Yet, democracy makes such dispassionate diplomacy difficult. As the United States encountered unexpected difficulties securing Iraq, Washington quietly beseeched India to supply an army division to work with U.S. forces in the country. The Indian army has proved adept at such missions, and the Vajpayee government, recognizing the goodwill such a contribution would earn in Washington, indicated its desire to supply the force Washington sought. Nevertheless, Indian politics ultimately prevented the government from joining with the Bush administration. The Indian public and especially many political parties resented the rhetoric and intentions of a Bush administration that was widely perceived as arrogant, unilateral, and militaristic. Worse, Indians felt that the administration was hypocritically self-centered to India’s disadvantage: if the United States was leading a war against terrorism, why did it coddle Pakistan—a great source of terror not only against India but also against the United States? Faced with a looming year of elections, the Indian government did not want to join with such an unpopular U.S. leadership and cause.