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Mumbai terror strikes has brought Pak's role to the fore:Cohen
Terming the Lashkar-e-Taiba's Mumbai terror strikes as a 'brilliant stupidity', noted US strategic analyst Stephen P Cohen said the attacks had brought to the fore Pakistan's role in assisting terror outfits.
Terming the Lashkar-e-Taiba's Mumbai terror strikes as a 'brilliant stupidity', noted US strategic analyst Stephen P Cohen said the attacks had brought to the fore Pakistan's role in assisting terror outfits.
"The LET attack had succeeded in bringing out Pakistan's support to terror outfits what the Indian government was unable to convince the other nations for a long time," he said at the Pan-IIT Global Conference being held in Chennai.
However, he said "the US will have to think twice in taking action against Pakistan. Majority of its supplies to Afghanistan passed through Pakistan and the latter can respond in their own way" he said.
Twenty two different countries lost people in Mumbai attacks, he said, describing the LET's action as a "brilliant stupidity." Cohen, a Senior Fellow of Brookings Institute, also asserted that any attempt to make Kashmir issue a focal point of US policy in South Asia would be a "serious mistake"and a "wrong approach".
"Putting Kashmir issue as a central focus point between the two countries (US and India) will be wrong approach," he said, referring to reports that Obama administration may focus on Kashmir.
"It is unlikely that US will tell India what to do in Kashmir.... If Kashmir becomes the focal point of American policy in South Asia, probably (it may) be a serious mistake," he said.
Instead Washington "needs to take regional approach at South Asia on this issue", he said and hoped that Obama will take a new initiative to resolve the Kashmir issue.
On Pakistan, Cohen said "the Obama administration has recognised that Pakistan itself is a problem". He also said India and the US need to work together on the issues of water, AIDS, science, technology and education.
