US policy shift makes South Asia vulnerable
Yuba Nat Lamasl
The international balance of power of the Cold War era no longer exists in South Asia. With the withdrawal of Soviet army from Afghanistan, the United States of America, too, changed its South Asia policy. The American engagement in South Asia diminished so heavily that the security perspective of South Asia has completely taken a U-turn.
Previously, the US-Pakistan pact was perceived as a countervailing factor against the military and security alliance of Soviet Union and India. The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and India\'s expansionist and bullying policy had created a sense of insecurity in South Asia. This fear had been allayed by US presence in South Asia and its strategic partnership with Pakistan.The Russian military adventure in Asia was mainly aimed at encircling China from all sides and check US interest. Soviet Union\'s policy was perceived as a common security threat by China, US and Pakistan. Already suspicious about Russian intention and strategy because of its presence and intervention in some East Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the intervention in Afghanistan made China further worried. Afghanistan is China\'s next-door neighbor, with which it shares common border. As the Russians became the common threat, this dynamics brought the US and China closer. Indirectly, there was a tacit support of China to US-Pakistan pact against Soviet invasion in Afghanistan.The US policy towards South Asia during the Cold War was basically directed towards ensuring balance of power and checking the Russian advancement in the region. The US-Pakistan alliance was able to evict Soviet troops from Afghanistan. This was a victory of the western world against the Soviet-led alliance. In fact, the defeat in Afghanistan was the beginning of the downfall of Soviet communist empire in the world as well as collapse of the Soviet Union back home. Ultimately, the Russia-friendly regimes collapsed one after another in many countries in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. In fact, the fall of Kabul was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Although the Cold War came to an end in the rest of the world, its fallout became more nightmarish in South Asia. The balance of power that had ensured a sense of security in South Asia suddenly collapsed as the United States washed its hand from South Asia. The United States withdrew from South Asia thinking that its mission was over after the defeat of Soviet Union in Afghanistan. However, the new situation created more dangerous scenario in Afghanistan and its fallout spread to other countries of the region as well.After Soviet Union\'s pull out from Afghanistan and US departure from South Asia created power vacuum in the newly independent Afghanistan. In the absence of a strong leader with nationally accepted reputation, Afghanistan witnessed more chaos. The crisis of political management in newly liberated Afghanistan gave birth to warlords and armed groups that declared their own areas of control. Out of the uncertainty and chaos, rose the Talibans who not only imposed Islamic theocratic and fundamentalist regime denying basic rights to the people but also turned Afghanistan into a safe haven for international terrorists. This grave situation in Afghanistan posed serious threat to international security. The Al Queda which was operating from Afghanistan made the United States its prime target and attacked US interests in the world. Only after this, the United States realized that it was a blunder to totally abandon Afghanistan and South Asia. Had American presence been there in Afghanistan and had it not changed its priority, the Afghan problem would not have been as dangerous as it is today. Now Americans are back in Afghanistan but their return to Kabul was too late as situation has already been worse. Now the US-led NATO force is fighting a war that is not likely to be won.This situation had arisen because of US policy shift in South Asia. With the collapse of Soviet Union, the world became unipolar with the United States remaining the sole superpower. Similarly, US thought that the mission was achieved in South Asia after ejecting Russians from Afghanistan. America not only departed from Afghanistan but also deserted its trusted ally of the Cold War era—Pakistan. Islamabad had cooperated with Washington during the Cold War era and also played a crucial role in developing rapprochement between the United States and China. But Pakistan was alienated by the United States after pull out of Russian troops from Afghanistan. US drastically cut its assistance to Pakistan both military and developmental, which rendered Islamabad in awkward position in the post-Cold War era. The US change of policy and priority was guided by its utility doctrine and economic interest. As per the utility doctrine, the United States no longer needed Pakistan after the mission was accomplished in Afghanistan. The decision of deserting Pakistan was a blunder on the part of United States, the price of which Washington is paying in Afghanistan at present. At the same time, the policy shift has raised a question about American credibility and reliability.The US tilt towards India began in the late 1990s. The United States not only deserted Pakistan but also entered into an alliance with Pakistan\'s arch enemy and Washington\'s Cold War era foe—India. The US alliance with India was motivated by economic and political interests. India is a country with big market from which America wants to extract its economic benefit. The US policy makers are of the view that the United States can benefit more from the alliance with India economically. Politically, the United States\' South Asia policy is guided by the objective of containing and weakening rising China. Pakistan and China are close friends and US cannot use Pakistan against China. Washington chose India as its partner which can be used easily against China because New Delhi and Beijing are rivals and have long-running disputes on border issues and other matters. Although the US foreign policy pundits call it a unique situation