Mr. Powell said the administration was holding up the licensing of the sale of American communication satellites to China until Beijing improved its record on the issue.
At Bakhchisarai, the ancient capital of the Tatar kingdom which once ruled this region, Ilmi Umarov, the head of the regional administration, was holding urgent talks with the visiting Lithuanian ambassador.
The months-long delay in approving ground missions created intense frustration inside the military's Special Operations community, which believed that the Bush administration was holding back as the Qaeda safe haven inside Pakistan became more secure for militants.
"The Bush administration is held in low regard in the Muslim world, and unfortunately that's led to America being held in low regard".
Republicans, who have scheduled a series of hearings to examine the problems with the troubled website, have demanded that someone in the Obama administration be held accountable for the problem-plagued rollout.
Moves to end the administration were held up by a last-minute challenge from Collyer Bristow, former lawyers to Craig Whyte.
Israel may have sacrificed its lukewarm relations with Turkey over this; the Obama Administration is held hostage by the election cycle and its unwillingness to break the Washington mold; the Europeans are unlikely to impose sanctions on Israel for its serial misconduct nor criticize Arab states when they, too, support acts of violence.
In reality the administration is holding its finger in the dam of public accountability.
But the administration is holding off until there are more tangible results, said someone familiar with the negotiations.
The Obama administration is holding off, the House has approved a 19-month fix, and the Senate is expected to concur this week.
