New Delhi
2 December 2009
South Block was struggling Wednesday to get a fix on Barack Obama's new Af-
Pak plan which he unveiled in a much-anticipated policy speech at West Point military
academy in New York. What has caused concern in New Delhi is his staying away from
an open-ended commitment to use American military force in Afghanistan and his desire
to support efforts by the Afghan Government "to open the door to those Taliban who
abandon violence", which is an anathema to many here. An overwhelming majority in the
Indian foreign policy brains trust is against making a distinction between moderate or
reconcilable Taliban and hardline Taliban and it believes that for Obama's strategy to
work "on both sides of the border", as he put it in his speech, it is imperative that
Pakistan be forced to cooperate in defeating the Taliban.
A source familiar to the Indian national security establishment told this newspaper that it
is clear that South and Central Asia would become even more insecure, if the US exited
Afghanistan without defeating the Taliban. The US must complete the job, the source
said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The unmistakable reference was to
Obama's 24 November remarks at the joint press conference with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh in Washington, in which he said that it was intention to "finish the job"
of dismantling and degrading the capabilities of the Al-Qaeda and its extremist allies.
Vikram Sood, a former chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and
Analysis Wing (RAW), said that Obama's speech was par for the course, but for his
declaration that the US troops would be pulled out by July 2011 and his suggestion that
a deal could be struck with the Taliban if they break away from Al-Qaeda. He also said
that Obama seems to have made Pakistan even more indispensable, coming as it does
barely days after him toasting an "indispensable" India.
Ambassador IP Khosla (Retd), who served as India's ambassador in Kabul a few
decades ago, said that New Delhi needs to seriously consider the consequences of
having to live with an Afghan Government which has some influence or participation of
the Taliban. He thought a troop surge would not by itself root out the Taliban. He cited
Taliban chief Mullah Omar's message, delivered on the eve of Eid, to suggest that
deploying of more troops will only stoke further resentment and make the Taliban more
determined to take on the West.
South Block was mulling its options and carefully considering various scenarios,
especially post the withdrawal of American troops, and it was left to Union Minister of
State of External Affairs to articulate an early reaction. India is not complaining; on the
contrary it is "very pleased that pressure on Al-Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan and on
the Pakistan-Afghanistan border will not be eased," Tharoor told reporters on the
sidelines of a function at Sapru House here. He iterated that India was making
contribution in Afghanistan in a different way by building roads, hospitals and power
supply lines there, which has been welcomed by US Ambassador to India Timothy J
Roemer.
In a statement here, Roemer said that India and the US must unite in commitment of
civilian resources and provide the tools for economic development and humanitarian aid
to eliminate the extremist violence. "India is a key, global partner of the United States
and we value the positive role India continues to play in the region, including its
significant humanitarian contributions to Afghanistan," he said. "Our nations share a
common goal -- to see a world free of the global terrorism that threatens our people
where they worship, live, work, and study. We are committed to working steadfastly
together to accomplish this goal," the envoy added.
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