Uncle Sam’s Advocate

Uncle Sam’s Advocate
March 2003

Times of India

Q&A

US ambassador Robert D Blackwill is a busy man these days, meeting senior political leaders and opinion makers in an effort to convince a reluctant Indian government and an anti-war public of the merits of the US case on Iraq. His country, he tells Aunohita Mojumdar, envisages a major role for India in post-war Iraq, while asserting repeatedly that Washington would still prefer a peaceful solution and that a final decision on the military option is yet to be taken:

Q. Anti-war sentiment seems to be increasing even as the US moves closer to an attack on Iraq.
A. I am not so sure that’s true. People have an impressionistic view of this. If you look at the percentage of people protesting against the war, it’s a tiny percentage. But of course it is quite true that there is opposition to disarming Saddam by force. That is natural. The issue of war and peace should be debated - especially in democracies - after which governments can decide on the merits of the case.Disarming Saddam peacefully is the first choice. It has been the first choice for 12 years and 17 Security Council resolutions. It remains the first choice. The problem is that he seems not to be willing to disarm and if that remains the case by the 17th, he will be disarmed by force by an international coalition of many countries. It would be regrettable if it has to be done by force. But that would be the last option.
Q. Some of the recent ‘proof’ put forward by the US and the UK has been questioned by
Mohammed Al-Baradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in his report.
A. There are a couple of instances where there has been disagreement about one episode or another. But I don’t believe there is any dispute about the overwhelming weight of evidence accumulated by the UN over these 12 years.

Q. Do you think it’s fair for Washington to force governments to take a position against their own domestic public opinion?
A. Democracies don’t operate through plebiscite or through editorials in news- papers, no matter how intelligent those editorials are. Democratic governments do act partly on
the basis of public opinion but the better ones act on the basis of their own judgment and wisdom and the flow of history and so forth. What we are trying to do is to persuade these governments and that’s called diplomacy.
Q. Is there a role for India in post-war Iraq?
If Saddam is disarmed by force there will be a regime change in Iraq, which will
require a great deal of reconstruction. At that point, India will have two fundamental roles. One is of course the physical rebuilding of Iraq. The other, which is less remarked
on, is the task of constructing a civil society in Iraq.
Q. But isn’t the US government itself going to play a very major role in the construction
of civil society?
A. We’ll see. We certainly want to do our part but we are not going to dominate it. Much of this construction and recons-truction will happen under the auspices of the UN.
You mentioned regime change. There is speculation that this may be the tip of the
iceberg and that the US would like to see regime changes in a number of countries in that region.Well, I would say we are not talking about a regime change in any other country. We would of course like - and we make no apologies for that - more democracy, more pluralism, more free press and so forth, in many other countries.
Q. Do you think a pre-emptive strike against Iraq would legitimise the principle in this part of the world. India might think it is legitimate to...
A. That’s a question for the Indian government. What I would say is that force is the last resort in Iraq, after 12 years, 17 SC resolutions. Patience, patience and more patience.
We have given the SC process every chance to realise its objectives, which is to disarm Iraq. The US does not want a weaker UN and weaker SC. But if the UN does not enforce its own resolutions, that will be a natural outcome.
Q. Would you comment on Indian concerns that the US has double standards when it comes to North Korea and Pakistan?
A. This week the world is rightfully trying one last time to persuade Saddam to disarm peacefully. The problem of North Korea is a separate one and we are working on that too. But the issue of Iraq and the danger it poses needs to be examined on its merits.On the relationship between India and Pakistan, we continue to hope that there will be a dialogue between the two. We continue to do everything we can to persuade the relevant people that cross-border infiltration and terrorism from territory controlled by Pakistan should end. But, as I said, this week the attention of the world is rightfully focused on Iraq.
We are now at the midnight hour - the last few days of the diplomatic phase.