NEW DELHI, 27 May 2003 — India’s security Cabinet has decided to seek clarification from the United Nations before considering whether to send troops to Iraq as part of an international force, a top official said yesterday.
India will, however, return an ambassador to Baghdad said Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
The United States has requested that Indian troops deploy as part of the international force, but New Delhi was reportedly weighing its decision because the troops would be under US and British command, not UN command.
“India welcomes the fact that the UN Security Council has reached an agreement on the way forward in Iraq as expressed in UN Security Council resolution 1483,” Sibal told reporters after the meeting.
“We know that in the resolution, the UN has appealed to all its members to assist the people of Iraq in their efforts to reform their institutions and rebuild their country and to constitute true conditions of security and stability in Iraq.”
India’s Foreign Ministry would discuss with the UN the “scope of the appeal” before the Cabinet decides on the kind of help India can give, added Sibal, the top-ranking bureaucrat in the Foreign Ministry.
New Delhi has consistently argued that all operations in Iraq be under the auspices of the United Nations and not the US-led coalition.
India opposed the war in Iraq and during the conflict the Indian Parliament passed a resolution condemning it.
Ahead of the CCS meeting, Vajpayee was briefed by army chief Gen. N.C. Vij on the security situation. During the discussions, the anti-insurgency operations being undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir came up. This was vital because to send troops to Iraq, India would have to pull a significant number from J&K and other areas.
During the two meetings, besides Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Defense Minister George Fernandes, air chief S. Krishnaswamy, defense secretary and home secretary, among others were present.
Just a day ahead of the CCS meeting, the Left parties called on the government not to send troops to Iraq. A joint statement signed by the CPI (M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc said: “There should be no involvement at the military level with the occupation regime.”
Also, India is more concerned about whether it can bag any lucrative contracts in Iraq’s reconstruction drive by sending its troops there.
Otherwise as a source said, “it does not make sense to clean up the Americans’ mess at our expense, especially if there is a possibility of losing our men.”
Even if India does not bag any contracts, who is going to pay for its troops’ presence in Iraq?
Besides, with general elections just a year way, the present government does not want to pay politically by making a costly mistake. There is no guarantee that Indian troops’ presence will help stability return to Iraq. They may definitely help US in withdrawing some of its soldiers. But then should India take the risk?
For the time being, India has deliberately decided to stay non-committal as the ball is in United States’ court, dependent on what can it offer India if it sends its troops to Iraq.
