Douglas Feith (WSJ) opinion piece on India

[Buzz Clik]

India Is a Key Ally in the War on Terror

By DOUGLAS J. FEITH
At a Pentagon meeting in 2002, a Muslim official from an Asian country observed that there were nearly as many Muslim citizens of India as of Pakistan, yet it was virtually unheard of that an Indian Muslim would join al Qaeda, while many Pakistanis had done so. Why? Because India is free and democratic, he asserted.

His point was not that democracy is a cure-all, but that the problem of terrorism cannot be solved by military or law-enforcement means alone. In other words, it is also crucial to confront the challenge at the level of ideas: to counter extremist teachings, and to promote democratic reforms with the aim of undermining the appeal of extremist Islamism.

The 9/11 attack intensified the Bush administration's interest in India. President Bush had come into office intent on transforming the U.S.-India relationship into a strategic partnership -- one that would acknowledge India's emergence as one of the world's most populous democratic countries, with an information-age economy, formidable military capabilities, and the ambition to increase its role in world affairs.

U.S.-Indian strategic cooperation received a boost early on when Jaswant Singh, then serving simultaneously as India's foreign and defense minister, visited Mr. Bush in the Oval Office in April 2001. Mr. Singh highlighted the countries' shared concerns about Asian security, particularly Indian-U.S. joint interests in missile defense.

The latter was a bold point on a controversial Bush administration initiative. Administration officials appreciated that Mr. Singh was signaling India's eagerness to establish common ground with the United States, even at the risk of protests from Russia, India's close friend during the Cold War.

The Pentagon played a leading role in building on the Bush-Singh dialogue. The U.S.-India Defense Policy Group (DPG), which I co-chaired with my Indian counterpart, forged extensive military-to-military links and opened channels for defense trade. The DPG became a forum for wide-ranging strategic talks beyond bilateral and regional issues.

--more--

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122852309320484387.html

Oh, I forgot the subhead for the title of his article: "Obama has a chance to build on sound Bush diplomacy."

Sweet Jesus. :rofl:

[lapfog_1]

1. "the fucking stupidest guy on the planet" - Tommy Franks - n/t

[hlthe2b]

2. Exactly... that quote should be attached to any OP Eds or other

writings this jerk tries to publish from here on out.

[Enrique]

4. it is attached

i can't imagine a single person seeing his byline and not thinking of that quote. Forever.

[lapfog_1]

6. I do my best to attach it here everytime someone mentions him.

a. because it's funny

and

b. because it is true

(only true observations have a good chance of being really really funny)

[Enrique]

3. poor Douglas Feith

how can he EVER overcome that devastatingly memorable quote? :rofl:

[lapfog_1]

5. He really only had one chance...

and that would have been by NOT being the "stupidest fucking guy on the planet".

Unfortunately, according to Ron White (who should know considering some of the people he used to tour with)... "you can't fix stupid".

[jimshoes]

7. Ah, and here is another one who has earned the

distinction of "You're wasting a valuable portion of your life by reading or listening to anything this fellow has to offer".

[anonymous171]

8. While Pakistan isn't much of an ally, India is even worse.

Mostly because Pakistan doesn't like them very much.