Making a U.S.-India strategic partnership work

A new strategic relationship between the United States and India is inevitable. Even before the 11 September 2001 attacks, the Bush administration was striving to improve relations with India. After the attacks, this action has become a U.S. priority. India, too, is devoting unprecedented energy to improving relations with the United States. Both countries are now courting each other, The United States wants a strategic partner that is capable of assisting the United States to achieving its international and regional objectives. It seeks a regional partner that can help the U.S. armed forces protect and preserve peace and security by providing bases, logistical support and, when required, combat support. India wants to be acknowledged as a regional power, as a nuclear power, and to more actively participate in global affairs, without sacrificing sovereignty. The two countries have pursued a strategic partnership before but the results have been failure and heightened resentment. Will this time be any different? This thesis examines the prospects for an enduring U.S.-India strategic partnership, It analyzes the history of U.S.-India relations, and describes the conditions that impeded the development of strong relations between the two countries. It describes the negative impact of Pakistan and Kashmir on U.S.-India relations. It demonstrates that a new reality, based upon capability and cooperation, has replaced the Cold War reality of power and bloc alignment, and why that bodes well for the future of U.S.-India relations, And it recommends that: the U.S.-India Defense Planning Group and its subsidiaries are revived; the Memorandum of Understanding be reviewed and simplified; and the Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism is enhanced.