The White House today said it supports extending three provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire on Feb. 28.

The House is expected to vote Tuesday on a proposal by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., to extend the three sections.

From the White House Office of Management and Budget:

The Administration strongly supports extension of three critical authorities that our Nation's intelligence and law enforcement agencies need to protect our national security. 

These authorities, which expire as of February 28, 2011 absent extension, are:

(1) section 206 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which provides authority for roving surveillance of targets who take steps that may thwart Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ("FISA") surveillance;

(2) section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which provides authority to compel production of business records and other tangible things with the approval of the FISA court; and

(3) section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which provides authority under FISA to target non-U.S. persons who engage in international terrorism or activities in preparation therefor, but are not necessarily associated with an identified terrorist group (the so-called "lone wolf" amendment). 

The Administration would strongly prefer enactment of reauthorizing legislation that would extend these authorities until December 2013.  This approach would ensure appropriate congressional oversight by maintaining a sunset, but the longer duration provides the necessary certainty and predictability that our Nation’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies require as they continue to protect our national security.  However, the Administration does not object to H.R. 514, which, if enacted, would extend these authorities through December 8, 2011.

Talk about a fake-out.... Here's what the White House press schedule for today said:

10:00AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing, Oval Office, Closed Press

10:30AM THE PRESIDENT meets with senior advisors, Oval Office, Closed Press

11:15AM THE PRESIDENT delivers a statement to the press on the monthly jobs numbers Location TBD, Pooled Press

Instead, it turns out President Obama is in Afghanistan. He'll be addressing troops shortly at Bagram air base. A dust storm is likely to prevent him from traveling to Kabul.

MUMBAI - President Obama says he wants to send terrorists a message during his visit to India: “In our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity the United States and India stand united.”

He spoke shortly after his arrival in India, marking the upcoming two-year anniversary of the 26/11 attacks. The terrorist attacks by Pakistani-based militants on several Mumbai sites spanned several days beginning on Nov. 26, 2008 and killed more than 160 people including Indians and some Americans.

Obama also signed a guest book and visited a courtyard memorial at the Taj Mahal hotel, one of the sites targeted. The White House says Obama is the first foreign head of state to stay there since the attacks.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama each placed a white rose at the stone wall carved with victims’ names and an inscription, “For now and forever you will inspire us.”

Obama didn’t mention Pakistan by name in his speech, despite many Indians’ desire for him to hold the neighboring rival nation more accountable for bringing the perpetrators to justice and stopping elements in its own intelligence service from aiding militant groups that want to hurt India.

Addressing suspicions among some Indians that the United States withheld information early on about Pakistani-American plotter David Headley, Obama insisted, “The United States and India are working together more closely than ever to keep our people safe.”

Here’s what Obama wrote in the hotel guest book according to the White House pool report:

"We will always remember the events of 26/11; not only the sorrow, but also the courage and humanity that was displayed that day. The United States stands in solidarity with all of Mumbai and all of India in working to eradicate the scourge of terrorism, and we affirm our lasting friendship with the Indian people."

President Obama has touched down in Mumbai, kicking off a three-day visit to India and a 10-day swing of Asian democracies that also will include Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.

He and First Lady Michelle Obama stepped down from Air Force One at 12:59 p.m. local time (about 3:30 a.m. EDT). The president got a wrapped gift about the shape of a shirt box, says the print pool reporter, Carol Lee of Politico; the first lady was given a bouquet of red roses. Then they hopped in a helicopter headed toward the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, where they're staying and where the president will remember victims of the Mumbai terrorist attacks that occurred in November 2008.

He was to visit a museum and former home of Gandhi later. He's also staging events around the goal of expanding investment and trade between the United States and India. His message for Americans: India's growing economy could mean more U.S. jobs if businesses can get the sort of trade liberalization they want. Several announcements related to this message are expected later today, but the White House is staying quiet on details for now.

MUMBAI – President Obama’s arrival here tomorrow already is having a ripple effect in this megacity of roughly 18 million people, where slums swirl around pockets of commerce and taxis stop for cows.

Various Obama-themed souvenirs are for sale. Moshe’s Café is selling “O’Barry Pie,” with 44 ingredients (for the 44th U.S. president) that include Kenyan coffee and cocoa, fruits and grains from Hawaii and Indonesia, and chocolate. One waiter said they were sold out, but another scrounged me up a slice. It was tasty though the banana drowned out much of the other flavors.

For a while last night and early this morning there was a scare when a Delta Airlines flight from Amsterdam emergency landed in Mumbai with reports of a suspicious package on board, but it turned out to be nothing.

Security precautions have sealed off Mani Bhavan, a former home to Gandhi and now a museum and memorial, because Obama’s expected to stop there.

Boat trips are curtailed from the Gateway of India, a major attraction for visiting Indians as well as foreigners.

It’s just across the street from the Taj Mahal Palace hotel where Obama is to stay. Today, that whole area was sealed off to car and even foot traffic.

An international crew of divers, on assignment in Mumbai to salvage materials from a shipwreck, complained that Obama’s visit has added hours to their ability to get out on the water, and reduced their productivity.

Police presence is thick, and major backups are expected tomorrow for flights into Mumbai’s airport as well as traffic around the city.

Security precautions and related inconveniences are always an issue when presidents travel. This can especially be true in big, chaotic cities, such as during Obama’s visit last year to Cairo. There’s heightened sensitivity now because of the latest explosives threat from Yemen and because of Mumbai’s terrorist attacks two years ago.

