Will Israel and India – the first the United States’ closest ally and the second fast becoming one of the closest – emerge as the trickiest adversaries in any attempt by the United States to seek a regional solution to Afghanistan?
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama plans to explore a more regional strategy to the war in Afghanistan — including possible talks with Iran.
The idea has been fashionable among foreign policy analysts for a while, as I have discussed in previous posts here and here. The aim would be to capitalise on Shi’ite Iran’s traditional hostility to the hardline brand of Sunni Islam espoused by the Taliban and al Qaeda to seek its help in neighbouring Afghanistan. At the same time India would be encouraged to make peace with Pakistan over Kashmir to end a cause of tension that has underpinned the rise of Islamist militancy in Pakistan and left both countries vying for influence in Afghanistan.
But Israel has already cautioned Obama against talking to Iran, which it said would be a seen as a sign of weakness in efforts to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear programme. And Obama’s suggestion that the United States should try to help resolve the Kashmir dispute has raised hackles in India, which resents any outside interference in what it sees as a bilateral dispute. That could make the two countries important allies in combating — or at least reshaping — any attempt to remould U.S. strategy.
India and Israel have already built close defence ties, as underlined by this Times of India article. And according to this Asia Times article by former Indian diplomat M K Bhadrakumar, India’s growing relationship with Israel, combined with U.S. pressure, is pushing Delhi to break off what was once a strategic partnership with Tehran. “At the root of it lies unprecedented US-Israeli interference in India’s Iran policy,” he writes.
Are we going to see more signs of Israel and India working together — if necessary to resist rather than support U.S. policy? And in an increasingly multi-polar world, will Obama discover that he needs to watch the United States’ friends as closely as its enemies to drive through his plans for change?
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Nahida..
- Posted by NikusIndian army is treating Kashmiri moslems, the way they deserved to be…Can you recall the jihadi uprising and targetting Pundits? Or it is sanctioned in Korun and so is not crime?
Sydney,
- Posted by NikusKashmiris do decide about their own fate. They are empowered to decide their representatives in state assembly and central parliament. Indian democracy provides enough regional autonomy, and it is proliferated upto the level of village body. Now, the problem with Kashmiri muslas is sourced straignt from arabic moon god ( aka Allah)’s manual Korun…Wherever the muslas are majority, kill and destroy the non-muslas and make it 100% musla land…wherever the muslas are minority, try to extract every pound of flesh and then get separated…This is exactly opposite to tolerant democractic norm, and should not be allowed to grow…What you see in Kashmir, you see similar stuff in Thailand, Mynmar, Philipines elasewhere in Asia too, alongwith Russia…Kashmiris are geneticaly like other indians and if you separate the beduin moon god and his messenger ( aka Islam),Kashmir should be part of India…You need to educate yourself on Indian history….Kashmir is not gift from beduin moon god, allah….Now, related to issue of suppression, why the people of Ladakh are not feeling “suppressed” under India rule? Why not the people of TN feeling suppressed under Indian rule? IF you are from UK, be careful. You may find similar stuff in Bradford or other moslem ghettoes…The excuse will be the same…
WHAT ABOUT UNITED WORLD
- Posted by Himanshu Bishtaa,yes we kashmiries will never forget the way indian army treated us.never!.no matter wherever we are we will remain kashmiries and will keep hating indian army.
- Posted by nahidaaa,while i ws reading ur scripts i wonder who r the other ppl to make desissions about the valley which doesnt belong to them!i m a kashmiri ,i kn how much we hav suffered by the indian army ther.i hav seen the pain the hatred the damage they caused.kashmir is a disputed land.i dt wanna comment which side will b good fr us india or pakistan,bt yes all the kashmiri souls want that indian army must leave our land,n for ths we are ready to pay to any extend.untill they r there dt expect a kashmiri in any part of the world,has any good thoughts about india!
- Posted by nahida haleemSIDNEY…
- Posted by JAIu r forgetting that IN THE STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR …u have hindus as well..may nt be as large as the muslims [presenty] ..but if u count those KASHMIRI HINDUS who have fled to other parts of INDIA… then POPULATION of MUSLIMS have a serous competitor… n these pll undoubtedly wud vote for INDIA..n as far as ILLEGAL occupation is concerened… i think u shud read ur history……!!!!!
it is not possible for an australian to have such love for porkistan. i reckon sydney is a paki.
- Posted by melSidney,
Talk anything you want, You need to understand that US/West will not help People in Tibet, In the same way they may not want to involve themselves here in kashmir.
- Posted by VijayAfter 5 years Indian economy will grow to $1.5Trillion people will be more keen to work with india than to bother about these things. As far as Pakistan is concerned they will change their attitude, their people will question them that while they are suffering how come kashmiris are getting 1200crores central aid whereasa bigger province do not get those kind of money when people pay them so much of taxes. You have to be practical in these matters.
Sidney
- Posted by IndianIndia is not a country like Australia & America, which psychotic Inquisitionist in the garb of religion & cultureless barbaric marauders have occupied by exterminating & plundering the hapless natives, where the Red Indians & the Aborigines are almost extinct due to mass genocide by the ‘white race’,
Nothing different could have been expected from you as you are also one of those parasites- self-styled global conscience keepers, moral brigadiers whose own hands are coloured with blood of the innocents but wish to look the other way…India is beyond your comprehension—
indian, why should it be up to rest of india to vote on a territory that does not belong to them? kashmir is a territory that does not belong to india or pakistan and should belong to either one of them. the only difference is that india is illegally occupying it.so it doesn’t matter what the 1.25 billion flea bags in india want and it does’t matter what 150 million flea bags in pakistan want. IT IS NOT THEIRS. get over it. and yes there is a different yard stick in american and india democracy. half if american population is not a bunch of illiterate, backward population. so most of them just vote as they are told. vijay on your man points, you have basically turned a political discussion of kashmir into discussion on religious ideaoligies. the main reason you do that is because kashmir is majortiy muslim so you use the whole “they are muslim, therefor they are militants” argument which appers rather weak and pathetic. just recently two kashmiris were shot dead because they were throwing stones. I know in your little backwards world, those stones might a sign of great danger and threat, but that just proves my point that India’s illegal occupation of kashmir is unjustified.
- Posted by sidneyCorrection-
- Posted by IndianIt’ 1.25 billion Indian i.e. almost 99.9% vs .1%
“so guess who is Ignorant?”
sidney
“it is the majority that wins. Obama won 60% of votes in America and McCain got the other 40%, so guess who is president?”
— 125 billion Indians vote Kashmir is India & a mere 3million vote otherwise, so simply by your on logic- the majority wins, what’s your problem then? huh? or do you have different yardsticks for western democracy & Indian democracy?? (Dumb to the core is the least I can say)
- Posted by Indian