MEDIA REACTION: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000592

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E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY,
INDIA/PAKISTAN, GLOBAL ECONOMY.

This countrywide cable reports on relevant media
reaction/opinion from India's large non-English press.
The Mission reports on English-language media via email
through the daily "Early Edition" summary.

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U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
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1. "BRIGHT INITIATIVES OF BLACK U.S. PRESIDENT" op-ed
article in the March 26 right-of-center Urdu daily
RASHTRIYA SAHARA by staffer Asad Raza: "Obama is
implementing his election campaign promises. The U.S. can
regain the lost trust of the Muslim world by stopping its
blind support to Israel, and helping the shattered
Palestinians. Iran's cold attitude toward President
Obama's approach is justified as Bush Sr. and Jr. did
considerable damage to U.S. goodwill. But President
Obama's positive steps must be supported by the
international community, particularly Iraq, Iran and
Afghanistan."


2. "U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: TRYING TO COME OUT OF WHIRLPOOL
OF THE PAST" analysis in right-of-center Urdu daily
RASHTRIYA SAHARA: "Obama's willingness to establish a new
relationship with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual
interest and mutual respect seems to be turning into a
reality. The U.S President has offered direct talks with
Iran and announced withdrawal of the U.S forces from
Iraq. He is also reaching out to good Taliban in a bid to
end violence in Afghanistan. These praiseworthy
initiatives, taken in a time span of merely two months,
have certainly cooled down the region's temperature. We
have to see what comes ahead."

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INDIA/PAKISTAN
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3. "HOW CLEAN IS ISI?" editorial in the March 25
nationalist RASHTRIYA SAHARA Hindi daily: "Pakistan's
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says the Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI) is clean and has nothing to
do with terrorists. But many countries, including India,
have evidences of ISI's supporting terrorism. The FBI
also accepted ISI's involvement in its report on the
Indian Embassy attack in Afghanistan.... ISI could have
never imagined that the same terrorist structure it
supported against India would one day turn against it...
Qureshi's saying that he cannot vouch for ISI's
activities prior to his tenure shows he is being non-
committal."


4. "HIDDEN WAR: OPEN CONSPIRACIES" editorial in the March
27 centrist Marathi daily SAKAAL. "Pakistan does not seem
to want peace in the Kashmir valley. Going by the series
of encounters between the Indian ARMY and
infiltrators from across the border, Pakistan is almost
waging an undeclared war against India. The Lashkar-e-
Toiba, which has claimed responsibility for the
encounters, cannot carry out such systematic violent

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actions without the help of Pakistani military and
intelligence."

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GLOBAL ECONOMY
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5. "IN PLACE OF DOLLAR," editorial in the March 26
centrist NAVBHARAT TIMES Hindi daily: "Zhou Xiaochuan,
governor of China's central bank, has proposed replacing
the dollar as the world's reserve currency to help reform
the global monetary system. He says that the use of a
currency, which belongs to a sinking economy, would not
help end the international financial crisis. Russia also
recommended it recently and U.S. economist Joseph
Stieglitz has been saying the same. The U.S. finance
deficit has become more than 10% with Bush's and Obama's
stimulus packages. It is clear that the continuation of
the dollar as the international currency is not just
dangerous for the world, but also for the U.S."
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