WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) – The chairman of the U.S.
House of Representatives intelligence committee on Tuesday
accused China of widespread cyber economic espionage and said
many U.S. firms were afraid to come forward for fear their
computers would be the targets of even more attacks.

“China’s economic espionage has reached an intolerable
level and I believe that the United States and our allies in
Europe and Asia have an obligation to confront Beijing and
demand that they put a stop to this piracy,” Republican
Representative Mike Rogers said at a committee hearing on
cybersecurity.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is lobbying Congress to unblock $200 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority that was frozen due to its bid for U.N. recognition of statehood over U.S. and Israeli objections.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday the administration was in “intensive” discussions with key lawmakers who had put holds on the money, a financial lifeline for the fledgling Palestinian government-in-waiting.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov discussed expanding U.S. use of the central Asian country as a route to supply troops in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Thursday, amid growing concern about the viability of Pakistan as a transit route.

The White House said Obama called Karimov on Wednesday to congratulate the former Soviet republic on its 20th anniversary of independence and that the leaders talked about shared interests in a “secure and prosperous” Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator Richard Lugar says the U.S. effort to aid Pakistan named after him and two other lawmakers has not had enough time to achieve one of its main goals: dispel Pakistani mistrust of the United States.

Few others in Congress seem keen to give it more time or money.

Following U.S. accusations that some in the Pakistani government have aided anti-U.S. militants, Congress is reevaluating its 2009 promise to triple nonmilitary aid to Pakistan to a total of $7.5 billion over five years.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Support is growing in the U.S. Congress for expanding American military action in Pakistan beyond drone strikes already used to target militants in Pakistani territory, a senior Republican U.S. senator says.

The comments by Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy and military affairs, follow remarks by the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accusing Pakistan last week of supporting the militant Haqqani network’s September 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Haqqani militant network is a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s powerful ISI intelligence service, which supported the group as it launched a startling attack last week on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the top U.S. military officer said on Thursday.

Admiral Mike Mullen, who steps down this month as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, made his accusation before a U.S. Senate panel, underscoring the fragility of the strained U.S.-Pakistan alliance.

WASHINGTON (Reuters)- U.S. officials said there was mounting evidence that Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency had encouraged a guerrilla network to attack U.S. targets, while a Senate committee voted to make aid to Islamabad conditional on fighting the militants.

The decision by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which did not specify any amount of aid for Pakistan in fiscal 2012, reflects growing anger in Washington over militants operating out of Pakistan and battling U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters)- U.S. officials said there was mounting evidence that Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency had encouraged a guerrilla network to attack U.S. targets, while a Senate committee voted to make aid to Islamabad conditional on fighting the militants.

The decision by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which did not specify any amount of aid for Pakistan in fiscal 2012, reflects growing anger in Washington over militants operating out of Pakistan and battling U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters)- U.S. officials said there was mounting evidence that Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency had encouraged a guerrilla network to attack U.S. targets, while a Senate committee voted to make aid to Islamabad conditional on fighting the militants.

The decision by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which did not specify any amount of aid for Pakistan in fiscal 2012, reflects growing anger in Washington over militants operating out of Pakistan and battling U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israel is urging the international community to continue aid to the Palestinians just as U.S. lawmakers are contemplating an aid cutoff if the Palestinians press for statehood at the United Nations.

An Israeli government website on Thursday carried a report saying the Palestinian Authority already faced economic and fiscal woes, in part due to a decline in donor aid.