The Hindu : No use now

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 16, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

No use now

Sir, — Though a retired Army Colonel, I am firmly of the view that sending Indian troops to Iraq now will serve no purpose. Leaving aside the command and control problems and the distinct difference from that of sending troops under a U.N. mandate, any force sent now will be performing the roles similar to that of our troops in Kashmir.

In Iraq various anti-establishment and fanatical forces are joining hands and hence our troops will invariably be exposed to explosive situations on ground. And our commanders will be expected to function with their hand tied. This would be suicidal, no matter what the Pentagon personnel say.

Rather than sending troops now, it would be ideal to mobilise NGOs and the corporate sector to rebuild Iraq and to take part in the social upliftment of the people there.

The scope for our companies in the development of the infrastructure must be explored to the maximum.

R.V.S. Mani,
Madurai, T.N.

Sir, __ The war on Iraq itself was unjust, and the prolonged illegal occupation of Iraq by the U.S. & the U.K. is still more unjust. The U.S. request for Indian troops to Iraq deserves outright rejection. Any move to send troops will be seen as a blatant violation of the spirit of the anti-war resolution adopted by Parliament and against the will of the people.

The need of the hour is that India must play a major role against the illegal occupation of the foreign forces.

The despatch of Indian troops would send wrong signals in particular to the Arab World and it will intensify our isolation from the Arab nations.

Syed Moinuddin,
Chennai

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