July 15, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1424

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WASHINGTON, July 14: US officials said on Monday that they were disappointed but not surprised at India’s refusal to send troops to Iraq.

A senior official told reporters in Washington it was becoming slowly clear that there was no political consensus in India on the issue.

“Not only the opposition Congress Party but also coalition members of the ruling alliance were opposed to the idea,” he said.

“We are disappointed but this is not a surprise to us. It was becoming apparent that the government didn’t manage to create a consensus,” he added.

“It was one of those things that would have been really good if it had happened.”

A Pentagon official, when asked to comment, said: “It is India’s decision.”

He said the Pentagon had “talked to India” and to several other countries but there was no request made for troops.

“We typically talk to other countries about what kinds of needs we have. We don’t make requests. We leave it to other countries to decide what they are going to do about it,” said commander Jeff Davis.

Diplomatic observers in Washington, however, said that the Pentagon felt led down by India’s decision because it was under pressure to bring home US troops and needed external support to do so.

The state department has said in the past that India’s decision will not have any adverse impact on bilateral relations.

“It will not send our relations in another direction,” a US official repeated on Monday.

When asked whether Washington would move another resolution in the UN Security Council for creating an international peacekeeping force for Iraq, the official said discussions were continuing on the issue.

But diplomatic observers in Washington say that the Indian decision will increase pressure on the Bush administration to seek UN cover for such a force.

US officials also acknowledge that a UN cover would make it easier for their allies to contribute troops to this force.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell was meeting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Monday and is expected to discuss this issue with him, diplomatic sources said.

Although willing to seek UN help in running Iraq, the Bush administration is wary of outside influence.

The political restructuring of Iraq is a key element in Washington’s roadmap for the Middle East and it does not want outside forces to influence this process.

Apparently, the Bush administration also fears that leaning too much on the United Nations could force it to share the decision-making process in Iraq with other permanent members of the Security Council, such as Russia, France and China.

These are the countries that initially opposed United States invasion of Iraq.