Indian army chief meets US military officials

WASHINGTON - Indian Army chief, General Deepak Kapoor, has kicked off a dialogue with the top US military leadership with meetings focusing on the regional security situation.

Kapoor Wednesday met with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and his counterpart in the US Army, Gen George W. Casey.

Underscoring India’s role in the strife-torn Afghanistan-Pakistan region, he is also scheduled to meet the head of the US Central Command, Gen. David Petraeus, for discussions on the situation in the region besides a wide range of bilateral issues.

The general would be visiting the CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida for talks focusing on Pakistan-Afghanistan.

Though India has kept itself away from any direct military involvement in Afghanistan, it has been playing a significant role in the rebuilding and reconstruction of the war-ravaged country. The Afghan army chief also paid a visit to India earlier this month.

Kapoor would visit Fort Bragg in North Carolina, America’s most combat ready and active military installation. It is home to the 82nd Airborne Division and the US Army Special Operations Command. He would also be visiting Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, known as the intellectual centre of the US Army, and the National Training Centre of the US Army in Fort Irwin in California.

Visits to these facilities will provide the army chief a glimpse of the organisation, doctrinal concepts and training facilities for operational deployment of the US Army in a global framework.