US, India sign defense pact

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The defense ministers of the United States and India signed a 10-year agreement paving the way for stepped up military ties, including joint weapons production and cooperation on missile defense, officials said.

It called for "an enhanced level of cooperation covering military to military relations as well as a defense industrial and technological relationship," a statement said following the signing by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in Washington.

They agreed to set up a "defense procurement and production group" and sign deals to cooperate on military "research, development, testing and evaluation" as well as naval pilot training.

"Both sides agreed that US-India defense relations are an important pillar of their transforming bilateral relationship," the statement said.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050628/wl_sthasia_afp/usindiamilitary_050628235206

[DBoon]

1. So India agrees to defend us if Canada attacks?

nt

[Mojorabbit]

2. It's all about

energy. India has just found a huge natural gas reserve.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/06/29/stories/2005062905241800.htm
I see some gosh awful wars over oil and gas in the future.Worse than now.

[cire4]

3. That and the fear of China.....

China is growing so rapidly, so quickly that the United States is trying to gobble up as many allies as it can in the region (see *'s visit to Vietnam), especially countries like India which is also re likely to grow big and powerful in the next 30 years.

I think the US is really trying to prevent an alliance between China and India, which would be devastating to the country in the long term.

[michaelwb]

4. Pakistan?

So how does our other "good" buddy Pakistan feel about this? India and them are hardly sweethearts.

[C_U_L8R]

6. I think that's the whole point...

it's a love letter to Mushy
(sorry we don't support you anymore)

[sweetheart]

5. a return to the bilateral alliances of world war 1

This bilateral defense arrangement thinking is the very problem that
exacerbated world war 1, and pulled in all the world's great powers
after the archduke ferdinand was killed in sarijevo.

Which side will the US stand on when india and pakistan have their next
nuclear conflict. Is it to be a proxy war, where pakistan goes awol
and supplies all the middle east with nuclear weapons ssytems, and india
and israel fight the proxy war for the pentagon? Well, they're preparing
for it.