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India-Canada row: If US has to choose between two friends, it will choose India, says former Pentagon official | India News
NEW DELHI: A former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has said that if the United States has to choose between Canada and India, it will surely choose the latter as the relationship between the two countries is strategically “too important”.
“Frankly, there’s a much greater danger for Canada than India. If Canada wants to pick a fight, it’s like an ant picking a fight against an elephant and the fact that matters is India is the world’s largest democracy. It’s far more important strategically, arguably than Canada is,” he said.
The former United States official also referred to the poor approval ratings of Justin Trudeau, and said that he is not long for the premiership, and the US can rebuild the relationship after he is gone.
He stated that the reason for choosing India is especially in regards to China and its growing influence in the Pacific.
His statement comes amid an ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“I suspect that the United States doesn’t want to be painted a corner to choose between two friends. But if we have to choose between two friends, increasingly we’re going to choose India on this matter, simply because Nijjar was a terrorist, and India is too important. Our relationship is too important,” Michael Rubin added in his statement.
He further slammed Trudeau and said that Hardeep Singh Nijjar — A khalistani terrorist is not a model to use for “human rights”.
“Justin Trudeau might want to make this a case of human rights. The fact of that matter is, that Nijjar isn’t a model one wants to use for human rights. Nijjar may have been involved in the assassination of a rival Sikh leader, just a year ago. At the same time, he has blood on his hands through multiple attacks. He entered Canada with a fraudulent passport.”
He further stated that the Canadian PM was very “short-sighted” and was acting only as a “politician” in the matter.
Rubin’s statement comes days after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged India’s role behind the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation, India has out-rightly denied and called ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.
This was followed by both countries expelling a senior diplomat in a tit-for-tat move.
Nijjar, was gunned down outside a Gurudwara, in a parking area in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.
Michael Rubin is a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Specialisation in Iran, Turkey, and South Asia.
(With inputs from agencies)
“Frankly, there’s a much greater danger for Canada than India. If Canada wants to pick a fight, it’s like an ant picking a fight against an elephant and the fact that matters is India is the world’s largest democracy. It’s far more important strategically, arguably than Canada is,” he said.
The former United States official also referred to the poor approval ratings of Justin Trudeau, and said that he is not long for the premiership, and the US can rebuild the relationship after he is gone.
He stated that the reason for choosing India is especially in regards to China and its growing influence in the Pacific.
His statement comes amid an ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“I suspect that the United States doesn’t want to be painted a corner to choose between two friends. But if we have to choose between two friends, increasingly we’re going to choose India on this matter, simply because Nijjar was a terrorist, and India is too important. Our relationship is too important,” Michael Rubin added in his statement.
He further slammed Trudeau and said that Hardeep Singh Nijjar — A khalistani terrorist is not a model to use for “human rights”.
“Justin Trudeau might want to make this a case of human rights. The fact of that matter is, that Nijjar isn’t a model one wants to use for human rights. Nijjar may have been involved in the assassination of a rival Sikh leader, just a year ago. At the same time, he has blood on his hands through multiple attacks. He entered Canada with a fraudulent passport.”
He further stated that the Canadian PM was very “short-sighted” and was acting only as a “politician” in the matter.
Rubin’s statement comes days after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged India’s role behind the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation, India has out-rightly denied and called ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.
This was followed by both countries expelling a senior diplomat in a tit-for-tat move.
Nijjar, was gunned down outside a Gurudwara, in a parking area in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.
Michael Rubin is a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Specialisation in Iran, Turkey, and South Asia.
(With inputs from agencies)
