is not expected to pass. But it could be an important indicator of how Obama’s Democrats feel about the war, particularly ahead of November congressional elections in which Republicans are expected to make gains.

It is the first legislative challenge by the Democratic majority Congress to U.S. involvement in the conflict since Obama ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and an offensive began last month to retake the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province.

Supporters of the resolution say it is time for U.S. lawmakers to consider if they want to continue the nearly nine-year-old war in which about 1,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed. The United States is already planning to pull its forces out of Iraq by the end of next year.

“This (debate) is a first step. It’s like an alarm going off and people begin to wake up,” Kucinich told Reuters.

Although Congress passed a resolution authorizing military force in Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks by al Qaeda on the United States, “that wasn’t intended to be a blank check for war without end,” Kucinich said. He voted for the 2001 resolution.

Aware that many liberal Democrats are unhappy about the continuing Afghan war, Obama has said the plan is to start pulling out U.S. forces from Afghanistan from July 2011.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Friday sought to limit fallout from a resolution branding the World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces as “genocide,” and vowed to stop it from going further in Congress.

Turkey was infuriated and recalled its ambassador after a House of Representatives committee on Thursday approved the nonbinding measure condemning killings that took place nearly 100 years ago, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire.

A Democratic leadership aide told Reuters there were no plans “at this point” to schedule a vote of the full House on the measure, and a State Department official said this was the administration’s understanding as well.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, facing questions about the issue while traveling in Latin America, declared Congress should drop the matter now.

“The Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was passed by only one vote in the House committee and will work very hard to make sure it does not go to the House floor,” she said in Guatemala City.

The resolution squeaked through the House Foreign Affairs Committee 23-22 on Thursday despite a last-minute appeal against it from the Obama administration, which feared damage to ties with Turkey. The NATO ally is crucial to U.S. interests in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

The issue puts President Barack Obama between Turkey, a secular Muslim democracy that looks toward the West, and Armenian-Americans, an important constituency in some states like California and New Jersey, ahead of the November congressional elections.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – There are no plans at this point for the full U.S. House of Representatives to vote on a resolution branding as genocide the World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces, a Democratic leadership aide said on Friday.

Despite appeals from the Obama administration, the House Foreign Affairs Committee narrowly approved a nonbinding resolution on Thursday labeling the killings as genocide, prompting Turkey to recall its ambassador from Washington.

“There are no plans to schedule it at this point,” the aide said of the measure that the administration said could hurt ties with a NATO ally that is important for U.S. interests in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Advocates of the largely symbolic measure would have to show Democratic leaders they have the votes to pass it before it would be brought to the House floor, another Democratic aide said. Both aides spoke on condition that they not be named.

The issue puts Obama between Turkey, a secular Muslim democracy that looks toward the West, and Armenian-Americans, an important constituency in states like California and New Jersey, ahead of the November congressional elections.

Turkish leaders reacted with fury after the House committee passed the resolution on a 23-22 vote, and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned of possible damage to relations with the United States.

But Turkey said on Friday that it would push on with efforts to normalize ties with Armenia despite the vote.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. congressional panel voted on Thursday to label as “genocide” the World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces, prompting Turkey to recall its ambassador from Washington.

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted 23-22 to approve the non-binding resolution, which calls on President Barack Obama to ensure U.S. policy formally refers to the killings as genocide.

The action cleared the way for the measure to be considered by the full House but it was unclear whether it would actually come to a vote there. The Obama administration and Turkey had pressed lawmakers to drop the matter.

The vote triggered an immediate condemnation from Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who recalled Turkey’s ambassador to Washington for consultations. Erdogan said he worried the measure would harm Turkish-U.S. ties and efforts by Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia to end a century of hostility.

The vote put Obama in a tight spot between his desire to maintain good relations with Turkey, a Muslim but secular democracy that plays a vital role for U.S. interests from Iran to Afghanistan to the Middle East.

On the one side is NATO ally Turkey, which rejects calling the events genocide. On the other side is an important U.S. Armenian-American constituency and their backers in Congress ahead of congressional elections in November.

ARMENIA HAILS VOTE

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. congressional panel headed on Thursday toward a vote on calling a 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces genocide despite a plea from the Obama administration to drop the matter and defuse a dispute with Turkey.

The issue puts President Barack Obama between NATO ally Turkey, which rejects calling the events genocide, and an important U.S. Armenian-American constituency and their backers in Congress ahead of a November congressional election.

Turkey has said its ties with the United States would be damaged and that Ankara’s efforts to normalize relations with Armenia could be endangered if the resolution is passed when the House Foreign Affairs Committee votes on Thursday.

One Turkish government official said Turkey was open to all options — including the recall of its ambassador to Washington — if the congressional panel approves the legislation.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, a Democrat, on Wednesday to argue that the legislation could harm efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations, the White House said.

“Secretary Clinton called Chairman Berman … and in that conversation the secretary indicated that further congressional action could impede progress on normalization of relations,” said National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer.

Turkey and Armenia signed a protocol last year to normalize relations but the papers are yet to pass through the parliament of either country.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pushing back against Pentagon opposition, lawmakers said on Wednesday they would forge ahead with legislation to lift restrictions on homosexuals in the armed forces before a year-long military review is completed.

