Author: K.P. Nayar
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: December 20, 2001
And now, the Bush doctrine. The
White House has conceded under increasing pressure from the US and the
international media that as long as India does not "retaliate harshly"
for the attack on Parliament, the Americans would look the other way.
As part of daily briefings here,
which are becoming increasingly fractious on Indo-Pakistan relations, White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer was asked the following question:
Q: You folks have been urging them
(Indians) not to retaliate harshly, but said they had a right to self-defence.
Is it a fair indication of the Bush doctrine in this case?
Fleischer: Well, as you stated correctly,
India has a legitimate right to self-defence. And at the same time, the
President counsels that this is a very difficult situation in the region
and one that could spiral out of control.
Simultaneously, state department
spokesman Richard Boucher was asked at his briefing.
Q: Richard, just as you held Yasser
Arafat responsible for closing down Hamas and PIJ (Palestinian Islamic
Jihad) in the (Israeli-occupied) territories, are you also holding General
Musharraf responsible for closing down these terrorist camps? And do you
think that it is his responsibility to do so?
Boucher: As I think the secretary
(of state) made clear over the weekend, you can't apply one scenario to
another just simply back and forth. But we have, I think, made quite clear
as we have in our talks with the government of Pakistan our concerns about
the activities of these militant groups and the need for the government
to take action against terrorism within its own borders.
Q: Why can't you apply the same
standard?
Boucher: Because things are different,
places are different.
Q: How is it different in Pakistan?
Boucher (increasingly irritated):
I don't think we can spend every day here comparing and contrasting in
seven different ways every situation in the world. I just think it is fairly
obvious that situations can be different from place to place.
Q: You said things are different.
Why different? I mean, the question is, like Arafat.
Boucher: That's what she just asked
me. And I will stand by the answer I just gave her.
Q: No, but let me ask you one more
thing. Like Arafat, General Musharraf, he has a revolving door in Pakistan
for terrorists. They enter from the front and then he lets them out from
the back door. Now, and the question is, why India cannot attack Pakistan's
occupied Kashmiri terrorist camps when Israel can attack and US gave the
green light for Israel to attack the Palestinian.
Boucher (angry): All right, can
we stop there? If you put too many wrong things in your question, there
is no way I can give you any answer... We are fighting terrorism. We will
continue to do so. I am going to stop right there and hope you will as
well.
Yesterday Boucher revealed that
Colin Powell had spoken once again on the phone on Monday to Jaswant Singh.
He said: "Our basic view has not
changed... The Indians need to conduct their investigation, need to consider
what the appropriate action might be to help protect their people against
terrorism, to help protect their democracy against terrorism... We have
made it quite clear in our discussions with the Pakistani government that
as we pursue terrorism next door, that all countries have an obligation
to work against terrorism within their own borders, and that we look to
the Pakistani government to work against extremist groups that operate
out of Pakistan."
Boucher also revealed that Powell
had talked to Musharraf "at least once... it might have been more than
that. The President (Bush) has been in touch with them... We are looking
for them to take action against extremist groups that might be operating
from there, in Pakistan".
Earlier, the spokesman said the
Americans had talked to Pakistan "about Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad
as organisations that have participated in terrorist activities...We have
conveyed our concerns about the situation to the government of Pakistan
at the highest levels. We have talked to them about the activities of militant
groups, several of which are based in Pakistan. We made clear that we believe
that all countries are responsible for addressing terrorist activities
within their borders, and we will continue our discussions with Pakistan
in that context as well".