CIAO DATE: 10/05

From Estrangement to Engagement: U.S. - India Relations since May 1998

Abstract

Thanks, Peter, very much, and quite sincerely, please do pass my regards and wishes for safe travels to Marshall. Marshall has been a very good friend and colleague, and I might add one of many mentors that I've had in trying to learn a little bit about South Asia. Marshall is mentioned in the acknowledgments of my book, because he was good enough to read it carefully and give me some helpful comments. He is not the only one in that category, and there are a couple of folks here this evening that I want to particularly thank for their help to me as a student, and for that matter also as a diplomat.

Francine [Frankel; Director, CASI], I'll start with you. I remember very well when Bill Clinton, as president, was finally going to get a chance to visit India, a trip that he regretted for a number of reasons not having made much earlier in his administration, but he was finally on his way there in the Spring of 2000, and Bruce Riedel, who's here tonight, and a couple of others, Sandy Berger, Rick Inderfurth, put together a very small list of true, not just "India wallahs," but "India gurus," I think it could be said, to come in and give the president a crash course on the complexities of the country that he was about to visit. Not only did Francine participate, but she I think made some particularly astute and helpful comments, and I appreciate the invitation from you to be part of this event.

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