Obama directive: U.S. “barking up the wrong tree”

WASHINGTON DC: If the Obama administration believes that putting pressure on India to make even more concessions to Pakistan is necessary to achieve stability in the South Asia region, it is “barking up the wrong tree,” according to Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a think tank based in Washington.

Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Curtis, formerly with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department's South Asia Bureau, said: “If the Obama administration is serious about trying to promote stability in South Asia, it needs to start with the terror issue, which is the root cause of instability in the region.”

“While seeking to promote peace in South Asia is the right direction [for U.S. foreign policy], the devil is in the detail,” Ms. Curtis said. “If the administration focuses on putting pressure on India, they will be disappointed.”

In this context, Ms. Curtis noted that India has “shown a great deal of restraint” in its dealings with Pakistan since the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008. Convincing Pakistan of the need to crack down on the Lashkar-e-Taiba should be the focus of the United States foreign policy , she said, as this would be of benefit not only to India but also the U.S.