'How could we have gone from a position of strength in the international community to virtual isolation,' asks Karl F Inderfurth, former US assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs.
"I think the principle benefit would be greater visibility to the relationship at the highest level with President Obama and Prime Minister Singh," Karl F 'Rick' Inderfurth, the former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs said.
In this exclusive interview to Aziz Haniffa, Inderfurth says that, however, 'Obama can certainly leave his own mark in the relationship with continuing to build on what his two predecessors have done.'
Former top diplomat Karl Inderfurth explains to rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra that India not being mentioned much during the US presidential campaign is actually a good thing
Karl F Inderfurth, former assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs in former United States President Bill Clinton's administration and a foreign policy adviser in the Barack Obama presidential campaign, says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to India was 'continuity plus', vis--vis the growing strategic partnership between Washington and New Delhi.Inderfurth said, "This visit was filled with areas to promote even closer cooperation."
Former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Karl F Inderfurth, has told the US Congress that Washington should publicly support India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, arguing that the India's case has never been stronger.
Inderfurth, currently professor of international relations at George Washington University and, according to insiders, either the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the next administration or the next United States ambassador to India, says too much is being read into Obama's recent remarks on Kashmir.
Karl 'Rick' Inderfurth, foreign policy advisor on South Asia for United States President-elect Barack Obama's campaign, who is expected to play an influential role in the Obama administration's policy on the subcontinent, says, "It was said immediately after the 9/11 attack that 'we are all Americans'. Now, in the wake of the Mumbai tragedy, it is right for all of us to say 'we are all Indians.'
"It is now time for Pakistan to say, we are with you and we will take action because we now face a common threat and that is from radical Islamic militants," said Karl Inderfurth, who is likely to play an important role in the incoming Obama administration.
Observing that China has been anxiously watching the rise of Indo-United States relationship, a former top US diplomat believes New Delhi doesn't want to be caught in this Sino-US game at the global level.
The India Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies -- a leading Washington, DC think tank -- will be occupied by Karl F Inderfurth, erstwhile Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in the Clinton Administration.
Karl F Inderfurth, who was Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in the Clinton administration, and Nicholas Burns, who was Under Secretary of State in the Bush Administration, told rediff.com that Obama's endorsement during his address to a joint session of Parliament thus made his visit to India transformational too in a sense as had the trip by Clinton in March of 2000 and Bush in March 2006.
"I believe it would a great thing if the president were to do this during his visit," Karl Inderfurth, professor of international relations at George Washington University, told Rediff India Abroad
'In the time I have been an Indiawallah, I have seen three US Presidential visits to India, nuclear sanctions, nuclear cooperation, a border conflict with Pakistan, the growth of IT services, a government losing a confidence vote, and so much more,' Rick Rossow, the new Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.
"The incident involving India's deputy consul general was outrageous, deplorable and inexcusable. Period. Full stop."
The United States should support India's bid for a permanent United Nations Security Council seat and work actively for the expansion of the top multilateral body, former American diplomat Karl Inderfurth said on Thursday."It is time for the US to publicly support India's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and to work actively with India and others to accomplish the goal of expansion of the UNSC," he said.
Bruce Riedel and Karl F Inderfurth, who were the point persons for South Asia in the Clinton administration and are expected to play key roles if a Democratic administration recaptures the White House, particularly a Hillary Clinton Administration, have bemoaned the unraveling of the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement.
United States President Barack Obama has nominated Nisha Desai Biswal as the new assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs.
'Taranjit has the ideal temperament to deal with the Americans who understand firmness and appreciate flexibility.' 'He can hold his ground with a cheerful face and still make it clear that India and the US are partners, rivals,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
What will a BJP government in New Delhi mean for Washington? Four senior US officials who served in the Clinton administration during the NDA government, offer their perspective, says Aziz Haniffa.
The start of Indian lobbying in the US can be traced back to Pakistan's anti-India lobbying. Policy wonk Ashok Sharma documents this journey and its catalytic role in transforming the US-India relationship.
'Progress demands regular senior-level attention from American leaders.' 'A leaders' summit is great, but we need sustained engagement to continue to forge new agreements and find new areas of cooperation.'
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