Dr Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director and Research Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University's Sigur Center for Asian Studies says, "For many outsiders, trying to get a fix on India's foreign policy, often is ambiguity and mixed signals."
Professor Deepa Ollapally said, "The way in which this was carried out, it does suggest that they needed some fairly sophisticated, coordinated planning. And, if the reports are true about their rounding up Americans and British, then it sounds like there is an Al Qaeda hand possibly, which again would be the most obvious difference between every other terrorist attack that has gone on before (in India)."
The viability of the envisaged United States-India strategic partnership is once again under the microscope. Aziz Haniffa reports
United States President Barack Obama has ended years of 'veto power' wielded by Pakistan in Afghanistan over India's active involvement in the country post-Taliban, a US expert on South Asia has said. Because of Pakistan's stiff resistance and opposition to involve India in any way in Afghanistan that the Bush administration was literally prevented to take any move to include New Delhi as part of its regional strategy on Afghanistan, said Deepa Ollapally.
The Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University, as part of its expanding set of programs, including those on China, Japan, and Korea, has launched an India Initiative to be headed by Professor Deepa Ollapally, associate director at the center.