You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
India-Pakistan
US makes nice with India. Take that, Pakland!
2002-02-27
  • US Ambassador to India Robert D Blackwill said that President George W Bush has sought to intensify economic and defence collaboration with India. He said that US was working with India "in ways we have never done before to achieve peace and prosperity." Blackwill added that Bush was convinced that a transformation in Indo-US relation was necessary because of India's emergence as a world power and an influential leader of democratic nations.

    Talking about defence cooperation between India and the US, Blackwill said that joint defence exercises would be carried out once a month for the next two years. Talking about the ongoing crisis between India and Pakistan, Blackwill emphatically ruled out mediating between the two neighbours. Praising Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for his courage, Blackwill said that Musharraf must implement his pledge of not allowing terrorism emanate from his country.
    Bush is displeased with Pakland over the Pearl case and Musharraf's willingness to let people like Omar Sheikh run around without a keeper. He's probably not real happy with ISI, either, since their operations are not only widespread but clumsy and uniformly antithetical to our interests. At this point we won't dump them - there's still hope, until Musharraf's either dead or buys a turban - but India makes a dandy big club to beat them with. Cranky Hermit doesn't agree with my suggestion that we dump the Paks, and he's probably right. But that doesn't mean we should coddle them. Even though we're stuck with them until they become Afghanistan with nukes, there's every reason to mend our fences with India as it breaks out of its central planning Nehru-Gandhi dynasty mold and becomes a modern state by doing all the things the Paks refuse to do 'cause it's against their religion.
    Blackwill's official statements from the New Delhi embassy have been reported in the ToI religiously, but virtually ignored in the US press. That is a comment on the lack of breath of US press coverage, as Blackwill has repeatedly made significant policy statements which have served to indicate the sowings of US policies far before their harvest came to fruition. In particular significance here is the frequency of Indo US military exercises. Only NATO forces in the 1980's or US-S Korean forces today have a higher frequency of inter military liason. As the French and British proved [negatively] in 1940, if you wish to be allies, being able to communicate with each other is a good first step.

    In re: US Pakistan relations, I'd offer that there is a significant issue regarding what exactly Pakistan will be over the long term. Referring to http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/afghan_paki_border_rel88.jpg gives the idea that one big source of instability is the ethnically heterogeneous nature of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, as they were defined by Mortimer Durand in his famous survey in the late 19th century. For all practical matters, both Kabul and Islamabad have been unable to control the grey area of Pushtunistan, and that may imply a bleak future for both Pakistan and Afghanistan as nation states. A break up of both countries along ethnic lines is entirely possible and the US should recognize that there may be little to support in either case. Religious cranks and narco warlords just add to this witch's brew of instability. So my response to the Hermit would be: "What's there to support asides from Musharraf who may be swinging from a tree tomorrow?"
    Posted by Tom Roberts 2/27/2002 1:04:32 PM
    There is not much to support beside Musharraf that I can see. My response was made with the assumption that he could survive for an extended period of time, which I admit is less than assured. And I don't have a Plan B, but am hoping that some people who are more influential, knowledgeable, and intelligent than I have prepared contingency plans for Musharraf's death. But, as it stands at this point in time we *do* have someone to support and should make the best of it, otherwise you can take that whole map, color it grey, and call it Nomanslandistan.
    Posted by CH [crankyhermit.blogspot.com] 2/28/2002 9:56:23 AM
    • Posted by:Fred Pruitt

    00:00