Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
2
The US-India Courtship: From Clinton to Bush
ROBERT M.HATHAWAY
'It's like boy meets girl. We have tried to hold hands but the
kissing
hasn't started.'
1
Former Indian foreign secretary S.K.Singh,
on the US-India
relationship
Preparing to take up his duties as the new American ambassador in India a
quarter century ago, William Saxbe met with the US secretary of state for final
instructions. Henry Kissinger's directive, Saxbe would later recall, was simple
and to the point: 'The less I hear from you and the less I hear about India, the
happier I will be.'
2
How times have changed. In early April 2001, two months into the
administration of George W.Bush, India's external affairs and defense minister
journeyed to Washington. During his one-day visit, Jaswant Singh met with the
US secretaries of state and defense and the national security advisor,
Condoleezza Rice, all of whom emphasized that the new administration had high
expectations for US-India relations. During Singh's meeting with Rice, President
Bush dropped by and, in a gesture accorded signal importance by Indian analysts,
invited the minister for a stroll in the Rose Garden and further discussion in the
Oval Office. The president asked his Indian visitor to brief him on the situation
throughout Asia. New Delhi was elated: Washington, at last, now regarded India
as a country whose power and influence extended beyond the subcontinent, and
whose cooperation and advice were being sought on issues far removed from
South Asia.
Five months later, New Delhi repaid the compliment. Following the
September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the
Indian government stepped forward with remarkable speed to extend, in the
words of one New Delhi official, 'unconditional and unambivalent support' to
the United States.
3
Going well beyond the perfunctory offer to share intelligence
with Washington, India volunteered its military bases as a staging ground for US
forces preparing to strike targets in Afghanistan. Such an offer would have been
