India should join the U.S.-led fight against the terror outfit, Islamic State (IS), non-militarily, and support the ongoing Afghan-Taliban talks, said the former U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu , Mr. Hadley, who is visiting New Delhi after travelling to Kabul and Islamabad, said “India needs to be clear about the threat of IS and how the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan will affect India”, adding that chaos in Afghanistan “would not help India.”
Mr. Hadley, who met President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul and also met Cabinet Ministers in Islamabad, said there was some “scepticism” among Afghans over the success of the Afghan government-Taliban talks last month in Murree, especially after the announcement of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, but that the talks were a “course that must be pursued.”
On India being kept out of the Pakistan-led talks, he said: “They[ talks] are important, the talks have a bearing on Indian security.”
Anti-Indian group can adopt IS methods, warns Hadley
Addressing concern and anger in India over the fact that the government was not taken into confidence over the Pakistan-led Afghan-Taliban talks, former U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley said: “Obviously India is not going to be able to show up at the talks; so I hope that the U.S. has had very frank conversations and there is some understanding on how India’s legitimate concerns about the process would be addressed.”
Mr. Hadley, who was NSA to former President George W. Bush from 2005-2009, is now a consultant with Mr. Bush’s brother Governor Jeb Bush in his presidential campaign.
As NSA, he had been instrumental in announcing the India-U.S. Strategic Partnership, which was due to “the vision of PM Manmohan Singh and President Bush”, and also negotiations for the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal.
He said that he hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama will discuss cooperation on fighting the Islamic State when they meet in the U.S. on the sidelines of a Peacekeeping Summit on September 28.
“Any number of terrorist groups, including some directed at India, could take up the IS flag and adopt IS methods, that ought to be very worrying, and that’s why India ought to be very supportive of any effort that brings down terrorism, that takes people out of terrorism in a way that supports India’s national interests,” Mr. Hadley said, in response to a question about the Indian hostages with the IS in Libya and Iraq.
