NEW YORK: President-Elect Barack Obama said India, as a "sovereign nation" has a right to go after terrorists responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks. Obama, however, did not use as many words to specifically say that he would expect India to follow what has now infamously come to be known as the 'Bush Doctrine' and attack Pakistan based on evidence linking Pakistan to the Mumbai carnage.
At a press conference to announce his national security team - where he named Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State - in Chicago on Dec 1, the President-Elect made that comment in response to a question on whether India has the same right that he assumed the US had to attack high-value terrorist targets in Pakistan if given actionable intelligence, with or without the Pakistani government's permission.
"I think that sovereign nations obviously have a right to protect themselves. Beyond that, I don't want to comment on the specific situation that's taking place in South Asia right now." President-Elect Obama further said, "I think it is important for us to let the investigators do their jobs and make a determination in terms of who was responsible for carrying out these heinous acts. I can tell you that my administration will remain steadfast in support of India's efforts to catch the perpetrators of this terrible act and bring them to justice.
And I expect that the world community will feel the same way." Without directly responding to an earlier question on whether India would be justified in going after terrorists responsible for the Mumbai attacks if they were on Pakistani soil, Obama said he thought it important to reiterate that "our condolences, our thoughts and our prayers go out to the people of India, the families that have been affected; and we obviously, we are heart-broken by the deaths of the six Americans that were caught up in this tragedy."
"I've spoken to Prime Minister Singh and expressed these concerns to him," Obama said. "An investigation is taking place. I was briefed by Secretary Rice throughout the weekend. She's on her way to the region. We've sent FBI to help on the investigation. And I have -- this is one of those times where I have to reiterate there's one president at a time. We're going to be engaged in some very delicate diplomacy in the next several days and weeks. So I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment."
"But what I can say unequivocally is that both myself and the team that stands beside me (his newly-announced national security team) are absolutely committed to eliminating the threat of terrorism, and that is true wherever it is found," he continued. "We cannot have -- we cannot tolerate a world in which innocents are being killed by extremists based on twisted ideologies. And we're going to have to bring the full force of our power -- not only military, but also diplomatic, economic and political -- to deal with those threats, not only to keep America safe, but also to ensure that peace and prosperity can exist around the world."
Stating that he would be monitoring the situation closely, Obama said, "Thus far, I think the administration has done what's needed in trying to get the details of the situation. And my expectation is that President Zardari of Pakistan, who has already said that he will fully cooperate with the investigation, will follow through with that commitment." In terms of his national security team carrying out his vision and policies, Obama said, "As I have said, during campaigns or during the course of election season, differences get magnified. I did not ask for assurances from these individuals that they would agree with me at all times.
I think they understand and would not be joining this team unless they understood and were prepared to carry out the decisions that have been made by me after full discussion. "And, you know, most of the people who are standing here are people who I've worked with, and on the broad core vision of where America needs to go, we are in almost complete agreement. There are going to be differences in tactics and different assessments and judgments made. That's what I expect; that's what I welcome. That's why I asked them to join the team."
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