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.
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.'
"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
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.
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.
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.