CS Monitor

By Tim Sebastian

May 1, 2009

Washington – This story began – as so many do – with a lunch.

While attending a conference in 2004 in the tiny Gulf state of Qatar, I was invited to break bread with the ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and his wife, Sheikha Mozah. As a bewildering array of courses came and went, the royal couple talked of their vision for reform and openness and asked me if I had any suggestions.

It was the start of a journey, now entering its sixth year, that led to the formation of the first global free speech forum in the Middle East – The Doha Debates – and last month to a highly controversial session in Washington.

My suggestion to Qatar’s ruler was to stage a series of town hall debates in the country, get people arguing without fear of censorship or repercussions and tackle the hottest political topics in the Arab and Islamic worlds. The key condition was that my team would retain full editorial independence – with no interference of any kind from the state.

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On June 25th 1950 the Cold War turned hot. A large North Korean force invaded South Korea with the moral backing of the Soviet Union. Dean Acheson, US Secretary of State, had placed Korea outside of America’s defense perimeter in Asia and Kim Il Sung took this as a sign that South Korea was ripe for the taking. The US quickly responded, sending a detachment of soldiers known as Task Force Smith from Japan. This small under-equipped and vastly outnumbered blocking force was quickly swallowed up by the massive North Korean communist army. Thus began a war that would last for three years and consume the lives of 36,000 Americans with another 103,000 wounded. The war would end just where it began with both sides staring each other down across the 38th parallel. The US military never left Korea. Today over 29,000 servicemen and women protect prosperous South Korea from their destitute kin in the north.  

With the economic situation as it is, now would be the moment to begin to engage North Korea in a lasting peace to eliminate the threat of war between the two Koreas. South Korea, since the war, has had one of the most effective armies in the region. Stories of South Korean bravery in action alongside the US military during the Vietnam War is legendary. South Korea’s industry is progressive and it is time they begin to use this wealth to provide for their own defense. Fifty Eight years has been enough of a buffer for South Korea. This is not to say we wouldn’t come to their aid if North Korea got obstreperous but the time of the current large scale US commitment in Korea has passed. The United States could use those assets elsewhere and the drag on our budget is high. Coming in at number six is a need to draw down our forces in South Korea.

As images came across the screen of the Mumbai terror attack most Americans were curious why radicals were so angry at India. The targeting of Westerners in the attack was more understandable, but why Indians?

When India achieved independence in 1948 the nation split. All Hindus fled the Muslim designated states of Pakistan and East Pakistan (later forming Bangladesh). A large minority of Muslims however remained in India and became an oppressed subgroup. The eruption of violence over the mountain state of Kashmir has acted like fuel for a religious fire ever since independence.

For much of its 60 years of existence India has struggled to achieve modernity. Its massive population (now well over a billion people) has acted as India’s greatest strength but also it largest weakness. Much of this time India’s focus has been on how to feed its people. Its social system, revolving on an ancient premise of social castes, has suppressed modern India’s economy. Social mobility is the engine for capitalism. India refused to get sucked into the Cold War and kept both the Soviet Union and the United States out of all components of their state. Throughout the Cold War India experimented with socialism and capitalism and for the most part failed to achieve significant advancement. As communism collapsed so did India’s restraint. The country blossomed economically just in time to ride the information technology boom. Its population now became a source of great minds. Though its education system is based on rote learning, it was ideal for mathematics and science. Linear learning produced great computer scientists, engineers and doctors from a pool of over a billion people. India is on the rise.

So what does this mean for America? One fact that few realize is India is the world’s largest democracy. They have a vibrant free press and a tradition of free speech. Women have played a key role in India’s recent history including a woman as Prime Minister in the 60s and 70s. Because of India’s coolness toward the US during the Cold War, India was not looked at as a fellow democratic state. The relationship between the US and India has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. Indians are now finding a second home in the US. Trade and business ties between the two nations are now burgeoning. Our two nations on opposite sides of the globe now have more in common than ever before.

As conflicts rage in lands to India’s west, India itself is quickly becoming a powerhouse in the region. Confident, India could provide an ally for America that counterweights India’s northern neighbor, communist China. If China’s dynamism results in a more aggressive stance it would be nice to have a friend in the region. India can provide just that. Surely an American tack toward India would frighten Pakistan but continued aid to the Islamic state would allay most fears. (Stabilizing extremism there will be addressed further up the list.) Obama’s administration should further partner with India and make  strides to build a friendship that will bring the two nations separated by great distance closer together. This is why India comes in at number nine on the list.