Karachi Street, photo by Hassan, http://www.flickr.com/photos/hassam/2743778197/sizes/m/in/photostream/
The recent announcement that the United States is suspending about one-third of its military assistance is understandable at one level — but both the United States and Pakistan still need each other, and this is not the way to avoid a breakup. Instead, they need to rebuild the relationship around a civilian core, recognizing the strategic importance of Pakistan’s economy, and to focus on a more modest and concrete set of shared objectives on the security side.
The United States is not seen in India as a declining power. [Indian commentators] do, however, express concern that the United States is not mobilizing its sources of power as effectively as it might. Indian elites with a range of backgrounds and interests fervently hope that the United States will remain powerful and will use its power wisely.
Read assessments of how ten key countries evaluate shifting patterns of U.S. power in the world. Teresita Schaffer’s chapter on India, “Continued Primacy, Diminished Will,” is on pp. 56-65. Full text, published on the CSIS web site June 2011.
In late May 2009, I happened to be visiting Rome, walking on a Sunday afternoon with my Rome-based brother near one of the city’s
Photo by Marcus Spring, http://www.flickr.com/photos/springm/3542590882/sizes/m/in/photostream/
lovely parks, when we noticed a huge and apparently cheerful crowd of people at the nearby Sri Lankan embassy… We spent about 45 minutes enjoying Sri Lankan hospitality and some delicious kiri-bath. In that short time, the Ambassador and two members of his staff each pulled me aside and spoke earnestly of the importance of creating genuine reconciliation in the country. It was a moment of honesty and hope.
Gnana Moonesinghe’s wide-ranging collection of essays is another response to that moment, in the same spirit. She sets the tone in the Editor’s Note that begins the volume: “This publication is a response to the post war dilemma of how best to bring together the different communities and build a nation on strong foundations, of inclusivity, fairness, justice, equality and contentment for all.”
Read my review of Gnana Moonesinghe’s book Nation-Building, published in the Colombo Sunday Times July 10, 2011.
Russia’s concerns about Afghanistan stem mainly from its impact on their neighborhood through narcotics trafficking and the export of Islamic radicalism. China’s growing economic footprint is also a worry. There seems little Russian interest in a major policy role .
June 21, 2011: Peter Burleigh is just arriving in Delhi for his second stint in less than three years as the U.S. chargé d’affaires during what is expected to be a long interregnum between ambassadors. This is a useful time to reflect on how ambassadors figure in the shaping of U.S.-India ties, and how well both countries are tending the diplomatic side of their emerging relationship.
