Horrific scene… not America at its greatest, says US envoy as he wraps up
US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster mentioned Thursday that he was “very sad” to see the violence in Washington DC and described the storming of the US Capitol as a “horrific scene” that was “not America at its best”.
Speaking to The Indian Express throughout an in depth interview on his three-year stint in India, the outgoing US envoy additionally mentioned that lawlessness and rioting is “always unacceptable” and has no place in any democracy.
“It was very sad to see the news coming out of Washington, D.C. when we woke up on Thursday morning. While protests in our country are part of our democracy, it is unacceptable for there to be violence associated with them, and the storming of the US Capitol was a horrific scene. This is not America at its best. Lawlessness and rioting in the United States — or in any country — is always unacceptable. It has no place in any democracy,” Juster mentioned.
The Ambassador’s feedback are vital as he’s a political appointee who was picked by the Trump administration for the job in the long run of 2017. During his time period, the India-US relationship has remodeled, particularly in defence, safety and vitality cooperation.
Speaking about his India stint, Juster marked out three incidents as “low points”: the Pulwama terrorist assault in February 2019, the desecration of the Mahatma Gandhi statue exterior the Indian Embassy in Washington DC final summer season, and the Galwan Valley incident by which 20 Indian troopers had been killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops.
On the air strikes in Balakot, Juster mentioned that the US was involved about the potential for escalation.
“Whenever there’s a potential conflict or an actual engagement, we are always concerned that something could escalate. And all parties are hoping that there can be restraint shown and the situation can de-escalate. That’s been our perspective with the border disputes with China — that people want to try to resolve the issues peacefully. Now, on terrorism issues, it’s also understood that countries may need to take some responsive action when that occurs. If that’s the case, you’re hoping it would be proportionate to that incident,” he mentioned.
He additionally spoke in regards to the journey hosted by the Centre for diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir in January 2020, following the bifurcation of the state, and known as it an “important and valuable” alternative. He mentioned that the US has publicly expressed its hope for restoration of full entry to the Internet in J&Ok, and for the realisation of financial advantages which have been mentioned by all events.
In an virtually hour-long interview, Juster spoke in regards to the accomplishments throughout his tenure — from vitality to well being defence and safety cooperation, pushing the US as a vacation spot for jobs and training, and the event of Quad as a grouping — in addition to the challenges in commerce and funding, and India’s defence procurement from Russia.
But the envoy signalled that he was leaving on a contented notice as he known as India “the most fascinating country in the world” and “many countries rolled-up into one”.
“As I reflect back on my time here, I think we have accomplished a great deal in each of those areas. What I am most proud of is that I have been involved in this relationship for twenty years in various capacities, and I’ve seen it progress significantly from year to year. As I said in my speech [on Tuesday], the past four years have been a time of further ambition and achievement. And I believe that I’m leaving this partnership in a very strong position for the next Administration. As I said previously, I believe the US-India strategic partnership is strong, positive, and on an upward trajectory,” he mentioned.
