2007.12.12: December 12, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Malawi: Diplomacy: National Security: Times of India: Blackwill stays India's key lobbyist
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Malawi:
RPCV Robert Blackwill (Malawi) :
RPCV Robert Blackwill: Newest Stories:
2007.12.12: December 12, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Malawi: Diplomacy: National Security: Times of India: Blackwill stays India's key lobbyist
Blackwill stays India's key lobbyist
Robert Blackwill's firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers will be India's sole lobbyist in the US for 2008 for the second consecutive year. In 2006, India had added Venable, another law firm engaged in Washington advocacy, to work the US Senate when the Hyde Act was doing the rounds of Capitol Hill. A former US ambassador to India and one who wears his India predilection on his sleeve, Blackwill - one of George Bush's erstwhile Vulcans and a committed Republican - typically breezes through the Indian political system during his frequent visits here, working his way down from foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, never forgetting opposition leader L K Advani with whom he enjoys a personal rapport, and takes an approving interest in Rahul Gandhi. Robert Blackwill served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, Ambasssador to India, and as a Deputy National Security Advisor to Condoleezza Rice.
Blackwill stays India's key lobbyist
Blackwill stays India's key lobbyist
17 Dec 2007, 0247 hrs IST,Indrani Bagchi,TNN
Print Save EMail Write to Editor
NEW DELHI: With a firm eye on the nuclear deal and its future passage through the international and US system, the government has renewed the multi-million dollar contract of its favourite lobbyist in Washington.
Robert Blackwill's firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers will be India's sole lobbyist in the US for 2008 for the second consecutive year. In 2006, India had added Venable, another law firm engaged in Washington advocacy, to work the US Senate when the Hyde Act was doing the rounds of Capitol Hill.
India is looking at a period when the 123 agreement will need to go back to the Congress for an up-down vote at a time when Congress is Democrat-dominated and there is expectation that 2009 might throw up a Democrat administration as well.
Besides, after the safeguards agreement is done, India will also have to plough the furrow at the Nuclear Suppliers Group for a "clean" exemption. All of which means a lobbyist - despite many in the Indian establishment screwing up their nose at the word - remains priority for this government. The nuclear deal is therefore the biggest deliverable for Blackwill's BGR in 2008.
A former US ambassador to India and one who wears his India predilection on his sleeve, Blackwill - one of George Bush's erstwhile Vulcans and a committed Republican - typically breezes through the Indian political system during his frequent visits here, working his way down from foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, never forgetting opposition leader L K Advani with whom he enjoys a personal rapport, and takes an approving interest in Rahul Gandhi.
In Washington, Blackwill's office shows off Indian trivia - with a Ganesha statue vying for space with a portrait of "mother India" (not the movie.) At the 60th anniversary gala event in New York in September, Blackwill was a regular.
However, he apparently takes time to lobby with the Indian government for other BGR clients - reports recently said he had written a letter to telecom minister A Raja on the ongoing spectrum controversy, on behalf of AT&T.
In fact, lobbying for foreign companies in India is becoming quite the favourite activity for former US administration luminaries as well.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright does serious advocacy work in India for corporate clients, as does former US Defence Secretary William Cohen, Bill Clinton's national security adviser Sandy Berger and the original 'Bushie' NSA Brent Scowcroft.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: December, 2007; RPCV Robert Blackwill (Malawi); Peace Corps India; Directory of India RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for India RPCVs; Figures; Peace Corps Malawi; Directory of Malawi RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Malawi RPCVs; Diplomacy
When this story was posted in December 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance Act Senator Chris Dodd vowed to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped this administration violate the civil liberties of Americans. "It is time to say: No more. No more trampling on our Constitution. No more excusing those who violate the rule of law. These are fundamental, basic, eternal principles. They have been around, some of them, for as long as the Magna Carta. They are enduring. What they are not is temporary. And what we do not do in a time where our country is at risk is abandon them." |
| What is the greatest threat facing us now? "People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing? I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there - ones that we can take advantage of?" Read more. |
| Senator Dodd's Peace Corps Hearings Read PCOL's executive summary of Senator Chris Dodd's hearings on July 25 on the Peace Corps Volunteer Empowerment Act and why Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter does not believe the bill would contribute to an improved Peace Corps while four other RPCV witnesses do. Highlights of the hearings included Dodd's questioning of Tschetter on political meetings at Peace Corps Headquarters and the Inspector General's testimony on the re-opening of the Walter Poirier III investigation. |
| Paul Theroux: Peace Corps Writer Paul Theroux began by writing about the life he knew in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His first first three novels are set in Africa and two of his later novels recast his Peace Corps tour as fiction. Read about how Theroux involved himself with rebel politicians, was expelled from Malawi, and how the Peace Corps tried to ruin him financially in John Coyne's analysis and appreciation of one of the greatest American writers of his generation (who also happens to be an RPCV). |
| Ambassador revokes clearance for PC Director A post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania. |
| Suspect confesses in murder of PCV Search parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences . |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Times of India
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - India; Figures; COS - Malawi; Diplomacy; National Security
PCOL40167
49