Now that the Democratic Party has taken the House, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo, CA) becomes the chairman of the International Relations Committee. Young Bay Area lawyer Ro Khanna ran against Lantos in the ‘04 primary on an anti-Iraq war platform. Khanna, clearly, was ahead of his time.

Here’s a rundown of Lantos’ positions with respect to South Asia:

Pro-nuclear energy deal

Lantos believes in a strong relationship with India and is in favor of the nuclear energy deal:

[Lantos] committed to making the passage of the US-India nuclear deal his number one priority in the United States Congress over the next few months… He stated that this agreement would strengthen the relationship between India, the world’s largest democracy, and the United States, the world’s oldest democracy, for generations to come… [Link]

‘Amendments that represent fundamental changes to the terms of the deal worked out between the US and India, I will firmly oppose. I ask everyone on the Committee to support this historic agreement.’ [Link]

He accepts India’s nuclear status:

“I wish to inform you of my intention, when Congress comes back into session, to introduce legislation that will permanently lift [nuclear test] sanctions against India…” [Link]

Against Indian relations with Iran

Rep. Palpatine

However, Lantos’ bluntness sparked a diplomatic tiff with India last year by calling the Indian foreign minister ‘dense’:

Lantos also ridiculed Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh as “dense” and warned… that if India doesn’t change its policy toward Iran in sync with US policy, the relationship would “go down the tubes…”

“… to have the Indian foreign minister with respect to his recent meeting with the Iranians to say they really don’t care what we think, shows the real denseness that occasionally very intelligent people are burdened with…

“They are brilliant, which is obvious, but they are simply dense because they are incapable of comprehending that other countries have their important concerns… They will pay a heavy price for a total disregard of US concerns vis-a-vis Iran. It just will not fly in this body, and they need to be told that in plain English, not in diplomatic English…” [Link]

… the issue of Iran trying to develop nuclear arms is quite sensitive for Israel, and the Jewish lobby in America. Lantos, as a survivor of the Holocaust, quite naturally has strong views on the issue. [Link]

Anti-Musharraf

Lantos favors the restoration of democracy in Pakistan:

“I continue to be troubled by the relationship between the government of Pakistan and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. While I agree that it is important for the United States to not isolate Pakistan, I do not believe that a comprehensive lifting of sanctions against Pakistan is warranted or advisable. I urge your Administration to develop policies that are more geared towards strengthening civil society, improving access to education and restoring democracy in Pakistan.” [Link]

Anti-terrorism against India

Lantos commiserates with India on terrorism:

‘I rise today to denounce the cowardly and barbaric terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament building that took place in New Delhi earlier this morning… India has waged a long and often-lonely battle against terrorism. Today, I want to assure the people and government of India that you are not alone.’ [Link]

Cautious on the F-16 sale to Pakistan

Lantos added security riders before approving the delivery of fighter jets to Pakistan:

Rep. Tom Lantos, the top Democrat, said he supported the sale, but was worried about technology security in a country “that produced the A.Q Khan nuclear network…” After a followup July 20 closed-door session with Lantos and others, Bush administration officials beefed up the F-16 related security plan in ways not made public. [Link]

Outside South Asia, Lantos is…

Pro-Iraq war

Lantos is a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, and as with Cuban-Americans, the experience of living under repression made him a war hawk for humanitarian reasons.

On 28 April 2006, Lantos, along with four other members of Congress and six other activists, was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington. They were protesting the alleged role of Sudan’s government in ethnic cleansing in Darfur. [Link]

It was this position, where Lantos was wildly out of step with his Bay Area constituency, which Khanna chose to make his wedge issue.

Pro-negotiations with North Korea and Iran

To Lantos, it only makes sense to use all points of leverage at your disposal:

Lantos and Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, who could become chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, favor direct U.S. talks, largely eschewed by Bush, as key to negotiated solutions with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs. [Link]

[Lantos]… implored Bush to resume negotiations… [Lantos is] an advocate of direct dialogue with Pyongyang. [Link]

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