"India Wary of US 'Regional Approach'"

By M.K. Bhadrakumar, a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service... In the WPR, here

"...what the Obama administration can do is to swiftly facilitate the commencement of an inter-Afghan dialogue leading to a coalition government in Kabul and a withdrawal of the foreign forces.

The U.S. ought to seek Russia and Iran's cooperation in stabilizing Afghanistan.Many vested interests have developed in the U.S. security establishment, which seek a prolongation of the war and a widening of its scope to include Pakistani territory. That makes Afghanistan a political minefield for Obama.

Obama would do well to remember that the U.S. is largely responsible for destabilizing Pakistan, and both Pakistan's and the region's long-term stability depends on a quick end to the war in Afghanistan and foreign occupation. Alongside, the international community must undertake an effective program of reconstruction in Afghanistan.

On the broader regional plane, the U.S. should promote an even-handed policy towards Pakistan and India, which does not generate misgivings in Pakistan about a pro-India "tilt" on the part of the U.S., or breed in the Indian mind any illusions of grandeur as the pre-eminent Indian Ocean power between the Persian Gulf and the Malacca Straits..."