Obama mulls Clinton as special envoy on Kashmir

by Sanjay Jha | November 6, 2008 at 11:12 pm

814 views | 30 Recommendations | 17 comments

The newly elected President of USA is considering to appoint former President Bill Clinton as his emissary on Kashmir. Kashmir has been a flashpoint between two nuclear armed south asian nations after they got independence from Britain. Kashmir was partitioned as a result of the Indian Independence Act of 1947. About 65% of the territory is administered by India, the remaining 35% by Pakistan. Jammu Kashmir is the predominately Muslim state within India, which is mainly Hindu.

Two nations have fought wars over Kashmir and recently both nations have been at the brink of nuclear war over Kashmir dispute.

The militancy in Kashmir has been primarily sponsored by fundamentalist Muslims in Pakistan and they run training camps in Pakistani held Kashmir. Al-Queda's terrorist activity has also occurred in Kashmir. International community led by the United States have tried to defuse tensions between two nations and also find a peaceful solution.

Kashmir, nuclear non-proliferation, free trade will be among the formerly touchy issues that are expected to resurface in the prospective Obama administration's dealings with India, although officials say the tone of the exchanges on these matters will be vastly different now from yesteryears.

That's because India of 2008-2009 is a more confident and assertive country from what it was for much of the 1990s when the last Democratic administration of Bill Clinton hectored New Delhi about signing the nuclear test ban treaty and questioned the Indian narrative on Kashmir's status, even going to the extent of doubting the state's accession to the Indian union.

All that changed with the Kargil episode, when Washington finally recognized Islamabad as the serial aggressor intent on changing the status quo. Faced with a military rout, Pakistan rushed to Washington to effect a face-saving withdrawal from its misadventure that eventually changed US outlook in the region.

During the run up to elections President elct Barack Obama has talked about the need to have better understanding between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute. His statement caused some heartburn in New Delhi. Obama said that once the Kashmir dispute was resolved, Pakistan could then focus more on tackling the militants within its own territory. This has angered Indian establishment although no official comment has been made on this statement.

In an interview broadcast on MSNBC, Obama suggested that his administration would encourage India to solve the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan, so that Islamabad can better cooperate with the United States on Afghanistan. Obama’s definitive thesis comes in three parts.

“The most important thing we’re going to have to do with respect to Afghanistan is actually deal with Pakistan. And we’ve got to work with the newly elected government there (Pakistan) in a coherent way that says, terrorism is now a threat to you. Extremism is a threat to you. We should — try to resolve the Kashmir crisis so that they (Pakistan) can stay focused not on India, but on the situation with those militants”. India entirely agrees with the first two elements but should strongly object to the third.

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tikun

at 23:14 on November 6th, 2008

This should be interesting.

optic

at 23:26 on November 6th, 2008

I think that Barrack Obama spoke well about uniting the left and right of America. It is clear though that he must also unite the left and right within his own party - this may be that beginning of that. Good coverage.

JeffHuang

at 01:16 on November 7th, 2008

Yes, it would be an interesting move. I think it would be a good move although I am not really an expert on this topic.

gerrypopplestone

at 01:58 on November 7th, 2008

A very interesting idea. But would Clinton actually do anything? He has a very poor record of achievement!

Amitjha

at 03:50 on November 7th, 2008

Nice move on the part of south east asia diplomacy, clinton is hugely popular in this part , particularly among the womens, so what we can expect...........indian goverment will not like the involvement of high profile person in kashmir matter.

india will oppose clintons involvement in this affair.

Fairbanks

at 10:48 on November 7th, 2008

The new Adminstration needs to fill a lot of posts (1200 immediately) and there aren't all that many new faces, so we will see many retreads. For this reason alone real change will be limited. Expect a lot more of the same.

charminggoats

at 05:35 on November 7th, 2008

Bill Clinton speaking in support of Barack Obama

Osceola Heritage Park
Kissimmee, FL
October 29, 2008 - 11pm

charminggoats has contributed a photo to this story.

Derek Columbus (not verified)

at 09:02 on November 7th, 2008

The 'Kashmir issue" is an issue because Pakistan chooses to make it an issue, on the basis of its imperialistic delusions. Instead Pakistan should stop obssesing about Kashmir and devote its resources to fighting terrrorism that frankly, is being nurturted by elements within its power structure. India cannot give up Kashmir to assuage Pakistan's insecurities. It is not India which is a threat to Pakistan, but rather Pakistan's obssession with Kashmir and its sponsoring of terrorism that is a drain on its meagre resources. Obama has no business appointing an envoy for Kashmir. Its like India deciding to appoint an envoy for Iraq!

reno_fog

at 09:07 on November 7th, 2008

I think it's a great idea... hopefully to put a better face on America and Americans

robert-purdom

at 11:12 on November 7th, 2008

Bill Clinton addresses a small crowd of 6-700 Democratic supporters in his home state of Arkansas. President Clinton spoke for about 15 minutes very articulately about why Barack Obama should be the 44th President of the United States. Love him, like him or hate him, William Jefferson Clinton is an extraordinary speaker.

robert-purdom has contributed a photo to this story.

Eddy sana (not verified)

at 06:19 on November 9th, 2008

Putting clinton for kashmir, hope sustains life. Let the innocent and the children get a peaceful atmosphere to live. Where head is held high and mind is free. Oh god let my country awake.

Tara Lockhart of Queens Artists

at 12:23 on November 7th, 2008

President Bill Clinton Speaks at CUNY-Queens College, in Flushing, NY.

Tara Lockhart of Queens Artists has contributed a photo to this story.

azzayindia

at 04:54 on November 8th, 2008

well it will be outsiders and not kasmiris who will be solving the problem.Without the say of Kashmiris both muslims and Kashmiri pandits it cannot be solved be it Clinton or anyone else

politisite

at 11:16 on November 8th, 2008

Clinton or Bush 1 would be excellent in this job. Both have excellent skills and a desire to serve even out of office.

After seeing that Bush 1 and Clinton worked closely together following disasters, I have a better view of both ex-presidents

BrianSikorski

at 07:52 on November 10th, 2008

Former President Bill Clinton listens as Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama gives a speech at a rally in Kissimmee, Florida.

BrianSikorski has contributed a photo to this story.

Amitoj Singh (not verified)

at 00:02 on November 14th, 2008

Bill Clinton is a great choice as he speaks the truth on the Kashmir issue without any fear. When a massacre occurred in Kashmir during a visit he said: “During my visit to India in 2000, some Hindu militants decided to vent their outrage by murdering 38 Sikhs in cold blood. If I hadn’t made the trip, the victims would probably still be alive. If I hadn’t made the trip because I feared what militants might do, I couldn’t have done my job as president of the United States."

Wang (not verified)

at 14:55 on March 17th, 2009

Speaking of Bill Clinton:

It is opined that Bill Clinton committed racist hate crimes, and I am not free to say anything further about it.

Respectfully Submitted by Andrew Y. Wang, J.D. Candidate
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993

(I can type 90 words per minute, and there are probably thousands of copies on the Internet indicating the content of this post.)

_________________
“If only it were possible to ban invention that bottled up memories so they never got stale and faded.” Off the top of my head—it came from my Lower Merion High School yearbook.