The international community won't help us: Indian think tank



In New Delhi there is hectic debate about India's options in responding to the Mumbai attacks. Two emerging views clearly show the divide within the diplomatic and strategic communities.

Many strategic thinkers fear that the United Progressive Alliance government may get bogged down by Western worries about Afghanistan and may agree that the war against the Taliban is 'India's war too'. The consequential logic will hold that it will not be prudent for India to disturb Pakistan's western border by creating tension on the eastern border.

Also, the argument that Pakistan is itself a victim of terror will eventually help its civilian government escape blame.

Pakistan is sure to try and prove to the international community that its democracy needs to be saved and that it will benefit the region. Its rulers will say India's emotions of 'revenge or retaliation' needs to be countered aggressively at a time when Pakistan is trying to send its powerful army to the barracks after many decades.

As a result, believe it or not, after all the diplomacy by India, Pakistan will end up as the net beneficiary of the Mumbai attacks, says a Pakistan expert based in New Delhi.


He explains that the Western powers will end up enriching Pakistan's military and to protect the fragile civil regime in Islamabad , the world will ignore that nation's soft handling of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and the Jaish-e-Mohammad over the course of time. The Western powers want to ensure that till the situation in Afghanistan is under control, Pakistan and Indian leaders should be kept busy in mere posturing and rhetoric.


But this view is strongly countered by some pragmatists and backers of globalisation.
People who take 8 percent growth as the best Indian weapon in diplomacy are using a different premise to argue the best strategic option for New Delhi.


The shoes that were hurled at President George W Bush in Baghdad on Sunday speak volumes of the Western powers's complete lack of credibility to deal with Islamic elements in the world.
If India teams up with the US, Israel and other Western powers it will face the same credibility crisis in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Arab world and China.