Following President Barack Obama’s call for ending the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, the lawmakers said they would seek to repeal the law in coming months, or at least place a moratorium on discharges under the ban as an interim step.

“We’re going for full repeal because that really is the solution we need to this problem. We’re going to fight for as much support as we can get,” said Senator Joe Lieberman as he and others introduced legislation to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he supports Obama’s decision. But he and military leaders want Congress to hold off on lifting restrictions until the Pentagon completes a study to assess the impact of a repeal and the best way to implement the changes.

That review must be completed by December 1 under guidelines by Gates announced this week.

“Right now, we’re not in a position to offer any advice to Congress on a legislative remedy to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ if they wanted to pursue one. We just don’t know enough about the impact,” said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary.

“So the secretary wants to take the next nine, 10 months and focus on figuring out the implications of a change in the law for our forces, for their families, for readiness, for recruiting, for retention, for all of the potential consequences of the change in the law.”

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – Pushing back against Pentagon opposition, U.S. lawmakers said on Wednesday they would forge ahead with legislation to lift restrictions on homosexuals in the armed forces before a year-long military review is completed. Following President Barack Obama’s call for ending the "don’t ask don’t tell" policy, the lawmakers said they would seek to repeal the law in coming months, or at least place a moratorium on discharges under the ban as an interim step. "We’re going for full repeal because that really is the solution we need to this problem. We’re going to fight for as much support as we can get," said Senator Joe Lieberman as he and others introduced legislation to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he supports Obama’s decision. But he and military leaders want Congress to hold off on lifting restrictions until the Pentagon completes a study to assess the impact of a repeal and the best way to implement the changes. That review must be completed by December 1, under guidelines by Gates announced this week. "Right now, we’re not in a position to offer any advice to Congress on a legislative remedy to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ if they wanted to pursue one. We just don’t know enough about the impact," said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary. "So the secretary wants to take the next nine, 10 months and focus on figuring out the implications of a change in the law for our forces, for their families, for readiness, for recruiting, for retention, for all of the potential consequences of the change in the law." Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, speaking at the news conference with Lieberman, said his committee could act as soon as May on Lieberman’s legislation. Senators could try to add the repeal to the annual bill that authorizes U.S. defense programs, he said. "If we cannot get the votes (for repeal) … we would then at our markup (meeting) try to see if we can get enough votes to at least suspend the discharges during this period," said Levin, a Democrat. Lieberman said that if the law passes, full implementation would not occur for five or six months afterward, until regulations could be adopted to carry out the new policy. He said he believes a majority favors the legislation in the Senate, but that currently there are not 60 votes for the repeal — a crucial threshold for being able to overcome procedural hurdles in the chamber. "That’s our battle, but we’ve come a hell of a long way," he said. Levin said momentum for the legislation had been created by the strong appeal for gays to be allowed to serve openly made recently by Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. But other members of the U.S. military brass testifying to Congress last week raised doubts about lifting the restrictions, citing the potential impact of such a change on a U.S. military under stress after years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans favor allowing gays to serve openly in the military by a margin of 56 percent to 37 percent, according to an opinion poll last year by Quinnipiac University. (Additional reporting by Adam Entous and Phil Stewart; editing by Todd Eastham)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Military brass raised doubts on Tuesday about lifting restrictions on homosexuals in the armed forces, weighing in on a debate in Congress over whether to back President Barack Obama’s effort to let gays serve openly.

A key senator suggested a possible compromise: suspending discharges of gays from the military under the current policy, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” for a while.

“That would mean that if for some reason it is not repealed, down the road, the current discharge policy would stay in place,” Senator Carl Levin said.

Some polling says most Americans favor repealing the policy requiring gay service members to keep quiet about their homosexuality. But any change must be approved by Congress, and some lawmakers say they will be guided by the military brass.

Both Army General George Casey and Air Force General Norton Schwartz told lawmakers they were worried about the impact of such a change on a U.S. military under stress after years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Their caution contrasted with the views of the nation’s top uniformed officer Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who made a strong appeal this month to allow gays to serve openly in the U.S. military.

Obama called for repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” last month. Defense Secretary Robert Gates then launched a review, which could take up to a year, of steps to be taken to fully integrate gay members.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – There is still hope that a new Dutch government could keep some troops in Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon official said on Monday, two days after the Dutch government collapsed over the Afghan troop mission.

The government in the Netherlands collapsed on Saturday after the Labor Party pulled out of the ruling coalition, saying it could not support a NATO request to extend the Dutch mission in Afghanistan past this year.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he expected the 2,000 Dutch troops would be brought home this year. It would be the first major crack in an alliance of some 40 nations with more than 120,000 troops battling the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Michele Flournoy, the U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, said the decision to pull out forces was made by the Dutch government that fell. She believed there were still “prospects” for a “significant contribution” from the Dutch.

“There will be a new government and we will see,” she told the Senate Armed Services Committee, which had invited her to brief members on the U.S.-led assault on the Afghan town of Marjah.

Republican Senator John McCain indicated he thought Flournoy was being unrealistic.

“We might as well face up to the fact that the Dutch are leaving,” he said. “I think we ought to plan for it,” McCain said, adding that the Canadians were also expected to leave in the near future.