India reject reports of US troops on its soil

AFP ^ | 3/4/2012 | AFP

[U-238]

India has denied as "factually incorrect" a report that US special forces were stationed in the country as part of counter-terrorism cooperation.

Media reports quoted top Pentagon commander Admiral Robert Willard as telling a Congressional hearing on Thursday that US special forces teams were stationed in five South Asian countries, including India and Sri Lanka.

"The report is factually incorrect in so far as the reference to India is concerned," Indian defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said in a statement late on Friday.

"US special forces teams have never been stationed in India in the past, nor are such teams stationed in the country presently," Kar added.

The two democracies, however, have a regular military exchange programme with cross visits for training and joint drills by soldiers of one country to another.

In Colombo, the US embassy on Saturday denied stationing special forces in Sri Lanka.

"References in the press to US special forces being stationed in Sri Lanka are misleading," the embassy said in a statement.

However, it said members of the US military were assigned to work in the embassy in Colombo "as part of the bilateral engagement between the United States and Sri Lanka."

The US admiral had been quoted as saying that the move to station US forces in the South Asian countries was part of the counter-terrorism cooperation with these nations.

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A sign that the U.S. is ready to leave Pakistan for India?

[Little Pig]

The US embassy in Delhi is huge. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a small specops team were staying in the barracks there. A counter-terror team might only need to be 3 or 4 guys if that, so it’s not like there’s a huge US army base in India somewhere. If this were the case, both the US and India would be correct, since the US is saying there is a counter-terror team in India (at the US embassy), but India is saying there is no terror team in India (on Indian soil, since the US embassy is US territory).

[James C. Bennett]

The US Embassy is technically American soil in India. Likewise, the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

American, Australian and Indian troops have regularly held exercises in the varied terrains of all three countries.

Alaska-based exercises mimic Indian Himalayan exercises.

Jungle warfare schools of the Indian military in India’s far-east has been attended by American exchange forces in the past, and will continue to do so, in the future.

So on, and so forth...

[ravager]

Well if the special forces team is there with full knowledge and consent of Indian government then there is no issue. If they are there covertly and without Indian knowledge or consent then that's not a good thing for India-US relation.

[Oztrich Boy]

Well if the special forces team is there with full knowledge and consent of Indian government then there is no issue. If they are there covertly and without Indian knowledge or consent then that's not a good thing for India-US relation.

If they were there without Indian Government knowledge, the Indian reaction would be different - ie demanding the US Government confirm or deny. But they are perfectly content to operate on the basis that the US troops are not there.

But there is still an issue. The question is whether he made the orginal statement because he was an idiot or on behalf of the Obama Adiministration

[ravager]

Right now as we speak, Indian and US armies are conducting joint military exercises in Rajasthan. And in the past there were several such joint exercises done in both countries but it is not the same as special forces being “stationed”. There could be men from special forces guarding the US embassy (plus men in non combat gears present inside the embassy) which is still pretty common in most embassies in sensitive countries. Its still not the same as US forces being “stationed”. If they are covertly in India without Indian consent then it is not a good thing.

From personal knowledge, I know Indians loath foreign boots on Indian soil. Even at the peak of Indo-Soviet alliance Indian never allowed a single Soviet soldier to set foot on Indian soil, not a single Soviet ship was allowed to dock at an Indian port.

The prompt manner in which Indian govt had to straight away deny the presence of US special forces in India indicates that the Indian government is in a tough spot because of the idiot US commander blurting it out. Indian media will not let the matter die out so quick and anti-US sections in India have already pounced on the news. This statement was criminally stupid on part of US commander.