SHOULD BE?:

U.S. needs new 'special' friends (Kim Holmes, October 9, 2008, Washington Times)

Europe is not the only place where we should be cultivating new friends. Now that the U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal is approved, we have an opportunity to develop a special relationship with India that brings the collective strength of the world's two largest democracies to bear on shared concerns.

We could do this, not only by increasing cooperation on counterterrorism, but also by reviving and elevating the Quadrilateral Initiative, a "strategic partnership" inaugurated by the U.S., Japan, Australia and India in 2007.

Just last year, it held great promise. There were even military exercises in the Indian Ocean. The current Australian government may need some convincing, but the idea of more closely coordinating our security interests with India is still very appealing.

India already has made major contributions to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan. The NATO-led coalition should welcome India's involvement and facilitate more of it.

India knows better than anyone else how to achieve democratic stability in a multiethnic, economically developing society. We would need to be careful how we go about doing this, however, so as not to increase Pakistani paranoia.

We could also do a better job strengthening our relationship with Japan, a key strategic ally. Reactivating the Quadrilateral Initiative will help, but we also can deepen cooperation on missile defense and show greater sympathy for its particular concerns regarding North Korean abductions

We could take similar special actions with respect to other friends and allies, like South Korea and Israel. And we could look at expanding our relationships with partners like Singapore.