Brajesh Mishra meets top U.S. officials

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JUNE 30. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and National Security Adviser, Mr. Brajesh Mishra, has had wide ranging discussions with senior members of the Bush administration including the Vice-President, Mr. Dick Cheney.

Mr. Mishra, who is here, at the invitation of his counterpart, the President's National Security Adviser, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, is said to have covered substantive aspects of the bilateral relations in a comprehensive fashion. The interaction with officials aside, he also met top lawmakers from the House and the Senate as well as leading security analysts.

He held discussions with the Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, and his deputy, Mr. Paul Wolfowitz. The level and intensity of discussions between the two sides in the last six months is a clear indication that the Bush administration is keen on giving a push to the momentum of the last two years of the Clinton administration, and in a multi-faceted fashion.

One of Mr. Mishra's significant meetings was with Mr. George Tenet, Director, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Officially, it was passed off as a return courtesy call but there could be more to the meeting than meets the eye. The CIA, for instance, is a critical player in West Asia between Israelis and Palestinians, especially as it pertained to confidence-building mechanisms between the two sides there.

The Bush administration has been maintaining the same stance as that of its Democratic predecessor on the issue of ``mediation'' - that the U.S. will not get between India and Pakistan over Kashmir unless requested by both the states. At the same time, it has made it known that its good offices were always available. Secondly, on the subject of counter-terrorism and India's proposal for the setting up of a centre, there inevitably would have to be inputs from the CIA. The U.S. has expressed its willingness to further pursue the Indian proposal. Moreover, on the general subject of terrorism, there has been regular interaction between the intelligence agencies of the U.S. and India.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry Shelton, may be visiting India for three days in the second week of July, perhaps after the summit meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan. The Bush administration is keen on broadening defence ties with India, although neither Washington nor New Delhi are keen on elaborating what this could entail. One of the things that Washington has been focussed on is energy security and the role India could play in ensuring the safety and security of the vital sea lanes.

One of the major concerns of Washington in South Asia has been Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden; and the Bush administration has been trying to fine tune how it could seek cooperation of key players so as to come to grips with the terrorist problem. The U.S. has been dealing with the subject of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden with several countries such as Russia, India and China. But, these contacts have been only at the bilateral levels.

On the economic side, Mr. Mishra had a meeting with Mr. Robert Zoellick, U.S. trade representative, where the case was made for the restoration of preferential tariff for 42 Indian items which had been withdrawn over a period of ten years. They also discussed the upcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Qatar.

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