>BTW, C'da: I suspect this might be a damper on your spirits :)
Ouch, Alpana. That stung :-). But seriously, I have no use for how good India might look in the USA. My feelings of elation on how the foreign minister might appear in CNN is really very far from my interests in things Indian :-). At 2:29 PM -0500 9/28/03, Alpana Sarangapani wrote: > Just saw Yashwant Sinha's interview on CNN. It was a good interview >and Sinha portrayed himself and India with great dignity and has held her >ground. He seems really smart and articulate. Are Foreign ministers >in India are selected from the IAS/IFS cadre or are they just elected >officials? BTW, C'da: I suspect this might be a damper on your >spirits :), but what can I say, good things do happen when it comes to >India. > >--------------------------------------------------- > > > >Powell Gives Up Hope for Indian Troops > > > >http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-US-Iraq-Troops.html > > By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > >Published: September 28, 2003 >Filed at 2:59 p.m. ET > >NEW YORK (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that the >United States has given up hope of getting Indian soldiers to help >coalition forces secure Iraq, but said he was optimistic countries would >contribute troops after a U.N. resolution. > > > >``The Indians, they have indicated they would not be in a position to >provide troops. And I don't expect that position to change,'' Powell said >in an interview on the television news channel CNN. > > Advertisement > > >Powell said he was disappointed with New Delhi's decision but ``it's >become clear in recent months that, for a variety of reasons, internal >political domestic politics, the Indians would not be in a position to >provide troops.'' > > > >Powell said the United States could not count anymore on a large number of >international troops for deployment in Iraq. ``But is there still the >possibility of more troop contributors? Yes.'' > > > >India, with one of the largest standing armies in the world, has been a >regular contributor to world peacekeeping -- it has served in 37 out of >the 56 U.N. peacekeeping missions, including those in Somalia, East Timor >and Sierra Leone. > > > >But when the government asked Parliament this month to approve deploying >Indian soldiers to Iraq, lawmakers balked, saying India would join only if >troops were under a U.N. commander. > > > >Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha suggested his country >could reconsider, but said a U.N. stamp for Iraqi peacekeeping was >essential. > > > >India would ``take a decision provided there is a fresh U.N. Security >Council resolution for a mandate for a multinational force,'' Sinha told >CNN on Sunday. > > > >On the sidelines of the two-week U.N. General Assembly session that opened >Tuesday, both President Bush and Powell have been meeting with world >leaders, seeking troop contributions to make the coalition in Iraq >broader and hopefully improve the security situation. > > > >The Bush administration had hoped to set up a third division of 10,000 to >15,000 peacekeeping troops with contributions from India, Pakistan, Turkey >and South Korea. > > > >But most countries say that they would do so only after the U.N. Security >Council mandates such a force. Countries like Pakistan, which is >overwhelmingly Muslim, and India, which has a large Muslim population, >are concerned that sending troops to join the U.S. and British-led >coalition could be seen as hostile to Islam. > > > >``It is important that our troops not be seen as part of an occupation >force,'' Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told The Associated Press >Wednesday before his meeting with Bush. > > > >Washington still differs with countries such as Germany and France, which >want a quicker transfer of power to the Iraqis and a larger role for the >United Nations in postwar Iraq. That could delay a Security Council >resolution for months. > > > > > > > >Content-Type: image/gif; > name="spacer.gif" >Content-Location: http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif > >Attachment converted: Macintosh HD:spacer.gif (GIFf/JVWR) (000F9AF7) _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
