NEW DELHI, 17 June 2003 — India yesterday sought several clarifications from a visiting Pentagon team on the US request for Indian troops to assist in peacekeeping in war-ravaged Iraq, a Foreign Ministry statement said.
“We sought clarifications on a number of issues, including the development of a responsible Iraqi interim administration, future political evolution in Iraq and the humanitarian relief and reconstruction activities,” it said.
“The nature of forces that would be required for stability operations, their role and mandate and the relationship with the United Nations were also discussed.”
The Pentagon delegation was led by Peter Rodman, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and the Indian team by joint secretary in charge of United Nations (political) B.S. Prakash.
The delegation-level talks were followed by a meeting between the Pentagon officials and Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra.
During the day-long talks, the US delegation briefed the Indian side on the political, economic and security situation in Iraq and the role India can play.
The statement added the discussions were part of the “process of wide-ranging consultations that the government proposes to hold to have a better appreciation of the situation and take appropriate decisions.”
The issue of sending troops to Iraq has become a huge domestic political problem for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as the main opposition Congress party and others have stiffly opposed the move.
The leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, met Sunday with the premier to convey the concerns of her party on troop deployment in Iraq.
After the meeting, Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said any decision on the issue would be taken after a national consensus and after speaking to all concerned.
A meeting of all political parties is likely to soon discuss the issue. The government is also faced with the predicament of having issued a call from Parliament asking for the “immediate withdrawal” of troops from Iraq.
However, according to Indian government sources, a decision could still be taken if four to five key concerns were suitably addressed, including in which areas of Iraq would Indian troops be deployed and under whose command.
New Delhi, according to sources, wants the troops to be posted in “non-conflict” areas such as north Iraq. India, furthermore, does not favor sending combat troops primarily due to the risk of its men being killed in the action as has been the case with US troops stationed in Iraq.
Last week, US Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill told reporters the United States was not seeking combat troops from India and that if New Delhi does decide to send its troops, they would work under the Indian flag and not the US flag.
However, in the absence of a United Nations umbrella, India is likely to press for the creation of a peacekeeping force under international control.
