India says no to US request to send troops to Iraq

By: Irfan Malik

NEW DELHI, India: The Indian government on Monday throwing out a request from Washington for help has refused to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq without a United Nations mandate, but showed its readiness to contribute to the rebuilding of infrastructure, health care, educational, communications and other civilian needs of the Iraqis.

The decision came after Premier A. B. Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist coalition government failed to build a domestic consensus in support of sending troops to Iraq.

Talking to newsmen after a meeting of the cabinet's security committee that lasted for two hours, foreign minister Yashwant Sinha said: “Were there to be an explicit UN mandate for the purpose, the government of India could consider the deployment of our troops in Iraq.”

“Our longer-term national interest, our concern for the people of Iraq, our longstanding ties with the Gulf region, as well as our growing dialogue and strengthened ties with the US have been key elements in this consideration,” the minister said.

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