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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000485 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR MOPS KTFN PK IN
SUBJECT: NSA NARAYANAN ENCOURAGES GREATER ASIAN COOPERATION 
AND LAMENTS THE SPREAD OF THE "AL QAEDA MINDSET" IN MUNICH 
ADDRESS 
 
This message is Sensitive but Unclassified. 
 
¶1.   (SBU)  Summary:  National Security Advisor MK Narayanan 
unsurprisingly highlighted India,s &benign and stabilizing 
role8 in his remarks at the Munich Conference on Security 
Policy on February 10.  Although much of Narayanan,s address 
to the primarily European audience pointed to India,s role 
in strengthening relations within Asia, he also raised a 
number of concerns that were obliquely directed at Pakistan. 
The most direct references were his comment that India faces 
threats from &nations in the region that are authoritarian, 
anti-democratic and anti-secular, approximating to failed 
states,8 and a reference to specialized schools for suicide 
bombers on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.  He also lamented 
the growing links between terrorist groups and the spread of 
the &Al Qaeda mindset.8   Narayanan,s observation that, 
&Threats to stability from nuclear weapons in the hands of 
volatile states cannot be discounted,8 was carried widely by 
the press.  Narayanan also singled out Russia as a &major 
influence as regards stability.8   Although obviously 
designed to portray India in the best light, the National 
Security Advisor,s address also offers a rare glimpse of his 
world view.  His assertion that maritime security and 
combating links between terrorist groups are priorities could 
offer scope for further U.S.-India cooperation.   End Summary. 
 
India is a Benign and Stabilizing Force, and Asia is 
Ascendant: 
----------------------------- 
¶2. (U)   In his February 10 remarks at the Munich Conference 
on Security Policy, India,s National Security Advisor MK 
Narayanan stressed India,s &historical role as a benign and 
stabilizing force in Asia . . . and beyond the region.8  He 
claimed that India and China had, in the pre-industrialized 
age, accounted for more than half of the world,s economic 
output, and predicted that will be the case again in a few 
decades.  Narayanan particularly mentioned the simultaneous 
rise of China and India, along with Japan and the ASEAN 
states, as noteworthy.  The National Security Advisor also 
claimed India is involved in strengthening SAARC.  Moving 
further afield, Narayanan mentioned India,s ties to West 
Asia, and pointed to Russia as &a major influence as regards 
stability in Asia.8  &The friendship between India and 
Russia is not merely time-tested but is one of the most 
successful of its kind anywhere.8 
 
But Pakistan Is the Elephant in the Room: 
---------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU)  Notably absent from Narayanan,s remarks was any 
reference to the United States, Europe (other than Russia), 
and Pakistan, at least by name. India,s northern neighbor 
was strongly present between the lines, however:  &first and 
foremost are existential threats and vulnerabilities that 
pluralistic, secular and democratic countries such as India . 
. . face from nations in the region that are authoritarian, 
anti-democratic and anti-secular, approximating to failed 
states.8  In his remarks on proliferation of weapons of mass 
destruction, Naryanan claimed that &credible reports suggest 
that the region has been both a source and a destination for 
proliferation of WMD material and equipment. . . . Threats to 
stability from nuclear weapons in the hands of volatile 
states cannot be discounted.8  This statement garnered most 
of the press attention on Narayanan,s remarks.  (There is a 
slight possibility that Narayanan could have had Iran in 
mind, as well as Pakistan.) 
 
And the &Al Qaeda Mindset8 is the Biggest Threat: 
-------------------------------- 
¶4. (U)  Narayanan dedicated a significant portion of his 
remarks to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, averring that their 
&ideological narrative8 &spawns not merely a multi-cell 
structure that is sublimating suicide terrorism into a 
 
NEW DELHI 00000485  002 OF 002 
 
 
legitimizing force, but is throwing up new leaderships across 
many countries.8 He lamented the spread of the &Al Qaeda 
mindset from the border regions of Pakistan-Afghanistan, 
where specialized schools exist for training suicide 
bombers8 and referred to &Al Qaeda,s elite terrorist 
network such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the 
Islamic Jehad Group (in Central Asia), the Lashkar ) e- 
Toeba, the Jaish ) e-Mohd, the Lashkar ) e- Jhangvi and the 
Hurkat-ul-Jehadi Islami and the Taliban (in South Asia), the 
Jemiah Islamiah and the Abu Sayyaf Group in Southeast and 
East Asia. . . . .They have forged common funding structures, 
common training curricula and have a common resource for 
obtaining explosives and weapons, etc.8   &Today, Al 
Qaeda,s mindset, he continued, even more than the Al Qaeda 
network, provides the most pervasive threat to Asian and 
international stability.8 
 
Need for a &Pan-Asian Security Architecture8 
----------------------------- 
¶5. (U)   Narayanan also regretted the &absence of a readily 
available Pan-Asian security architecture, of the type that 
has evolved in the Trans-Atlantic region.8  He pointed to 
the increasing need for Asian nations to concentrate on 
maritime security and develop structures that are not based 
on &sterile concepts from an earlier era.8  Narayanan 
closed his remarks by averring that, &India is a globally 
responsible nation and as our capabilities expand, we are 
willing, and prepared, to take on greater responsibilities to 
ensure international peace and stability.8 
 
Comment: 
------------ 
¶6. (U)  In his 2007 address at the same venue, Narayanan 
focused on the need for expanded financial counterterrorism 
efforts, and also referred to the state support and 
sponsorship of some terrorist groups by &certain official 
agencies across the border.8  His 2008 presentation takes a 
broader view of the challenges. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  In spite of the self-congratulatory tone of 
Narayanan,s address, the National Security Advisor raised 
points in his 2008 remarks that could provide an opening for 
greater U.S.-India cooperation, for example in maritime 
security.  It will be useful to refer back to Narayanan,s 
statement that half of the world,s container traffic 
transits the Indian Ocean as we pursue discussions on the 
Megaports proposal.  Narayanan,s observations on common 
funding structures for terrorist groups could also provide 
impetus for acceptance of more training and increased action 
on combating terrorist financing. 
WHITE