in American foreign policy as Washington enjoys equal friendly relations with both New Delhi and Islamabad, in practice this is not exactly so. The US policy is clearly tilted to New Delhi which has been reinforced by civilian and military pacts. Worse still US signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008 triggering fear and suspicion in countries of South Asia and beyond. This policy not only let down Pakistan but has also disappointed the entire Muslim population in the world. The Muslim community in the world considers India as their biggest enemy after Israel. There is a valid reason behind Muslim world\'s anti-India feelings because India has adopted anti-Muslim policy both at home and abroad. Already annoyed by America\'s pro-Israel policy, the Muslim world got further upset by its bonhomie with India. This is one of the reasons why anti-US sentiment is rising in the Muslim countries. Apart from irritating Muslim countries, the new US policy has worried smaller countries in South Asia more than ever before. The growing Soviet-Indian misadventure had made smaller countries of the region worried about their security. Their fear of safeguarding their sovereignty grew more particularly when India annexed Sikkim in 1975. But the US-Pakistan military pact had, to some extent, assured that the United States would come to their rescue if expansionist India ever tried to encroach into sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity of any smaller South Asian countries. However, these hopes were suddenly dashed as the United States has forged an alliance with hegemonic India.The new US South Asia policy and its tilt towards India made smaller South Asian countries to feel vulnerable in terms of security. Given the past tract record and attitude towards its smaller neighbor, India is perceived as a bullying and expansionist regime. The United States appears to have abandoned its independent policy towards small countries of South Asia but started looking at South Asia through New Delhi\'s eyes. The new US policy may further embolden New Delhi to meddle and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries in the region. Already suffering from India\'s naked manipulation in the internal affairs, the South Asian countries have felt further vulnerable in the post Cold War international order. The world is looking to the United States as a global police state to safeguard the independence and sovereignty of small countries. The policy shift and alliance with India, which is a regional bully, has tarnished the image of the United States in South Asia. The United States must understand the fact that India can never be its trustworthy partner, which was reflected during the Cold War. Moreover, the US-India alliance has upset the balance of power in South Asia. India with its huge military coupled with nuclear weapons, is the major source of threat in the region. It would, thus, do well if the United States reviews and rethinks its South Asia policy so that the small countries in the region may feel secure and safe from Indian hegemony.
The international balance of power of the Cold War era no longer exists in South Asia. With the withdrawal of Soviet army from Afghanistan, the United States of America, too, changed its South Asia policy. The American engagement in South Asia diminished so heavily that the security perspective of South Asia has completely taken a U-turn.
Previously, the US-Pakistan pact was perceived as a countervailing factor against the military and security alliance of Soviet Union and India. The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and India\'s expansionist and bullying policy had created a sense of insecurity in South Asia. This fear had been allayed by US presence in South Asia and its strategic partnership with Pakistan.The Russian military adventure in Asia was mainly aimed at encircling China from all sides and check US interest. Soviet Union\'s policy was perceived as a common security threat by China, US and Pakistan. Already suspicious about Russian intention and strategy because of its presence and intervention in some East Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the intervention in Afghanistan made China further worried. Afghanistan is China\'s next-door neighbor, with which it shares common border. As the Russians became the common threat, this dynamics brought the US and China closer. Indirectly, there was a tacit support of China to US-Pakistan pact against Soviet invasion in Afghanistan.The US policy towards South Asia during the Cold War was basically directed towards ensuring balance of power and checking the Russian advancement in the region. The US-Pakistan alliance was able to evict Soviet troops from Afghanistan. This was a victory of the western world against the Soviet-led alliance. In fact, the defeat in Afghanistan was the beginning of the downfall of Soviet communist empire in the world as well as collapse of the Soviet Union back home. Ultimately, the Russia-friendly regimes collapsed one after another in many countries in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. In fact, the fall of Kabul was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Although the Cold War came to an end in the rest of the world, its fallout became more nightmarish in South Asia. The balance of power that had ensured a sense of security in South Asia suddenly collapsed as the United States washed its hand from South Asia. The United States withdrew from South Asia thinking that its mission was over after the defeat of Soviet Union in Afghanistan. However, the new situation created more dangerous scenario in Afghanistan and its fallout spread to other countries of the region as well.After Soviet Union\'s pull out from Afghanistan and US departure from South Asia created power vacuum in the newly independent Afghanistan. In the absence of a strong leader with nationally accepted reputation, Afghanistan witnessed more chaos. The crisis of political management in newly liberated Afghanistan gave birth to warlords and armed groups that declared their own areas of control. Out of the uncertainty and chaos, rose the Talibans who