THOSE WITHOUT LEGS TO STAND ON NEED CRUTCHES.

“Obama's Kashmir focus a colossal blunder: US expert,” writes Mr. Aziz Haniffa from Washington, D.C. referring to strategic affairs specialist Dr Ashley Tellis who believes that the November 26 terror attacks on Mumbai has given birth to the "misguided notion" that a resolution of the Kashmir dispute is imperative to rein in terrorism in South Asia, and that this should be the priority of the proposed special envoy to the region.

Such an agenda, warns Dr Tellis, currently a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, would be "a colossal blunder."

"It's an example of facile solutions that people are reaching for because they have either not done the analysis or they have not thought through the solution carefully," the Mumbai-born Dr Tellis said. "Everyone is gravitating towards what appears to be the sexy solution. The difficulty is that it will only make things worse." Shades of George W. Bush’s Iraq misadventure?

As long as India keeps begging others for support it will be kicked around. Starting with the USA all countries believe and practice that their own interests lay above all other considerations, including puny Israel. An ineffective and effete India of Mahatma Gandhi wants to be an exception which results in even insignificant countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh showing India total disregard. Unless India asserts its own priorities as sacrosanct like China does, all other countries will keep playing ducks and drakes with us.

The US President may be all powerful to take a final decision on any matter, but he is surrounded by think tanks and intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI etc.) who are all members of past legacies that keep feeding him with their own views for implementation so that their relevance within the system remains unchanged. Bureaucracies everywhere are the same and the US is no different. Any radical thinking leading to a major change in State policy is likely to cost these bureaucrats their jobs and even ignominy. Also, the President runs the risk of making a blunder by not listening to advises of his advisers and in an open society like the US soon these details are leaked to the media resulting in the President landing up with egg on his face which may result in his not getting re-elected for the second term or his own Party getting a drubbing in the next election due to his mistakes. There is no substitute for India standing on its own legs in matters concerning its own because nobody else is going to do it on its behalf.