The Times of India reported some local politicians were considering boycotting Obama’s planned remarks Saturday to commemorate the so-called “26/11” attacks because they’re offended they were asked to provide personal documents and identification.

Some residents of South Mumbai are grumbling that the local authorities won’t permit them to set off their Diwali firecrackers once Obama arrives. But today, at least, the popping, banging, crackling, smoke and sulphur stink are pervasive.

MUMBAI - Soon enough, talk will turn to whether the Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives will mean more liberal policies for India in terms of immigration, markets and outsourcing.

But as election results came from halfway around the world, top headlines in the Indian press were the election results for two Indian-American candidates: Republican Nikki Haley's win for governor in South Carolina and Democrat Kamala Harris' super-tight lead in the race for California attorney general.

Mumbai, India's business and Bollywood hub, is getting ready for President Obama's arrival Saturday. The Taj Mahal hotel, one of the sites of deadly terrorist attacks in 2008, is where Obama will stay. The hotel's already well secured, and a courtyard memorial for victims of the attack - which Obama is expected to visit - is closed to hotel guests and visitors until after Obama leaves.

Lucky for camera-wielding tourists, the memorial is visible through a full- length glass wall inside the hotel lobby (once you clear the security screening process).

Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn, Va., thought he was working al Qaida as he gathered photos and diagrams of Metro stations in the Washington suburb. Instead, he was delivering the materials to FBI agents. On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Ahmed, a naturalized citizen from Pakinstan, on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to help carry out multiple bombings to cause mass casualties at D.C.-area Metrorail stations. He was arrested Wednesday, according to the FBI press release.

The FBI said the public was never in danger, but that the case was a reminder that Northern Virginia may harbor possible terrorists. “Today’s case underscores the need for continued vigilance," the press release quoted David Kris, the assistant attorney general for national security as saying.

The sting recalls last year's arrest of Hosam Smadi in Dallas for plotting to bomb that city's 60-story Fountain Place building. Smadi pushed the button he thought would detonate the bomb, which was a fake constructed by the FBI. Last week, Smadi, who's from Jordan, was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Smadi was discovered by the FBI during their monitoring of what's described as an Islamist website. No immediate word on how Ahmed was discovered.

The arrest comes as the FBI is puzzling over shooting incidents in recent weeks at the Marine Museum and the Pentagon that are connected.

The White House released this statement from President Obama on the 10th anniversary of the attack on the USS Cole by al Qaida:

"We remember today the 17 U.S. sailors who lost their lives ten years ago as a result of an al-Qa’ida terrorist attack against the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen. These brave men and women were serving their country and helping to maintain security in the Gulf region when al-Qa’ida launched this outrageous attack.

"We pay tribute on this day to the courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives in this attack, and to their families. We remain steadfast in our support for the brave men and women of our armed forces who continue to risk their lives around the world to defeat these terrorists and to keep our nation safe, and we stand with our military families who sacrifice so much to support them.

"I will never forget meeting with some of the families of the victims of this bombing in February 2009. I am deeply grateful to them for their sacrifice, and their efforts to keep the memory of this tragic event alive in our nation’s conscience. The families and loved ones of those we lost are in our hearts and prayers, and the American people stand with them on this solemn day of remembrance.

"Al-Qa’ida continues to use Yemen, as well as other places around the world, as platforms from which to pursue its murderous agenda, and we continue to work closely with our Yemeni and other global partners to counter the al-Qa’ida threat. As we do, we will always remember those we lost on the USS Cole, and we will honor their legacy of selfless service by advancing the values that they stood for throughout their lives."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration is "supportive" of "the nature of" reconciliation talks between Hamid Karzai's government and the Taliban to try to end the violence and instability there. But he said the U.S. isn't directly participating in such talks.

"It has to be done by the Afghans," Gibbs told reporters in an off-camera briefing this morning. "This is not something that we (the U.S.) do with the Taliban. This is something the Afghan government have to do with people in Afghanistan and we have always been supportive of that" process.

Gibbs said for the U.S. to formally support any agreement down the road "largely requires a reununciation of al Qaeda, following Afghan law and renouncing violence."

Opinions on the New York City Islamic Center/mosque controversy are sharply divided, depending on factors like age and political leanings, according to a new Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey.

A poll analysis called the contrasts in views stark, Republicans agree with those who object to building two blocks from the World Trade Center site, by a 74 to 17 percent margin. But Democrats say it should be allowed, by a 49 to 37 percent margin, and Independents side with the opponents, 50 to 37 percent.

Opinions also vary dramatically depending on age. Among those 18-29 years old, 36 percent side with those who object and 50 percent say it should be built. But among those over 65, 63 percent object and 21 percent say it should be allowed.

The survey was conducted August 19-22, after the controversy erupted. Margin of error for the entire poll is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Other poll findings:

"Large majorities of Democrats (74 percent) and independents (65 percent) say that Muslims should have the same rights as other religious groups to build houses of worship. Republicans are closely divided: 47 percent say Muslims should have the same rights as other religious groups while nearly as many (42 percent) say local communities should be able to prohibit the construction of mosques if they do not want them.

Majorities of all age groups – except for those 65 and older – think that Muslims should have the same rights as other religious groups to build houses of worship. Fewer than half (48 percent) of those 65 and older express this view, while 33 percent say local communities should be able to block the construction of mosques."

To read the survey: http://pewforum.org/Muslim/Public-Remains-Conflicted-Over-Islam.aspx