Pakistan Terrorism, Sri Lanka Tamil Conflict - India needs full time
foreign minister
by Off Stumped
In stark contrast to the future of India's immediate neighbourhood
looks bleak unless India demonstrates leadership in dealing with the
problems of its neighbours.

Manmohan Singh
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First the never ending spiral of violence in Sri Lanka which is now
threatening to acquire political overtones in India with the Vallipunam
air raid by the Sri Lankan Military which targeted an orphanage hosting
a leadership and first aid training workshop for school girls of
Mullaitivu and Killinochchi at 7 a.m. on 14th August 2006. While the
facts of the incident continue to be debated, M. Karunanidhi, the Chief
Minister of the Indian State of Tamil Nadu, has plunged his state
government into the conflict with the state assembly unanimously
condemning the action of the Lankan government in the strongest possible
terms. Describing the air raid as 'barbaric, uncivilised and inhuman'
the state assembly observed a two minutes silence in honour of the
victims. That matters have to come pass to this extent is a reflection
of the lack of Indian Leadership in resolving this conflict.
Since the ouster of Natwar Singh in the wake of the Iraq Oil for Food
Volcker Report allegations, India has not had a full time Foreign
Minister. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acutely aware of the
Anti-American leanings of the Natwar Singh lead cabal that was out to
hijack Indian Foreign Policy to the stone age and spike the Indo-US
Nuclear deal, had taken on the External Affairs Portfolio. With the
domestic political debate on the Indo-US Nuke deal having run its
logical course, its time Manmohan Singh paid attention to the acute need
for a full time Foreign Minister.
Failure of leadership

Musharraf
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Nothing exemplifies the failure of Indian Leadership in the
sub-continent than the failure to resolve the Sri Lankan Tamil conflict.
The baggage of past mistakes and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination will
have to be shed to chart a new bold path in bringing together the
warring ethnic groups of the Island Nation.
It is in India's self interest to have this issue resolved at the
earliest. It will require a leap of faith on the part of the Tamil's and
the Sinhalese to agree to a Federal Model of devolution of powers along
the lines of the Indian Constitution. What is needed is an Indian
Foreign Minister with the mission and vision to accomplish this task.
Time is of the essence, given the political overtones the issue is
acquiring in India.
While the DMK lead Tamil Nadu state government must be restrained
from adding further fuel to this fire, the recent bombing attempt on the
Pakistan High Commissioner in Sri Lanka is an early warning for India to
get its act right before a Muslim angle further muddies the waters in
the Island Nation.
Speaking of Pakistan, the acute need for a full time Indian Foreign
Minister is being felt ever more as the world debates if Pakistan is a
friend or foe in the war on terrorism. In an op-ed piece in the New York
Times on sunday, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Colin
Powell's confidante, Richard Armitage called upon the Bush
Administration to not get frustrated by the slow progress by Pakistan in
dealing with terrorism, while urging President Bush to further
strengthen Musharraf. In sharp contrast in the Boston Globe, Steven N.
Simon who is the Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle Eastern
Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations cautioned the Bush
Administration on treating the "What after Musharraf" question as a
hypothetical one.

Natwar Singh
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Observing that "*No one is really sure about the loyalty of junior
officers in the army, and there is no reason to believe they are any
more immune to the lure of religious radicalism than civilians their age
*", Steven Simon calls on the Bush Administration to apply more pressure
on the Musharraf regime to share power.
Michael Krepon South Asia security analyst and President Emeritus of
the Henry L Stimson Centre, writing in the YaleGlobal, summed it up best
on India's role. Michael Krepon while hypothesizing on a potential India
Pakistan Military Conflict in the wake of horrific acts of terror
against India, observed that a disproportionate share of the burden to
prevent such a conflict rested on India through heightened domestic
security and renewed diplomacy.
Absence of a multi-pronged strategy
The Manmohan Singh lead Congress UPA Government has been found
seriously wanting on both fronts.
The absence of a multi-pronged strategy to tackle terrorism through a
wholistic approach to Security has been reflected in the spate of terror
incidents starting with last year's New Delhi bomb blasts on the eve of
Diwali, the failed terror strikes on Ayodhya and the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS headquarters in Nagpur and then the deadly serial
bomb blasts in Varnasi and Mumbai.
On the diplomatic front the war on terrorism was waged with a token
note of solidarity at the G-8 summit and tit-for-tat expulsion of
diplomats with Islamabad. While President APJ Abdul Kalam has been far
more vocal on ideas and approaches to tackle terror, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has pretty much been consumed with defending himself
personally on the Indo-US Nuke deal and the Jaswant Singh mole issue.
Terrorism in India
The threat of Pakistan sponsored terrorism in India looms very large.
In the 40 days since the 7-11 serial commuter train bomb blasts, nothing
the Indian Prime Minister has said or done inspires confidence that the
Government's intelligence apparatus is able to connect the dots before
the bombs go off next time around.
Routine allegations
The routine allegations and diplomatic soundbites against Pakistan
from the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson notwithstanding,
nothing the Prime Minister has said or done inspires confidence that the
Government's diplomatic efforts are paying off. Sooner or later a
terrorist attack on a sensitive target will force Manmohan Singh to a
post December 13th predicament. An aggressive BJP response and impending
elections in Uttar Pradesh will pressurize the Manmohan Singh Government
to exercise the Military option in some form or fashion.
Without a full time foreign minister how will India earn the
diplomatic capital to exercise its Military Options with the support of
its allies against global terror ?
* Offstumped Bottomline: Islamic Terrorism in Pakistan and the Sri
Lankan Conflict have reminded us of the acute need for Indian Leadership
in the Sub-Continent. The continued flow of terrorism from Pakistan and
the high risk of an Al-Qaeda attempt on Musharraf raise the spectre of
the dreaded "what after Musharraf" scenario. India needs to be prepared
to deal with that dreaded scenario pre-emptively with both Military and
Diplomatic Options. India needs a full time foreign minister and it
needs it now.*
(Blogger News Network India.)
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