Advani's crusade

President George Bush, with his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, meets Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani at the White House on June 9. - AP

THE warm welcome accorded by the Bush administration to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani during his recent visit to the United States is an indication of the high esteem with which he is held by the powers that be in Washington. Influential members of the U.S. government seem to share the ideological world-view of Advani. His crusade against what he characterises as the campaign of "jehadi terrorism'' being waged by Pakistan against India, which was the recurring topic during his visit, has been appreciated by the Christian fundamentalists holding key positions in the Bush administration.

Advani, who is an unabashed admirer of the present Israeli government, also has the support of the powerful Jewish-American lobby, which is a key and consistent factor in U.S. politics. Sections of the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Advani, believe that if India manages to forge the kind of relationship Israel has with the U.S., it will get a free hand in South Asia.

President George W. Bush, who these days is loath to meet leaders from countries that have dared to differ with the U.S. on the Iraq issue, spent more than half an hour with Advani. Bush coincidentally "dropped in" when Advani was having a scheduled meeting with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. It may be recalled that he similarly "dropped in" when Rice was holding talks with India's National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra during his visit in May. According to reports in the U.S. media, senior officials are enamoured of Advani's straight talk and political style. He is viewed as the Prime Minister-in-waiting by the Bush administration.

U.S. Ambassador in India Robert Blackwill has been in regular contact with Advani in an effort to defuse the tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. Under America's prodding, Advani's hawkish stance on the issue of resumption of the dialogue process with Islamabad has mellowed considerably. He no longer seems to have any objection to the U.S. trying to broker peace between India and Pakistan.

However, the major focus of U.S. interest during Advani's visit was in securing India's consent for the deployment of Indian troops in Iraq. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met Advani on a Sunday - a holiday, and the discussions between the two naturally centred around this issue. Rumsfeld, who has few friends in the international diplomatic corps, is desperately seeking new allies to bail the U.S. troops out of the military quagmire that they finds themselves in in Iraq. None of its traditional allies is willing to help the U.S. clean up the mess it has created in that country. It is learnt that the Indian Army is not too happy with the prospect of sending its men to Iraq. Defence Minister George Fernandes is said to be opposed to any such move under the banner of "peace-keeping". The Defence Ministry prefers to send a token force to help rebuild the shattered medical and educational infrastructure of Iraq.

In the event, Advani was quick to announce after his talks with Rumsfeld that the "question of India contributing troops for the stabilisation of Iraq is under the consideration of the Government of India". His statement came at a time when the guerilla attack on the U.S. occupation forces had escalated. According to reports, the U.S. wants Indian "peace-keepers" to be deployed in the Kurd-dominated northern Iraq, specifically in the cities of Mosul and Kirkuk. The Kurds are the only section of the Iraqi population that has accepted the American invasion force, but in urban areas like Mosul, there is a large and sullen Arab minority, which is bound to view any force supporting the U.S. as an enemy. Iran, with which India claims to have a strategic relationship, will also not be happy with the presence of Indian troops under the de facto leadership of the U.S..

A Pentagon team is visiting New Delhi in the third week of June in an effort to convince the doubters in the Defence Ministry. Most of the Opposition parties are opposed to the idea of deploying Indian troops in Iraq, though the main Opposition party, the Congress(I) is evidently wavering on the issue. Congress(I) spokesman S. Jaipal Reddy had said recently that sending troops would go against the spirit of the unanimous resolution on Iraq passed by Parliament in March.

Advani also had wide-ranging discussions with Attorney-General John Ashcroft on issues relating to terrorism. Ashcroft is unpopular with human rights activists owing to his implementation of the draconian anti-terrorism laws in the U.S. Many South Asians, most of them Muslims, are still incarcerated in U.S. jails. The Indian Home Ministry and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have for several years now had close cooperation in the global fight against terrorism. Advani also met Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary for Homeland Security Tom Ridge.

Incidentally, several organisations grouped under the banner of the "Coalition to Support Democracy and Pluralism in India" wrote to senior Bush administration officials that they were not "comfortable" with the fact that it was conducting talks "with people like Advani''. The letter pointed out that Advani was "directly responsible for criminal activities against religious minorities and gross violations of human rights". Relatives of the victims of the Gujarat riots and Indian-Americans staged a token demonstration outside the Indian embassy in Washington on June 10 against Advani's visit.