Making A Difference

'Hyphenation Seems To Reside In India'

Excerpts from US ambassador to India Robert D. Blackwill's interview with V. Sudarshan.

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'Hyphenation Seems To Reside In India'
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When Outlook met workaholic US ambassador to India Robert D. Blackwill on Monday afternoon, western classical music played in the background. He asked us if it bothered us and we said, if he didn't mind, could we have some tenor saxophone on instead? Though he couldn't locate the tenor men we wanted, Blackwill did speak candidly on the new strategic agenda between India and the US.
As American ambassador in India, what are the challenges you have been faced with post-September 11?
fishes it out
Does the US president intend to visit India next year?
Will it be a hyphenated visit (will he combine a visit to both India and Pakistan)?

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Is this response limited just to the Indian media?
But there seems to be some justifiable ground for hyphenation. For example, the early indications that sanctions were going to be lifted came between April-June but it didn't happen till after September 11, when sanctions against Pakistan went too.
In the US, there is a debate on how to carry forward the campaign on terrorism. Sudan, Iraq etc, have been mentioned but not Pakistan. Is there no concern about Pakistan?
US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked whether there were instances of the US-led alliance pursuing suspected Al Qaeda terrorists across into Pakistan, and he said "not yet".

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We see Taliban fighters from other countries, like Pakistan, walking away, especially from Kunduz. They aren't being interdicted or eliminated. Isn't that a wrong precedent?
The US has gone beyond the status quo ante on sanctions prevailing since May 1998. It has gone from an automatic presumption of denial on dual-use and high-technology items to a review on a case-by-case basis...
Is the presumption there?
How soon will you put in place a fast-track mechanism for transfer of dual-use and high-end technology?
American analysts are taking the line that "we cannot build up India because it is against Pakistan". Is that the official line?
Are there any inhibitors in full-blooded defence cooperation with India?
Would it be possible for India and the US to straight away jump into active cooperation on specific operations without putting in place a step-by-step build-up to that stage?
Yes.
When is the Lashkar-e-Toiba going to be placed on the Foreign Terrorist Organisation list?
Is there any merit in the Pakistani argument that Kashmir is basically the only thing it can talk about?
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