Indian news source (Rediff.com, Times of India) are reporting that President-elect Obama agrees that India has the right to pursue terrorists across international boundaries.

Here is an excerpt from the Rediff.com article:

Obama, when reminded that during the campaign he had said if there was irrefutable evidence of Al Qaeda leaders and training camps in Pakistan he would go after them with or without Pakistan's permission and asked if India has that same right, replied, "Sovereign nations obviously have a right to protect themselves."

"Beyond that, I don't want to comment on the specific situation that is taking place in South Asia right now," he said, adding, "I think it is important for us to let the investigators do their job in making a determination in terms of who was responsible for carrying out these heinous acts."

Obama said, however, that: "I can tell you, my Administration will remain steadfast in support of India's efforts to catch the perpetrators of this terrible act and bring them to justice, and I will expect that the world community will feel the same way."

This is an interesting statement which could be read to show firm solidarity with India and general support for an expansive understanding of the right of self-defense. However, personally, I would not read this as a US "green light" for India to go ahead and dismatle LeT training camps and capture/kill ISI agents inside Pakistani territory for many reasons, not the least of which is that this is an off-hand statement by the President-elect rather than the sitting President. I think Mr. Obama is merely trying to avoid being drawn into the "tar pit" of South Asian politics (without sounding too hypocritical) while expressing moral solidarity for the victims of a heinous act of terrorism. The naive and ahistorical hope expressed by the President-elect that the investigation will point to other sources or that Pakistan will finally dismantle the terrorist networks on its soil, should also be carefully interpreted by the Indian press.

My hunch is that the US will continue to interpret any conflict between India and Pakistan as harmful to its own War on Terror. Pakistan has clearly intimated that any conflict with India will require pulling troops off of the Western frontier regions. This is both true and strategic blackmail of the US. Notably, the US is willing to be blackmailed by Pakistan as America still believes that it can dismantle terrorist networks only through a cooperative relationship with Pakistan's military.

I think the US approach is misguided/short-sighted and the US needs to exert far more direct leverage against Pakistan in conjunction with India and Afghanistan.

Labels: failed states, india, obama, pakistan, south asia, terrorism, us