« Wiggle like a worm! | Main | What is wrong? »

Definitely! This is a good step. But I doubt, if its the first. US and UK have been saying this for the past year or so. And I’m glad that they have done so jointly this time as it puts more weight behind their statements.

But I’m really confused about some other signals coming out of the US administration. Yesterday Christina Rocca made a big fuss about how India and Pak are getting closer to a war. Now thats an unwarranted utterance. Also, couple of days back Richard Boucher opened his big mouth about how violence will not solve India-Pak problems.

Doesn’t this give out confused signals especially since Rocca and Boucher are important spokes in the White House wheel!

USA/UK/UN aint gonna take India no where, India will have to ekla chalo re on the Kashmir issue, all this shit is taking place to get a favorable position from India on the Iraq war, whenever they want a favorable opinion from indians they start scolding pakistan, asking Mushy to be a good boy. And Indian media like dimwits start pasting those msgs on front pages.

I don’t get this. Why again should the US/UK give a shit about India’s terrorist problems?

The Turks have been strong supporters of the US - they marched in to Afghanistan with the US. But the US supports the Kurds - who are sworn enemies of the Kurds - in Northern Iraq and Kurdistan there is basically a US protectorate. If the US doesn’t care about Turkey’s concern that a Kurdish state in Northern Iraq would encourage their Kurds to further rebellion, why would they give a shit about India.

How does India figure in American plans for force projection? Don’t give me the trading partner line - we trade with them because they are the biggest market. They can replace us at some cost, with other exporters.

The Indian polity and the people have to garner the balls to do this job on their own. Pakistan’s position in Islamic society and its bomb make it virtually untouchable to a large scale interdiction by any great power unless their interests are directly threatened.

I see this as a tragedy of gutless Indian leadership. As a culture, we basically do not have the stomach to go in and do the dirty work. Hence, we find succour in excorciating other nations whose wouldn’t give a whit about 24 defenceless old men, women and children being gunned down. The Turks have killed about ~10,000-30,000 Kurds in the last 10 years. So what? Is the US threatening the Turks - hell, the Clinton administration even helped them capture a Kurdish guerilla.

The worst thing for a citizen is to see grown men and women - leaders of our nation - exhibit pusallinamity for years on end. Take up the challenge, screw this crap about when you stop terrorism, we will talk to you. Realpolitik is about blood and iron not press releases from diplomats.

There are practical things we can do. I saw this proposal by an ex-Army officer who said we can make it prohibitively expensive for Pakistan to engage in a proxy war. His report is worth reading.

If Dawood is indeed hiding in Karachi and Karachi is that lawless urban sprawl that it is made out to be - then for ram’s sake, get the bastard assinated. I find it hard to believe that the RAW can conduct civil war in Sri Lanka but not get a pesky ganglord assasinated in Karachi.

No, we just don’t want to pay the price. We want a free ride and the rest of the world ain’t gonna give it to us.

Correction:

But the US supports the Kurds - who are sworn enemies of the Kurds

should be

But the US supports the Kurds - who are sworn enemies of the Turks

Sameer, the confusion could be because they don’t want to support unconditionally, a country that doesn’t support them.

Cypher, India is the country that still invokes the name of UN in vain - if only Nehru had the cajones to finish the war once and for all instead of taking the issue to the UN.

Uncle Duke, I agree with you too - India should either go all out and get under the US umbrella of protection by turning into a staunch ally without whining every two days, or if they think they can do it, do a China and try to make things happen on their own without relying on outside support.

It is moronic for India to have the Muslim cake by condemning the US every two days, and eat it too, by scoring US/UK support against Pakistan. This is politics and diplomacy and national interest, damnit! Not child’s play.

It is moronic for India to have the Muslim cake by condemning the US every two days, and eat it too, by scoring US/UK support against Pakistan. This is politics and diplomacy and national interest, damnit! Not child’s play.

Aha, the underlying assumption in Shanti’s argument here is that Mushy and Saddam are equivalent. I have been trying to say this for months now.

After Saddam is gone, the US clearly has another candidate in the “ruthless nuke-armed dictator who has attacked a neighbor in the past” category, should they choose to carry on their “crusade” against “evil”. But alas, doubt the moral clarity extends beyond the gasoline fields.

san1ty: Thank you for illustrating in such short order the point I made above.

The US will tackle Mushy when he threatens their interests. He so far appears to be trying to placate them and his constituency at home. He might try and placate the party (US or mullahs) whom he think is more aggravated at that point.

India can keep whining till their bones are scattered to the winds and the moon turns to cheese. For Indians to keep whining about it without taking the on the responsbility for their own security is either disingenuous or delusional or both.

Good points, sanity and Uncle! I agree with you some, but as far as India is concerned, Musharraf or anyone in charge of Pakistan is equivalent of Saddamin that over the time they are causing hundreds and thousands of lives to be lost.

I also agree that India should take things into her hands and deal with her problems, ala Israel.

I agree. The US is now knee-deep in rebuilding the Middle East. They are not going to have the time or the energy to separate India and pakistan from each other. India is going to have to figure this one out by itself.

True, Suman.