arya
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It's hard to look at Afghanistan today and find anything to be optimistic about. The war entered its ninth year earlier this month and the Obama administration is wrestling with how to define the U.S. role. An Afghan presidential election marred by fraud complicates U.S. efforts to rebuild the country, and the administration is divided on how expansive a mission is needed. But there is a way.
Americans are getting a crash course on the importance of Afghanistan in the context of not only Pakistan but also India. The recent terrorist attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul drives home the message of India's importance in the calculus of U.S. interests in that part of the world. The Taliban took credit on its Web site for the suicide car bomb attack that wounded Indian security personnel and killed a number of Afghan civilians.
The rivalry between Pakistan and India is long-standing and the fact that both countries are nuclear powers makes the tension between them a flashpoint for war that could spin out of control should one or the other launch a nuclear weapon. Pakistan is a Muslim nation while India is majority Hindu. Ethnic clashes are common among and between them though the last time the two countries actually went to war was 40 years ago.
If the Obama administration is to achieve success, it will have to convince India, the more populous and economically vibrant of the two countries, to work toward a better relationship with Pakistan. For its side of the deal, Pakistan may require some kind of U.S. security guarantee before they will be willing to take the critical step of pulling back troops from the border with India.
If the Obama administration can pull off that kind of diplomatic coup, it would have more positive repercussions in Afghanistan than all the troops General Stanley McChrystal is requesting. It would be a three-fer because it would defuse the India-Pakistan tension; it would help Pakistan knock out the extremists who are gaining a foothold in their country; and it would undermine the Taliban in Afghanistan, all without committing any more American troops to the region.
The latest aid package, the Kerry-Lugar bill, supplies $1.5 billion to Pakistan over five years, and it's written in such a way with safeguards and accountability to try to shift the funds away from fighting India and toward more civilian projects. The Obama administration's stated goal is to persuade the Pakistani army to shift troops to its border with Afghanistan, where they could fight the extremists who are finding a safe haven in the tribal areas of northern Pakistan.
Pakistan is so focused on India as its primal enemy that everything revolves around India. Most of the billions in military aid given to Pakistan in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks went to fortify the country against India instead of battling terrorism within its own borders, and in Afghanistan, which is what the Bush and Obama administrations intended.
The role of India is crucial. During the Cold War, India remained neutral; it was the leader of the nonaligned nations. Now it is an unstated American ally, unstated because Pakistan is openly America's ally, and it's difficult for India to warm up to the friend of its enemy. Difficult, but not impossible, and therein lies the potential for the renewed diplomatic engagement embodied in Obama's election.
Editorial: India crucial | htrnews.com | Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
Americans are getting a crash course on the importance of Afghanistan in the context of not only Pakistan but also India. The recent terrorist attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul drives home the message of India's importance in the calculus of U.S. interests in that part of the world. The Taliban took credit on its Web site for the suicide car bomb attack that wounded Indian security personnel and killed a number of Afghan civilians.
The rivalry between Pakistan and India is long-standing and the fact that both countries are nuclear powers makes the tension between them a flashpoint for war that could spin out of control should one or the other launch a nuclear weapon. Pakistan is a Muslim nation while India is majority Hindu. Ethnic clashes are common among and between them though the last time the two countries actually went to war was 40 years ago.
If the Obama administration is to achieve success, it will have to convince India, the more populous and economically vibrant of the two countries, to work toward a better relationship with Pakistan. For its side of the deal, Pakistan may require some kind of U.S. security guarantee before they will be willing to take the critical step of pulling back troops from the border with India.
If the Obama administration can pull off that kind of diplomatic coup, it would have more positive repercussions in Afghanistan than all the troops General Stanley McChrystal is requesting. It would be a three-fer because it would defuse the India-Pakistan tension; it would help Pakistan knock out the extremists who are gaining a foothold in their country; and it would undermine the Taliban in Afghanistan, all without committing any more American troops to the region.
The latest aid package, the Kerry-Lugar bill, supplies $1.5 billion to Pakistan over five years, and it's written in such a way with safeguards and accountability to try to shift the funds away from fighting India and toward more civilian projects. The Obama administration's stated goal is to persuade the Pakistani army to shift troops to its border with Afghanistan, where they could fight the extremists who are finding a safe haven in the tribal areas of northern Pakistan.
Pakistan is so focused on India as its primal enemy that everything revolves around India. Most of the billions in military aid given to Pakistan in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks went to fortify the country against India instead of battling terrorism within its own borders, and in Afghanistan, which is what the Bush and Obama administrations intended.
The role of India is crucial. During the Cold War, India remained neutral; it was the leader of the nonaligned nations. Now it is an unstated American ally, unstated because Pakistan is openly America's ally, and it's difficult for India to warm up to the friend of its enemy. Difficult, but not impossible, and therein lies the potential for the renewed diplomatic engagement embodied in Obama's election.
Editorial: India crucial | htrnews.com | Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
