US Navy Admiral William J Fallon, who will soon be confirmed as Chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) as part of Washington’s efforts to imbue new life into leadership of the Iraq and Afghanistan operations, will shortly visit New Delhi for some quick groundwork ahead of his new responsibility.

Centcom's area of responsibility stretches from East Africa through West Asia to Central Asia, which includes India and Pakistan. Top sources said that Admiral Fallon’s agenda here would include operational-level briefings on Pakistan and Iran with the army and navy respectively, integrated missile defence in the subcontinent and the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, which compelled the US to take over the controls of NATO forces in the country on Sunday.

Indications of Admiral Fallon’s own objectives during his India visit were obvious in the answers he gave to a Senate hearing in Washington on January 30. He said, “The Indian ties to Iran and their energy needs, and ties in other places in the region, I think could potentially be exploited. So I’d be anxious to talk with our State Department colleagues and to see what might be done in this area.”

His visit comes shortly after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee completes a two-day official visit to Iran on February 6.

At the Senate hearing on January 30, when questioned about his new assignment by Senator Hillary Clinton, Fallon said, “I’ve had a chance to watch the India-Pakistan dynamics now for a couple of years and I see change and it’s for the better. I believe that this change could potentially be very helpful to the situation in Afghanistan and perhaps even in Iraq.”

... contd.