Blackwill the man for the job: Bush

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JULY 18. The President, Mr. George W. Bush, has again stressed his aim of transforming United States-India relations and that this will be a pre-eminent priority of his administration. The President made these remarks when the new U.S. Ambassador to India, Mr. Robert Blackwill, called on him on Monday.

Expressing gratitude that Mr.Blackwill had agreed to take on this ``crucial assignment,'' the President is said to have remarked that Mr. Blackwill was ``exactly'' the man for the job. Mr. Bush also told Mr. Blackwill that he was looking forward to his visit to India and asked him to convey his regards to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Mr. Blackwill was formally sworn in on Tuesday afternoon in a ceremony at the White House hosted by the National Security Adviser, Dr. Condoleeza Rice. Besides his wife, Ms. Wera Hildebrand, diplomats, colleagues and friends of Mr. Blackwill were present.

India's Ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Lalit Mansingh, the U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. Robert Zoellick, the Deputy National Security Adviser, Mr. Steve Hadley, the Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, Mr. Richard Haass, and the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Ms. Christina Rocca, also attended.

In her remarks, Dr. Rice referred to Mr. Blackwill's close relationship with the President as a trusted friend and one of the principal foreign policy advisers during the political campaign.Dr. Rice also recalled her own appreciation of Mr. Blackwill's talents and said the U.S. was sending India ``a very strong Ambassador''.

Mr. Blackwill appreciated the trust the President had reposed in him to carry out his core objective of fundamentally re-defining U.S.-India relations.

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