Interaction with Col (Retd) Thomas M. McNamara

Col (Retd) Thomas M. McNamara, Deputy Director of Intelligence, US Pacific Command (USPACOM) and Member, India Strategic Focus Group (India SFG) interacted with a panel of strategic experts at Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on June 29, 2011. The interaction focused on the US exit strategy from Afghanistan and its larger implications for the region. The panel constituted by VIF for the purpose of interaction included among others Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi (Retd), Vice Admiral KK Nayyar (Retd), Mr. Satish Chnadra, Lt General R K Sawhney (Retd), Mr. CD Sahay, Mr. Sushant Sareen, and Brig Vinod Ananad. During his brief presentation, Col McNamara shared with members of VIF’s faculty his perceptions of the US government and the general public’s attitude towards the long war in Afghanistan. He briefly spelt out the major drivers of US exit strategy in Afghanistan. The Indian participants were candid in their assessment that 2014 was too close a timeframe for the completion of withdrawal process. They also raised their suspicions with regard to Pakistan’s potential meltdown as a jehadi state and its global and regional implications.