BLACKWILL QUITS

U.S. ambassador to India Robert Blackwill has announced that he is resigning his post and returning to his academic career (see his Harvard page here). Read the Times of India story here ("U.S. dismisses policy rift with Blackwill"), the Indian Express story here ("US envoy Blackwill pays for his pro-India line"), The Hindu's coverage here ("Blackwill quits, returns to Harvard") and Dawn's coverage here. The Indian Express also carries Blackwill's statement here. The heart of the issue is contained in the following paragraph from Blackwill's statement, especially when read with Dawn's line (below):

With respect to the global war on terrorism, President Bush emphasises that this scourge threatens both our values and our interests. As I have said many times during my stay in India, the fight against international terrorism will not be won until terrorism against India ends permanently. There can be no other legitimate stance by the United States, no American compromise whatever on this elemental geopolitical and moral truth. The United States, India and all civilised nations must have zero tolerance for terrorism. Otherwise, we sink into a swamp of moral relativism and strategic myopia. As was so often the case, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan put it best, ‘‘reason and careful moral reflection...teach us that there are times when the first and the most important reply to evil is to stop it.’’

And from Dawn, as usual, not without Schadenfreude:

Analysts said Mr Blackwill's tenure would be remembered for his handling of the post-9/11 fallout in South Asia, including his hands-on approach to defusing last year's menacing nuclear standoff between India and Pakistan.

However, he was perceived by some as being too close to the rightwing Hindu nationalist establishment in India to be able play an honest broker between New Delhi and Islamabad.

On the other hand, he had apparently failed to persuade India to support Washington's most important agenda in the Middle East, analysts said.

The Indian Express (here's the link again) plays up the claim that Blackwill is too pro-India for the tastes of many in the Bush administration.