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Sunday, Nov 07, 2004

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National

Kissinger hails India as world power

NEW DELHI, NOV. 6. The former United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, a critic of India during Cold War era, today eulogised the country as a global power and backed its candidature for permanent membership to the expanded United Nations Security Council.

"I first saw India for the first time in 1962. There is a change in India, physically and in attitude," the veteran diplomat, who worked with two U.S. Presidents as Secretary of State and National Security Adviser, told reporters here.

Mr. Kissinger, who earlier addressed the Hindustan Times Leadership Initiative Conference, said Washington had sent its naval flotilla to the Bay of Bengal during the 1971 India-Pakistan war because of "strategic considerations" as it felt Pakistan's existence was threatened. "We did what we were required to do in those circumstances ... The U.S. had nothing to do with the formation of Bangladesh," Mr. Kissinger, the then Secretary of State, said, adding, "It was purely a strategic decision for a short duration of time."

`Comfortable with India'

The Nobel Peace Prize winner dispelled the impression that the U.S. had been comfortable with military dictatorships such as the one in Pakistan and asserted that Washington was "more comfortable with the Indian system."

Describing India as a "world power" and Pakistan as a "regional player," he advocated New Delhi's claim for permanent membership of the U.N. Security Council, saying the present set-up of the world body did not reflect the "actual distribution of power."

"I see no sense in keeping India out of the U.N. Security Council if China and Japan are in it," said Mr. Kissinger, who is considered close to the Bush administration. Besides New Delhi, the Council should have Japan, Germany and possibly Brazil as permanent members.

Closer ties

Asked about his perception of U.S. policies towards India during George Bush's second term, Mr. Kissinger said he expected bilateral relations to "grow closer" without detriment to the ties with other countries. Both India and the U.S. were "great democracies," had a "feeling of comfort" in their ties and had "no conflict of interest in the traditional and fundamental sense."

Quoting the German philosopher, Emanuel Kant, he said: "Some day the world will have perpetual peace," and hoped that India and the U.S. will be partners in that effort.

He denied that the U.S. was intending to create a conflict between India and China, saying both of these were "great nations and not toys with which Washington could do what it wants."

The world faced four major problems — terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the movement of the centre of gravity from the Atlantic region to Asia and the impact of a globalised economy on the world order.

He supported Mr. Bush's action in Iraq and said the U.S. President would "go down in history as a leader who brought about world order."

Mr. Kissinger said there was a danger of Taliban-type regimes emerging in Iraq. He favoured the formation of a contact group, comprising India, Russia, some European countries and the Arab nations, to help in the political and economic rehabilitation of Iraq after the elections there. The former diplomat attacked the U.N. Secretary General, Kofi Annan, for declaring the U.S. war on Iraq as "illegal." He said it was a "problematic statement."

PTI

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