Military strategies not enough: India, US agree on Afghan

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Mar 10 (PTI) India and the US Tuesday agreed
that military strategies alone are not enough to bring lasting
peace to Afghanistan, as Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar
Menon met top officials of the Obama Administration and
discussed counter-terrorism cooperation and regional issues.

Menon, who is on a four-day visit to the US, met National
Security Adviser General James Jones and discussed the
progress in the probe into Mumbai terror attacks,
counter-terrorism cooperation and the Afghanistan-Pakistan
strategic review by the US.

"On improving the situation in Afghanistan, they agreed
that military strategies alone are not enough to bring
stability to the region and that other issues such as economic
development and rule of law are also vital to success," Mike
Hammer, National Security Council spokesman, told PTI after
the meeting.

Obama Administration considers India as a key regional
player in restoring lasting peace in Afghanistan.

The meeting between Menon and General Jones lasted for 45
minutes. This was the first time that Jones met a top Indian
official.

"They (General Jones and Menon) also touched on
counter-terrorism cooperation and the ongoing Mumbai
investigation," Hammer said.

During the meeting, Menon and General Jones discussed a
number of other issues of mutual interest and decided to work
together on them.

"The two also expressed a mutual desire to work closely
together on global priorities such as climate change and
non-proliferation," Hammer said.

During the next two days, Menon is scheduled to meet
officials of Department of Defence and some of the important
Washington-based think tanks. PTI LKJ
RAI
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