Tim Roemer was appointed Ambassador to India a couple of days ago. Ok, I thought, let me learn more about Tim Roemer. As I expected, he’s a mover & a shaker; president of Center for National Policy which is a national security think tank in DC. So I’m thoroughly impressed. Until….

Until I dug into his voting record and stance on issues while he served in the US House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003. So what caused my eyebrows to raise incredulously?

As a member of the House of Representatives, Tim Roemer voted on the following:

Make a long-term commitment to supporting Pakistan

Roemer signed the 9/11 Commission ReportIn an extraordinary public essay asking how Muslims can “drag ourselves out of the pit we find ourselves in, to raise ourselves up,” Musharraf has called for a strategy of “enlightened moderation.”

• The Muslim world, he said, should shun militancy and extremism; the West—and the United States in particular—should seek to resolve disputes with justice and help better the Muslim world.
• # Having come close to war in 2002 and 2003, Pakistan and India have recently made significant progress in peacefully discussing their longstanding differences. The United States has been and should remain a key supporter of that process.
• # The constant refrain of Pakistanis is that the United States long treated them as allies of convenience. As the United States makes fresh commitments now, it should make promises it is prepared to keep, for years to come.

Recommendation: If Musharraf stands for enlightened moderation in a fight for his life and for the life of his country, the United States should be willing to make hard choices too, and make the difficult long-term commitment to the future of Pakistan. Sustaining the current scale of aid to Pakistan, the United States should support Pakistan’s government in its struggle against extremists with a comprehensive effort that extends from military aid to support for better education, so long as Pakistan’s leaders remain willing to make difficult choices of their own.

Huh! Double Huh! Given how India and Indians feel about Pakistan and what’s happening there, I wonder what Tim Roemer’s thinking about his above vote, now that he is in India.

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