Thursday, June 10, 2010

Revising India's Strategy in Afghanistan: Toward Long-Term Pro-Active Initiatives

jun 9th, 2010

sounds a little fishy to me -- breaking bread with the taliban is decidedly counterproductive for india. remember we were one of the principal supporters of the northern alliance, ahmed shah massoud's anti-taliban force which defeated the taliban.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ram Narayanan


Dear Rajeev Srinivasan:

Revising India's Strategy in Afghanistan: Toward Long-Term Pro-Active Initiatives 

A NEW APPROACH FOR INDIA IN AFGHANISTAN

The India Research Group, a think-tank of Indian policy professionals, released comprehensive recommendations today to revise India's strategy in Afghanistan. The report – "India's strategy in Afghanistan: A Farewell to Dilemmas" says that India needs an independent, long-term policy toward Afghanistan driven by pro-active initiatives.

The report which has been drafted by a taskforce of Indian development professionals and academics who have worked extensively in Afghanistan was informed by insights from veteran Indian experts on Afghanistan.

"India's stakes in Afghanistan are multi-faceted and India's policies there will affect the way other countries perceive India", says Raja Karthikeya, one of the lead authors of the report.

The report says that India enjoys tremendous soft power in Afghanistan but the challenge lies in converting that soft power into influence. Also, Pashtuns in Afghanistan feel alienated by India, and the report recommends a series of measures to address this perception. The report argues that while there are no "good" or "bad" Taliban, the Taliban are not a monolithic political entity and that hence, India should differentiate its approach towards various groups that constitute the Taliban in different regions of Afghanistan. Broadly, in pushing for an Afghan rather than an externally mediated solution to the conflict, India should back the Karzai government's Reconciliation efforts with the Taliban.

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Please read the text of the full report, which contains a 4 page executive summary followed by a 28 page text, before offering any comments. The complete report can be downloaded from
http://www.tirgroup.org  or click here 

Cheers,

Ram Narayanan
US-India Friendship 
http://usindiafriendship.net/ 



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