Obama and India

Democratic Presidential frontrunner Barack Obama had visited India and Pakistan as a 19-year-old college student, his campaign revealed as the African American Senator attempted to counter criticism from his rival that he lacked foreign policy experience.

It’s about time the American government realizes that its biggest threat comes from Pakistan. For the past three decades Pakistan has become a breeding ground for extremists. What makes the ‘Made in Pakistan’ branded extremism more dangerous is that fact that this country is a US allay. Some extremists work with and within it’s intelligence organization (ISI). The intelligence organization is closely linked with the military - which now runs the country.

Bringing democracy to Pakistan and tackling extremism there is more important than Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m most certain that if the US gets tough on extremism in Pakistan, the terror related problems in Afghanistan will cease.

 “The U.S. should be working with India on a range of critical issues from preventing terrorism to promoting peace and stability in Asia,” Senator Obama said in an exclusive interview to IANS on Wednesday. “Joe Biden and I will make building a stronger relationship, including a close strategic partnership, with India a top priority.”

"I thought it was stupid and caustic and not only didn't reflect my view of the complicated issue of outsourcing ... it also didn't reflect the fact that I have longstanding support and friendships within the Indian-American community," Obama told the Register.

 Mr. Obama explained that he wanted to end abuses of the H1-B visas that are used by highly qualified specialists to work in the U.S. He added that he would make “immigrant workers less dependent on their employers for their right to stay in the country, and would hold accountable employers who abuse the system and their workers.”

 "In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things," he wrote.

Acknowledging the prowess in IT and high technology fields of Indian Americans who have powered Silicon Valley, he said: "To succeed, we need to make use of technology, a sector where so many Indian Americans have thrived."

Obama has said he would build "a close strategic partnership" with India if he is elected president. Because India and the United States have both experienced major terrorist attacks, "we have a shared interest in succeeding in the fight against al-Qaeda and its operational and ideological affiliates," Obama wrote in a February 2008 article in India Abroad, a newspaper on Indian affairs published in New York.

The Obama campaign’s June 2007 memo exposing Clinton’s ties to India sparked an outcry from the Indian-American community. USINPAC denounced Obama’s memo as “the worst kind of anti Indian American stereotyping.” Obama apologized for the memo, which referred to Clinton as “Clinton (D-Punjab)” (Rediff.com).

Obama voted to approve the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement in October 2008. He voted in favor of the United States-India Energy Security Cooperation Act of 2006. In September 2008, Obama praised the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for deciding to allow its members to cooperate with India on nuclear issues.

South Asians for Obama published this list (PDF) of Obama’s stances on issues of interest to the South Asian community in the United States.

 Military Tribunals and Guantanamo Bay

Sen. Obama (D-IL) says Guantanamo should be closed and habeas corpus (AP) should be restored for the detainees. He says the United States should have “developed a real military system of justice that would sort out the suspected terrorists from the accidentally accused.”

In June 2008, Obama praised (NYT) a Supreme Court decision allowing Guantanamo prisoners to challenge their detention in civilian courts. He called the ruling "an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus."

In February 2008, Obama criticized the prosecution of six Guantanamo detainees charged with involvement in the 9/11 attacks. He said the trials are "too important to be held in a flawed military commission system that has failed to convict anyone of a terrorist act since the 9/11 attacks and that has been embroiled in legal challenges" (SFChron). Instead, Obama said, the men should be tried in a U.S. criminal court or by a military court-martial.

Obama voted against the Military Commissions Act of 2006

 Domestic Intelligence

Sen. Obama’s response to the NSA spying controversy was mixed. On one hand, he opposed the nomination of former NSA chief Michael Hayden to the position of CIA director because of his role in the warrantless wiretapping program and said that he disapproved of Bush’s avoidance of FISA oversight in the NSA eavesdropping efforts. On the other hand, Obama did not join in Sen. Feingold’s efforts to censure Bush over the warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.

Obama long opposed retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that cooperated in warrantless wiretapping of Americans. "No one should get a free pass to violate the basic civil liberties of the American people," he said in January 2008. Still, in June 2008, Obama voted in favor of legislation (WashPost) that would provide those telecommunications companies with legal immunity. "Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay," Obama said, explaining his support for the bill. Still, Obama pledged to "carefully monitor the program" as president.

Obama has said he will make the Director of National Intelligence into a position with a fixed term limit " to foster consistency and integrity." (WashPost)

 Afghanistan

Sen. Obama has argued the troop surge in Iraq has caused the situation in Afghanistan to deteriorate. He says the United States should redeploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. He has said he would send at least two more combat brigades to Afghanistan and will "use this commitment to seek greater contributions—with fewer restrictions—from NATO allies." He has also proposed an additional billion dollars in nonmilitary assistance per year, "with meaningful safeguards to prevent corruption and to make sure investments are made—not just in Kabul—but out in Afghanistan's provinces."Obama said in an October 2008 interview with TIME magazine that opportunities to negotiate with the Taliban should be "explored."

In general, Obama has been critical of the Bush administration's policies relating to the war on terror. In a July 2007 Foreign Affairs article, Obama called the Bush administration's response to 9/11 "conventional thinking of the past, largely viewing problems as state-based and principally amenable to military solutions." As a result of the actions taken under the auspices of the war on terror, Obama says, "the world has lost trust in our purposes and our principles." Obama says Iraq is not and "never was" the main front of the war on terror. Obama has called for a greater counterterrorism focus on Afghanistan and the tribal region of Pakistan.

Obama and India's moon mission

However, Obama viewed Wednesday's historic launch of India's moon mission Chandrayaan I from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh as a challenge.

Obama said his comprehensive plan to revitalise the US "space programme and close the gap between the Space Shuttle's retirement and its next-generation replacement includes $2 billion more for NASA - but more money alone is not enough."
"My comprehensive space policy focuses on reaching new frontiers through human space exploration, tapping the ingenuity of our commercial space entrepreneurs, fostering a broad research agenda to break new ground on the world's leading scientific discoveries, and engaging students through educational programmes that excite them about space and science," Obama said.
Obama said his "comprehensive space policy focuses on reaching new frontiers through human space exploration, tapping the ingenuity of our commercial space entrepreneurs, fostering a broad research agenda to break new ground on the world's leading scientific discoveries, and engaging students through educational programmes that excite them about space and science."

"As a child, I remember sitting on my grandfather's shoulders and watching the Apollo astronauts return from a splashdown to Hickam Air Force Base, dreaming of where they had been," he added.

"It inspired my imagination and gave me confidence in what we as Americans could achieve. It's time for a space programme that inspires our children again," said the Democratic nominee who is leading over his Republican rival John McCain in most opinion polls.

 "This unique technology partnership in civil space exploration, which taps India's highly skilled scientific expertise with American instrumentation furnished by Raytheon, beckons what we hope will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship promoting the opening of the frontier of outer space," USIBC president Ron Somers said.