'Indian, Pak army officers should attend joint classes in US'

MATTIS-INDOPAK

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Jul 28 (PTI) A top US General Wedenesday
said that senior military officers from India and Pakistan
should jointly attend military classes in the United States
and study American civil war together.
Such a move, General James Mattis said, would create
the much needed trust between the military leaders of the two
countries, which is required in addition to the diplomatic
efforts between the leaders of India and Pakistan.
"As we all know, they (India and Pakistan) have fought
several wars over a number of issues. There's the Kashmir
issue. There's any number of terrorist attacks," Gen James
Mattis said in his confirmation hearing before the powerful
Senate Armed Services Committee.
"But I think the most important thing we can do in
support of the diplomatic efforts which will fundamentally be
how we change something like this, is to help bring the
officer corps of both militaries together and create trust
between them, allow them to perhaps attend our school
together," Mattis said.
US President Barack Obama has nominated Gen Mattis as
his Commander for the US Central Command, which handles
Afghanistan and Pakistan. India comes under the jurisdiction
of the Pacific Command.
"As they do, they get to know each other there and
even do some of the things we've done elsewhere in the world
where we bring different sides during frozen conflicts
together," he argued.
"For example, at the Army School at Leavenworth,
they're up at Carlisle Barracks, and let them study our Civil
War together. And after a few days, they start warming up. I
think there are ways for us to build trust between officer
corps that will help stabilize these issues, but it's
fundamentally a political problem, not a military one of
course," Mattis said in response to a question from Senator
Scott Brown.
Earlier in written response to Senator's questions,
Mattis said that Pakistan has concerns about any military
cooperation between the US and India, which affects both their
relationship with Islamabad and, indirectly, the US efforts in
Afghanistan.
"However, we make clear to Pakistan that our military
cooperation and engagement is not a threat to Pakistan and
that this is not a zero-sum game. We have important
relationships and strategic partnerships with both countries
that are not at the expense of either," Mattis said.
The US General said close coordination between Central
Command (CENTCOM) and Pacific Command (PACOM) is a recognised
condition for the regions' challenges to be addressed.
"Though some advantages could be realized with India
and Pakistan in one AOR, PACOM and CENTCOM, with adequate
coordination mechanisms to address US interests in the region,
can work symbiotically on long-term security measures," Mattis
said. PTI LKJ
MRD


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