A. I believe it is one of the great mistakes of American policy to remain neutral between Pakistan and India. On virtually every major strategic question, India must become one of America’s key foundational allies in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in the areas that connect to it. I believe India will have to play a major role, along with other key allies such as Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Greece, in securing a stable environment stretching from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. There are forces at work there that are destabilising and dangerous — both in terms of the regional politics of Asia and the Middle East, and in terms of the global challenge to the stability of the world. India is an indispensable nation in helping maintain that stability, and I believe Indian-American relations will improve to the level we see with some other countries, such as Japan, Israel or the UK, because they simply must. Moreover, India is a democracy and an ancient nation. There are only three ancient democracies in the world, with Israel and Japan being the other two. This is a civilisational affinity that must ultimately attract American support and friendship, because freedom remains a foundational value of the United States.
