America
US House seeks larger US-India-Israel national security cooperation
By
By Arun KumarWashington, June 17
The US House of
Representatives has passed a bipartisan amendment to the FY2016
Intelligence Authorization Act calling for expansion of US-India-Israel
national security cooperation.
The amendment passed Tuesday
requires a report from the Director of National Intelligence on the
possibilities for growing national security cooperation between the US,
India, and Israel.
The amendment was offered among others by Ami
Bera and George Holding, Democratic and Republican co-chairs
respectively of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.
It
was also supported by Joe Crowley, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus;
and Eliot Engel, top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"The
US, along with two of our most important allies, India and Israel, have
all faced the threat of international terrorism," said Bera, the lone
Indian-American member of the US Congress.
"Each of these
countries also has its own unique counter-terrorism expertise and it
benefits us all to share information and ideas.
"With the current
instability in the Middle East and parts of South Asia, we should work
together to enhance our security cooperation to continue to combat the
global threat of terrorism," Bera said.
"Our nation faces credible threats every day from both from inside and outside of our borders," said Holding.
"By
strengthening our intelligence cooperation with two proven partners in
Israel and India, we can expand on our current cooperation to address
the emerging threats all of our nations collectively face."
"While
the US already has robust national security partnerships with both
India and Israel, there are many areas where opportunities exist to
develop and further grow these critical relationships," said Crowley.
"It's
vital that we promote cooperation among democratic governments,
especially in parts of the world where democracy in in short supply. In
this vein, Israel and India are natural partners of the United States,"
said Engel.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])