[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 148 (Friday, November 15, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2073-E2074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COMMENDING PRESIDENT BUSH'S LEADERSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 14, 2002

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend 
President Bush's courageous leadership in securing bipartisan 
Congressional and unanimous U.N. support to disarm Iraq. The threat of 
nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons being transferred from Saddam 
Hussein to group like al Qaeda is a real threat to America and our 
allies.
  I also want to praise President Bush's initiatives in strengthening 
our important relationship with India. Over the past 10 years, 
bilateral trade between the U.S. and India more than tripled from 6 
billion to 19 billion per year. We have continued to engage in joint 
military exercises, and we share common goals and concerns.
  One major goal is to dramatically increase bilateral trade. We have 
made significant advances in this area, but more remains to be done. We 
share the common threat of international terrorism from al Qaeda, and 
we must continue to share intelligence and coordinate counterterrorism 
strategies through our joint task force on terrorism.
  U.S.-India security cooperation is helping to foster greater 
stability in Asia and to make for a safer world. U.S.-India joint 
military exercises were held in Alaska from September 29 to October 11, 
involving troops from the U.S. Army 1st Battalion 501st Para Infantry 
Regiment and from India's 50 (I) Para Brigade. These exercises followed 
a joint airborne military exercise between the two countries held at 
Agra, India, in May of this year. As reported in the Washington Times 
on October 9, India's Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Lalit 
Mansingh, traveled to Alaska to observe the exercises. The Ambassador 
was welcomed by Brigadier General John M. Brown 111, Commander of the 
U.S. Army Alaska at Fort Richardson, who expressed his appreciation for 
the professionalism, discipline and adaptability of the Indian armed 
forces.
  Also last month, a major joint U.S.-India naval exercise, named 
``Malabar IV,'' was successfully completed in the Indian Ocean. The 
U.S. and Indian Navies have agreed to jointly patrol the Strait of 
Malacca to ensure the uninterrupted flow of vital oil supplies. The 
U.S.-India Defense Planning Group has been established to help 
coordinate ongoing joint activities, while the Executive Steering 
Groups of all the three defense services are scheduled to meet again 
later this year to plan future joint exercises, training and other 
areas of cooperation for the next year.
  Earlier this fall, India once again demonstrated that it is indeed a 
democracy, where power is transferred by means of free and fair 
elections, with the conclusion on October 7th of a four-stage election 
for the Assembly in India's State of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the 
ongoing threat of violence by terrorist elements--most of which come 
from outside of India's borders--to intimidate voters and candidates 
alike, the elections went--forward successfully, as judged by the 
United States and other independent observers. Turnout was 
approximately 45 percent, and the result was a defeat for the ruling 
party--itself an indication that the elections were truly democratic.
  As the Washington Times reported on October 14 (``Embassy Row'' 
column by James Morris), ``The United States is praising the bravery of 
voters in Kashmir who defied threats from Islamic militants to vote in 
large numbers this month.'' The article quotes the U.S. Ambassador to 
India, Robert Blackwill, who said, ``It was a successful election. The 
election commission did a very fine job. It was a credible election 
carried out by democratic means.''
  Other top U.S. officials have echoed these sentiments. The Assistant 
Secretary of State

[[Page E2074]]

for South Asia, Christina Rocca, in a speech last month at the American 
Enterprise Institute, said that 'Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari 
Vajpayee's ``personal commitment to making them [the elections] 
transparent and open'' was a critical factor in moving the democratic 
process forward.''
  Ambassador Blackwill did not mince words when it came to describing 
the guerrillas that used violence in an effort to disrupt the 
elections, calling them ``terrorists.'' ``Terrorists can call 
themselves many different things at different, places,'' our Ambassador 
said. ``Sometimes they are called freedom fighters. Any person who 
kills civilians is a terrorist.''
  Mr. Speaker, America knows how it feels to be a democracy targeted by 
terrorists. India has for many years endured the same experience. In 
fact, the terrorist elements targeting India in Kashmir have links to 
the same Al Qaeda terrorist network that attacked America on 9/11 and 
was apparently responsible for the bombing in Indonesia last month. I 
have spoken out on several occasions this year about the terrorist 
attacks against Kashmiri civilians, and I have urged the leaders of 
Pakistan to stop allowing their country to be used as a base for 
terrorist training camps and extremist religious clerics who foment 
hate against both India and America.
  Unfortunately, the opposite may be happening. On November 12, the 
Orlando Sentinel, and other publications, reported that, ``U.S. 
intelligence says most of al-Qaeda's surviving leaders have relocated 
to Pakistan.'' The newspaper noted that U.S. forces cannot operate in 
Pakistan as they have in Afghanistan, due to concerns that an American 
military presence would anger Pakistan. Therefore, we must press 
President Musharraf to take control of this situation.
  Assistant Secretary Rocca stated in her speech that the U.S. and 
India are allies in the struggle against terrorism, saying, ``Counter-
terrorism cooperation is maturing rapidly, including intelligence 
sharing, training, finance and antimoney laundering cooperation, 
improving border security, fighting cyber-terrorism and increasing 
mutual legal assistance.'' In fact, a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance 
in Criminal Matters between the U.S. and India is awaiting approval by 
the full Senate, having been approved by the Foreign Relations 
Committee in the Other Body.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote from President Bush in 
his remarks welcoming Prime Minister Vajpayee to Washington on November 
9, 2001. ``My Administration is committed to developing a fundamentally 
different relationship with India, one based upon trust, one based upon 
mutual values. After all, the Prime Minister leads a nation that is the 
largest democratic nation in the world.'' I appreciate the commitment 
of our President, and I look forward to working with the Administration 
as the United States continues to improve and expand our relationship 
with India to the benefit of the people of both of our great nations.
  I look forward to working with the Republican leadership and 
President George W. Bush to shape a new relationship between the U.S. 
and India in the 108th Congress.

                          ____________________