'Kashmir makes N. Ireland look like an easy deal'

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

NEW YORK, SEPT. 11. The United States is not in a position to mediate in the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan, and ought to continue to improve relations with the two South Asian nations, says the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Joseph Biden.

``Kashmir makes Northern Ireland look like it's an easy deal. And I'm being a little facetious, but I'm serious...it's (meaning Kashmir) a gigantic, gigantic, gigantic issue. I think we should provide our good offices when they are sought, but I don't think we're in a position to be able to mediate in that,'' the Democratic Senator from Delaware remarked to a question at the National Press Club in Washington.

Mr. Biden, who recently wrote a letter to the President urging him to lift sanctions against India, also made the point that with respect to Pakistan it was going to be difficult to remove the punitive measures on account of the democracy component. But the objective of the United States should be to have better relations with both India and Pakistan, the Senator noted.

``I applaud the President on his pro-active initiatives with regard to bettering relations in the sub- continent, particularly with India,'' Mr. Biden said. The Chairman of the powerful foreign policy panel spoke of the broader challenges to American foreign policy in the 21st Century and did not waste time to sharply criticise - and in blunt words at that - the President, Mr. George W. Bush's Missile Defence Plan.

Calling the Missile Defence Plan `a dangerous nonsense' that could propel not only a new arms race but also divert scarce funds from real defence needs, Mr. Biden argued that if Washington moved away from the 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty, that could harm America's standing in the global community.

``I don't believe our national interest can be furthered, let alone achieved in splendid indifference to the rest of the world,'' Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden argued that it would ``absolute lunacy'' to ask China either to resume nuclear testing or expand its arsenal. Recent media reports had said that the Bush administration may be inclined to go in this direction in return for Beijing's support for the Missile Defence Plan.

The reports were quickly disputed by senior administration officials but apprehensions remain on the exact intentions of this Republican administration. Even conservatives are beginning to see the price for supporting the Missile Defence Plan getting too high.

The senior Democratic law-maker sees a domino effect in the Bush administration pursuing with its Missile Defence Plan: that it would most certainly have a response from China, with India following on what China did, and prompting Pakistan to boost nuclear production. Add to this Taiwan, North and South Korea and Japan could be pushed into building their own nuclear weapons, Mr. Biden warns.

Mr. Biden's remarks on the Missile Defence Plan, sanctions and Kashmir come at a time when a meeting between the Indian Prime Minister and the American President is due to take place on September 24 here on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting. Both Mr. A.B. Vajpayee and Mr. Bush are expected to discuss a range of issues as the two countries are looking for ways to push bilateral relations to new heights.

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Section  : International
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