India wants terror info but gives little in return: US

NEW DELHI - India is “very keen” to get information and technology from the US for counter-terrorism efforts but provides “little in return”, says a US embassy cable made public by WikiLeaks.

The cable, dated Feb 23, 2007 and reproduced by The Guardian, also came down heavily on Indian security forces, calling them corrupt and poorly trained and said they did not “conduct solid forensic investigations”.

The cable explained the American assessment of why New Delhi remained a distant partner vis-a-vis the US on counter-terrorism efforts.

“India’s lingering zero-sum suspicion of US policies towards Pakistan, its fiercely independent foreign policy stance, its traditional go-it-alone strategy toward its security, and its domestic political sensitivities over the sentiments of its large Muslim population, have all contributed to India’s caution in working with us on a joint counter-terrorism strategy,” the cable said.

It pointed out that while “India has been very keen to receive information and technology from us to further its counter-terrorism efforts, India provides little in return, despite our belief that the country should be an equal partner in this relationship.

“India frequently rebuffs our offers of support for their police investigations of terrorist attacks and our offers of training and support are often met with a stalled logistical pace.”

Making another point, the cable said it had to be kept in mind that “our perception of India’s lack of cooperation on US CT (Counter Terrorism) concerns often stems in part from India’s lack of capacity to manage these issues bureaucratically”.

It said that Indian police and security forces were “overworked and hampered by bad police practices, including the widespread use of torture in interrogations, rampant corruption, poor training, and a general inability to conduct solid forensic investigations.

“India’s most elite security forces also regularly cut corners to avoid working through India’s lagging justice system, which has approximately 13 judges per million people.

“Thus Indian police officials often do not respond to our requests for information about attacks or our offers of support because they are covering up poor practices, rather than rejecting our help outright.”