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| 'Most effective way to eliminate terror is to cooperate' | | Excerpts from Asst Secy for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A Boucher's press meet |
| Richard A Boucher / Mumbai Jan 18, 2009, 00:35 IST |
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 Q: I have two questions. One is: Do you think that the November 26 attack is an act of war? And, second: The Indian prime minister has gone on record saying that terrorism is a part of state policy of Pakistan. What is your view on this?
BOUCHER: I think, first of all, we all know the history of terrorism in this region, and we know how some of these groups have been supported by state policy. But we also know that we’re in a time now when we shouldn’t be tolerating them, and they shouldn’t be allowed to persist, and that none of us are safe, including Pakistan. None of us are safe, as long as those groups are still tolerated.
So, I think that’s what we have to deal with and we have to think about it in terms of what’s the most effective way. I would say the most effective way to eliminate that threat is to cooperate: cooperate on finding out the sources and origins of this attack, cooperate in bringing the perpetra-tors to justice, and cooperate in eliminating the groups that carried out this attack and may be planning others.
Q: What is disturbing a lot of people in India and also the government in India is Pakistan’s denial of what is happening in Pakistan territory. How do we solve this problem? Is the United States going to put some pressure on, because it’s obvious now that these people came from Pakistan, the groups exist in Pakistan. Unless the government first accepts that it is happening in Pakistan, it cannot be remediated. So what is your view on this?
BOUCHER: My view on this is that Pakistan has put a lot of people in custody. It’s detained a lot of people from Lashkar-e-Toiba. They closed down offices of Jamaat-ud-Dawa; they have those people in custody, too. And that provides a basis for them to find out what these people have been doing and what their relationship is to the Mumbai attacks. And that’s what we expect, so I’m not looking so much for them — somebody — to make this statement or that statement; I’m looking for people to find out who did this, and bring them to justice, and stop further attacks.
Q: I would like to ask you how would the US react to similar terror attacks, God forbid, if they happen on your soil? Would you react to them in the same way, continue with dialogue, and hope for cooperation from Pakistan, or would you go ahead and bombard these terror camps there, or probably attack the entire country?
BOUCHER: We would react in whatever way we thought was the most effective way for protecting our people. And that’s…what one has to decide is: how are we going to end this threat and how are we going to stop these groups? And I think we need the cooperation of the Government of Pakistan, but we need the cooperation of all the governments in this region so that these groups can’t be allowed to operate.
QUESTION: Mr. Boucher, if India acts like Israel and bombards them, will you be supporting India like Israel, as you’ve done in the Security Council?
BOUCHER: First, we’re in the Security Council right now looking for a resolution on a sustainable ceasefire. The Secretary has been meeting with counterparts and supporting Egyptian efforts. So, I think we’ve been very active with the international community on trying to work on the situation in Gaza.
But, as far as the situation that India faces regarding terrorists, again we come back to just that basic question: how are we going to stop this? What is the best way to stop this, and make sure it doesn’t happen again? And that involves both finding out and punishing (perpetrators of) this attack, and finding out who else might be planning such things.
And there are other aspects too, that the United States has worked on with India. e are looking forward now to rescheduling the visit of the home minister, but we are working with his team, working with people in India to try to help you build your preventative measures, your ways of dealing with these attacks, finding out before they occur.
Excerpts from Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A Boucher’s press conference in Mumbai, January 9, 2009
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