International
Terrorism may not dominate Advani visit
By Sridhar Krishnaswami
WASHINGTON, JAN. 7. Whether or not the United States takes a decision to send `somebody' to South Asia to help defuse tension there, the Bush administration, its South Asia hands notably, is expected to be perked up when one of India's senior leaders visits Washington for three days starting Tuesday evening.
The principal interlocutors of the Home Minister, L.K. Advani, is the U.S. Attorney-General, John Ashcroft, and the Justice Department but Mr. Advani's visit is seen in a much broader context over and beyond what the U.S. and India are doing in the realm of fighting global terrorism. That New Delhi and Washington may be fine-tuning ways of tracking down terrorists in a variety of ways is just one facet of the trip.
In substantive terms, Mr. Advani will be having two days of intense interactions with senior members of the Republican administration, including the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and the National Security Advisor, Condolezza Rice. And the moot question is whether during the meeting at the White House with Dr. Rice, the U.S. President, George W. Bush would ``drop by'' for a conversation.
Mr. Advani will also have the opportunity to interact with a select group of people from leading think tanks. And, of course, there is the reception meeting with the Indian American community, hosted by India's Ambassador, Lalit Mansingh.
The Bush administration is as much interested in knowing from Mr. Advani the latest in the subcontinent, especially in the post-Kathmandu phase as it is in making clear where Washington is coming from. Mr. Advani will be paid special attention in the sense that he comes from a very conservative background, seen as a hawk and a possible successor to the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee.
Mr. Advani comes to town at a time when the Bush administration faces a lot of difficulty in dealing with South Asia in the post-September 11 scenario. The fact is that Washington has been compelled to do the `balancing' act as Pakistan has been taken on board as a key member in the anti- terrorism coalition.
Over the last two weeks or so the Bush administration has been focussing on the immediate - the military buildup along the border with the apprehension that this could get out of hand. On the one hand, it has been leaning on the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to crack down hard on terror outfits; and on the other hand no less a person than the President has been urging India to ``take note'' of what Gen. Musharraf has been doing.
But as a news analysis by David Sanger in The New York Times points out, the Republican administration is yet to have a strategy to fit the new reality of the post- September 11 as it pertains to India and Pakistan.
In assuming that the present crisis can be defused, Mr. Bush will have to start to address the substance of the Kashmir dispute as well as the threat posed by the nuclear arsenals of the two countries, it is being pointed out.
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