Mission Baghdad with a human face

Taking a leaf out of its very successful medical-military intervention in Somalia exactly a decade ago, India is planning to put together a ...

Taking a leaf out of its very successful medical-military intervention in Somalia exactly a decade ago, India is planning to put together a similar division of troops to help with the 8216;8216;rehabilitation and reconstruction8217;8217; of Iraq.

Significantly, half the division will be women, comprising doctors and gynaecologists and obstetricians and nurses, to help with women8217;s and children8217;s issues in the extended war zone that large parts of Iraq have been turned into in the last year.

8216;8216;The idea is to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, to tell them that India is with them in their hour of need,8217;8217; officials involved in planning the operation said.

Interestingly, the medical brigade will be protected by Indian paramilitary soldiers in uniform, who will not, however, perform any other function in Iraq.

Under the circumstances, the Manmohan Singh government has privately ruled out sending combat troops to Iraq, despite the considerable pressure on them on this issue both in New Delhi and in Washington.

Recalling the 8216;8216;immense popularity8217;8217; of India8217;s medical intervention in Somalia a decade ago, officials said the spirit of that humanitarian mission was now intended to be repeated in Iraq.

nbsp;	Natwar underlines: no troops

		nbsp;	At a press conference in Washington, Natwar said: 8226; The question of sending Indian troops to Iraq does not arise. 8226; We stand by Parliament resolution on the subject. 8226; All decisions in this regard will be taken by the government in close consultation with all political parties. 8226; Partnership needed with US, based on mutual trust and friendship Story continues below this ad	nbsp;

The officials argued that External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh8217;s comments in Washington on Thursday about taking a 8216;8216;fresh look8217;8217; at the Iraq story were intended to be limited to 8216;8216;rehabilitation and reconstruction.8217;8217;

The medical brigade is not a new idea, with the Vajpayee government having toyed with it to send about 75 medical personnel to work in a hospital in Najaf, along with the Jordanians last year. But New Delhi was never able to finalise its mind and ultimately in December, the team was disbanded.

The argument in New Delhi against sending combat troops to participate in a US-led multinational force remains strong. Even if the issue of command and control can be sorted out by a UN fig-leaf, officials argue, the question of when real sovereignty will be transferred from the US-led coalition to the Iraqis is a big one. The new government8217;s views on Iraq in many ways echoes that of the Vajpayee government, which, last July, refused to send troops because of many unanswered questions of political sovereignty. Sources close to Vajpayee had then said that he would always ask one question, 8216;8216;What if Indian troops are fired upon, how are they expected to defend themselves?8217;8217;

On the other hand, New Delhi doesn8217;t want to completely rule out a presence in that country, precisely because a new Iraqi government is taking over Baghdad. The Arab world is in a state of flux and New Delhi would like to keep updating its relations with its neighbourhood. That is why Natwar Singh, in a letter to his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiar Zebari about a fortnight ago, promised help with 8216;8216;economic and political reconstruction and rehabilitation8217;8217; of Iraq.