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Bush talks of pursuing 'freedom' for Kashmir

Aziz Haniffa
India Abroad Correspondent in Washington

First it was US Secretary of State Colin Powell -- just three days after the Indo-Pak summit ended in a stalemate -- who offered Washington's good offices to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio.

Now less than a week after Powell's remarks, President George W Bush himself has spoken of the US pursuing tolerance and freedom in several contentious areas of the world, including Kashmir.

In a speech at Camp Bondsteel to American troops stationed in Kosovo--a copy of which was made available by the White House--Bush said, "As we head into the 21st century, we must not allow difference to be a license to kill, and vulnerability an excuse to dominate."

He vowed "we will pursue a world of tolerance and freedom. From Kosovo to Kashmir, from the Middle East to Northern Ireland, freedom and tolerance is the defining issue for our world. And your service here has set an example for the whole world to see."

On July 20, Powell, on the eve of a trip to Asia, said the US stood ready to help India and Pakistan to resolve their 'difficult outstanding differences' on issues like Kashmir and nuclear (weapons).

"We will do everything we can to lend our good offices to the improvement of relations between the two countries and the difficult outstanding issues, whether it is Kashmir or nuclear (weapons)," he said.

"So you will see us deeply engaged in the region and trying to have balanced and strong relations with both countries," he added.

Powell's remarks came just a day after Christina Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, on the eve of her departure on a trip to India, Nepal and Pakistan said, "Our position now is that the issue of Kashmir should be resolved between India and Pakistan, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people."

At the time, after her formal briefing, senior US bureaucrats cautioned against any runaway perceptions that the Bush Administration's policy on Kashmir was a radical shift from earlier policy.

On Wednesday, a senior administration official asserted that there was no special significance to President Bush's mention on Kashmir in his remarks to the US troops in Kosovo.

"There is nothing special to that. He was just expressing you know, general American international ideals and so on," the official said.

"He wasn't talking specifically about doing something in Kashmir," the official emphasised.

During the first term of the Clinton Administration, New Delhi and the pro-India lobby here, including the few members of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans that had just formed, were extremely perturbed when then President Clinton in a speech made a similar faux pas when he spoke of the violation of human rights from 'the Caucasus to Kashmir'.

Then Vice President Al Gore had also created an incredible uproar at the time by replying to a letter from the separatist Council for Khalistan talking about US support for freedom loving people including in Khalistan.

At the time, senior administration officials dismissed both instances to inexperienced White House speechwriters and others who reply to letters sent to the President and Vice President.

This time around too, a senior state department official said, "You will have to speak to the White House speech people about that (from Kashmir to Kosovo). That language wasn't cleared with us."

According to the official, it was unlikely that the National Security Council staff that is housed in the White House had anything to do with this speech either and said it was essentially drafted by a White House speech writer.

"The President speaks so often publicly that they don't have time to check out every nuance with the various departments of every federal agency and the particular area or regional specialists," the official said.

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