Congressional Statements

Wilson commends President Bush's Leadership in strengthening ties with India

Statement in House of Representatives
November 14, 2002

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend President Bush´s courageous leadership in securing bipartisan Congressional and unanimous U.N. support to disarm Iraq. The threat of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons being transferred from Saddam Hussein to group like al Qaeda is a real threat to America and our allies.

I also want to praise President Bush´s initiatives in strengthening our important relationship with India. Over the past 10 years, bilateral trade between the U.S. and India more than tripled from 6 billion to 19 billion per year. We have continued to engage in joint military exercises, and we share common goals and concerns.

One major goal is to dramatically increase bilateral trade. We have made significant advances in this area, but more remains to be done. We share the common threat of international terrorism from al Qaeda, and we must continue to share intelligence and coordinate counterterrorism strategies through our joint task force on terrorism.

U.S.-India security cooperation is helping to foster greater stability in Asia and to make for a safer world. U.S.-India joint military exercises were held in Alaska from September 29 to October 11, involving troops from the U.S. Army 1st Battalion 501st Para Infantry Regiment and from India´s 50 (I) Para Brigade. These exercises followed a joint airborne military exercise between the two countries held at Agra, India, in May of this year. As reported in the Washington Times on October 9, India´s Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Lalit Mansingh, traveled to Alaska to observe the exercises. The Ambassador was welcomed by Brigadier General John M. Brown 111, Commander of the U.S. Army Alaska at Fort Richardson, who expressed his appreciation for the professionalism, discipline and adaptability of the Indian armed forces.

Also last month, a major joint U.S.-India naval exercise, named "Malabar IV," was successfully completed in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. and Indian Navies have agreed to jointly patrol the Strait of Malacca to ensure the uninterrupted flow of vital oil supplies. The U.S.-India Defense Planning Group has been established to help coordinate ongoing joint activities, while the Executive Steering Groups of all the three defense services are scheduled to meet again later this year to plan future joint exercises, training and other areas of cooperation for the next year.

Earlier this fall, India once again demonstrated that it is indeed a democracy, where power is transferred by means of free and fair elections, with the conclusion on October 7th of a four-stage election for the Assembly in India´s State of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the ongoing threat of violence by terrorist elements-most of which come from outside of India´s borders-to intimidate voters and candidates alike, the elections went-forward successfully, as judged by the United States and other independent observers. Turnout was approximately 45 percent, and the result was a defeat for the ruling party-itself an indication that the elections were truly democratic.

As the Washington Times reported on October 14 ("Embassy Row" column by James Morris), "The United States is praising the bravery of voters in Kashmir who defied threats from Islamic militants to vote in large numbers this month." The article quotes the U.S. Ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill, who said, "It was a successful election. The election commission did a very fine job. It was a credible election carried out by democratic means."

Other top U.S. officials have echoed these sentiments. The Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, in a speech last month at the American Enterprise Institute, said that ´Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee´s "personal commitment to making them [the elections] transparent and open" was a critical factor in moving the democratic process forward."

Ambassador Blackwill did not mince words when it came to describing the guerrillas that used violence in an effort to disrupt the elections, calling them "terrorists." "Terrorists can call themselves many different things at different, places," our Ambassador said. "Sometimes they are called freedom fighters. Any person who kills civilians is a terrorist."

Mr. Speaker, America knows how it feels to be a democracy targeted by terrorists. India has for many years endured the same experience. In fact, the terrorist elements targeting India in Kashmir have links to the same Al Qaeda terrorist network that attacked America on 9/11 and was apparently responsible for the bombing in Indonesia last month. I have spoken out on several occasions this year about the terrorist attacks against Kashmiri civilians, and I have urged the leaders of Pakistan to stop allowing their country to be used as a base for terrorist training camps and extremist religious clerics who foment hate against both India and America.

Unfortunately, the opposite may be happening. On November 12, the Orlando Sentinel, and other publications, reported that, "U.S. intelligence says most of al-Qaeda´s surviving leaders have relocated to Pakistan." The newspaper noted that U.S. forces cannot operate in Pakistan as they have in Afghanistan, due to concerns that an American military presence would anger Pakistan. Therefore, we must press President Musharraf to take control of this situation.

Assistant Secretary Rocca stated in her speech that the U.S. and India are allies in the struggle against terrorism, saying, "Counter-terrorism cooperation is maturing rapidly, including intelligence sharing, training, finance and antimoney laundering cooperation, improving border security, fighting cyberterrorism and increasing mutual legal assistance." In fact, a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the U.S. and India is awaiting approval by the full Senate, having been approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in the Other Body.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote from President Bush in his remarks welcoming Prime Minister Vajpayee to Washington on November 9, 2001. "My Administration is committed to developing a fundamentally different relationship with India, one based upon trust, one based upon mutual values. After all, the Prime Minister leads a nation that is the largest democratic nation in the world." I appreciate the commitment of our President, and I look forward to working with the Administration as the United States continues to improve and expand our relationship with India to the benefit of the people of both of our great nations.

I look forward to working with the Republican leadership and President George W. Bush to shape a new relationship between the U.S. and India in the 108th Congress.