Pentagon team to visit India soon

A team of senior Pentagon officials will shortly visit India to discuss the nitty-gritty of a possible Indian troop deployment in Iraq to as...

A team of senior Pentagon officials will shortly visit India to discuss the nitty-gritty of a possible Indian troop deployment in Iraq to assist US forces.

An understanding to this effect was reached between Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday. The US request for the Indian troop deployment dominated the 40-minute meeting between Advani and Rumsfeld.

The Deputy Prime Minister, according to sources, did not give any commitment to Rumsfeld, pointing out that a final decision had to be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). He maintained that he had been authorised by the CCS to elicit Rumsfeld’s views and get back to it. India, he told the Defence Secretary, was not averse to the US proposal but had certain concerns which had to be addressed.

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Advani wanted to know the time-frame for which the Indian troops would be needed. He sought details of the administrative structure which the US had put in place in Iraq. Keen on being seen to perform only a peace-keeping role, India was curious to find out if the US had drawn a roadmap for transfer of power to the people of Iraq. Besides, the two sides had to work out a formula for ensuring Indian troops worked only under the command of Indian officers. Once, the two sides thrashed out these issues, the CCS could go in to the final draft arrangement and put its seal on the proposal.

Rumsfeld, sources disclosed, listed three advantages which could accrue to India if it participated in the peace-keeping effort. One, it would enable India to become an active partner in the global war against terror and become the third important player in the exercise after the US and Britain.

Two, it would boost India’s overall standing in the Gulf region. Three, India would be able to join the reconstruction programme, which implied economic gains.

An Indian Embassy release said Rumsfeld ‘‘raised the question of India contributing troops for the stabilisation of Iraq. The Deputy Prime Minister said that this matter was under consideration of Government of India and that a decision will be taken after taking all aspects in to account’’.

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The American delegation included US Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (South Asia affairs) Bill Lutti, while the Indian team included Home Secretary N. Gopalaswami, Indian Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, Joint Secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry Jayant Prasad, Intelligence Bureau director K.P. Singh and Advani’s OSD Ajay Prasad. The two sides also discussed the issue of defence cooperation.

‘‘The next meeting of the defence policy group has been proposed for August 6 and 7 in Washington DC,’’ the released added.