Picking Sides

The first real test of the Obama administration's new foreign policy comes as India's ruling party is demanding the international community declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

India's Congress Party on Saturday said the international community should consider declaring Pakistan a terrorist state in light of the latter's release of a scientist who sold nuclear secrets around the globe.

"It is time for the international community to think whether to declare Pakistan a terrorist country," Manish Tewari, the Congress party spokesman said in New Delhi, in reference to the end from house arrest of Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.

India's Congress Party rules in a coalition, and the call to the world community was from the party, not from the Indian government.

Khan, the man at the center of the world' most serious nuclear proliferation scandal, was released Friday after five years of house arrest.

This is a pretty ugly situation here. Obama cannot allow Pakistan to be labeled an international terrorist state, having been an ally of the US. At the same time, he cannot afford to alienate India's ruling party, either.

But, the Indian Congress Party has a valid point: Pakistan's A.Q. Khan is a both serious and proven nuclear proliferation threat, and with Pakistan turning him loose after Mumbai, the Indians have every right to be nervous. Pakistan is a major problem, and eventually Obama is going to have to pick a side: India or Pakistan.

Yes, this may be campaign rhetoric for the ruling party as elections in India are approaching. But, India's concerns are valid. We'll see how Hillary handles this one.