not only imposed Islamic theocratic and fundamentalist regime denying basic rights to the people but also turned Afghanistan into a safe haven for international terrorists. This grave situation in Afghanistan posed serious threat to international security. The Al Queda which was operating from Afghanistan made the United States its prime target and attacked US interests in the world. Only after this, the United States realized that it was a blunder to totally abandon Afghanistan and South Asia. Had American presence been there in Afghanistan and had it not changed its priority, the Afghan problem would not have been as dangerous as it is today. Now Americans are back in Afghanistan but their return to Kabul was too late as situation has already been worse. Now the US-led NATO force is fighting a war that is not likely to be won.This situation had arisen because of US policy shift in South Asia. With the collapse of Soviet Union, the world became unipolar with the United States remaining the sole superpower. Similarly, US thought that the mission was achieved in South Asia after ejecting Russians from Afghanistan. America not only departed from Afghanistan but also deserted its trusted ally of the Cold War era—Pakistan. Islamabad had cooperated with Washington during the Cold War era and also played a crucial role in developing rapprochement between the United States and China. But Pakistan was alienated by the United States after pull out of Russian troops from Afghanistan. US drastically cut its assistance to Pakistan both military and developmental, which rendered Islamabad in awkward position in the post-Cold War era. The US change of policy and priority was guided by its utility doctrine and economic interest. As per the utility doctrine, the United States no longer needed Pakistan after the mission was accomplished in Afghanistan. The decision of deserting Pakistan was a blunder on the part of United States, the price of which Washington is paying in Afghanistan at present. At the same time, the policy shift has raised a question about American credibility and reliability.The US tilt towards India began in the late 1990s. The United States not only deserted Pakistan but also entered into an alliance with Pakistan\'s arch enemy and Washington\'s Cold War era foe—India. The US alliance with India was motivated by economic and political interests. India is a country with big market from which America wants to extract its economic benefit. The US policy makers are of the view that the United States can benefit more from the alliance with India economically. Politically, the United States\' South Asia policy is guided by the objective of containing and weakening rising China. Pakistan and China are close friends and US cannot use Pakistan against China. Washington chose India as its partner which can be used easily against China because New Delhi and Beijing are rivals and have long-running disputes on border issues and other matters. Although the US foreign policy pundits call it a unique situation in American foreign policy as Washington enjoys equal friendly relations with both New Delhi and Islamabad, in practice this is not exactly so. The US policy is clearly tilted to New Delhi which has been reinforced by civilian and military pacts. Worse still US signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008 triggering fear and suspicion in countries of South Asia and beyond. This policy not only let down Pakistan but has also disappointed the entire Muslim population in the world. The Muslim community in the world considers India as their biggest enemy after Israel. There is a valid reason behind Muslim world\'s anti-India feelings because India has adopted anti-Muslim policy both at home and abroad. Already annoyed by America\'s pro-Israel policy, the Muslim world got further upset by its bonhomie with India. This is one of the reasons why anti-US sentiment is rising in the Muslim countries. Apart from irritating Muslim countries, the new US policy has worried smaller countries in South Asia more than ever before. The growing Soviet-Indian misadventure had made smaller countries of the region worried about their security. Their fear of safeguarding their sovereignty grew more particularly when India annexed Sikkim in 1975. But the US-Pakistan military pact had, to some extent, assured that the United States would come to their rescue if expansionist India ever tried to encroach into sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity of any smaller South Asian countries. However, these hopes were suddenly dashed as the United States has forged an alliance with hegemonic India.The new US South Asia policy and its tilt towards India made smaller South Asian countries to feel vulnerable in terms of security. Given the past tract record and attitude towards its smaller neighbor, India is perceived as a bullying and expansionist regime. The United States appears to have abandoned its independent policy towards small countries of South Asia but started looking at South Asia through New Delhi\'s eyes. The new US policy may further embolden New Delhi to meddle and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries in the region. Already suffering from India\'s naked manipulation in the internal affairs, the South Asian countries have felt further vulnerable in the post Cold War international order. The world is looking to the United States as a global police state to safeguard the independence and sovereignty of small countries. The policy shift and alliance with India, which is a regional bully, has tarnished the image of the United States in South Asia. The United States must understand the fact that India can never be its trustworthy partner, which was reflected during the Cold War. Moreover, the US-India alliance has upset the balance of power in South Asia. India with its huge military coupled with nuclear weapons, is the major source of threat in the region. It would, thus, do well if the United States reviews and rethinks its South Asia policy so that the small countries in the region may feel secure and safe from Indian hegemony.
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