in June 2002. After Blackwill ordered the evacuation of embassy staff members, an event that was seen as a pressure tactic and partly credited for drawing India back from the war, Blackwill encouraged India to resume dialogue with Pakistan. In a statement on his departure as ambassador, Blackwill said that the fight against international terrorism would not be won until terrorism against India ended. "There can be no other legitimate stance by the United States, no American compromise whatever on this elemental geopolitical and moral truth." Others thought that Blackwill damaged US relations with Pakistan. Pakistani analyst Ershad Mahmud of the Institute of Policy Studies called Blackwill "Delhi's front man rather than U.S. ambassador to India," and said that Blackwill "even encouraged India to take [a] hostile stance against Pakistan". Appreciation of Indian civilization Blackwill had a very high-profile tenure as ambassador to India and displayed a strong appreciation for Indian civilization. Upon his departure as ambassador, Blackwill wrote in an article for the Financial Times called "What India Means To Me" writing: As has been said, the world is divided into two parts —those who have seen the Taj Mahal, and those who have not. I am proud to be in the first, still too exclusive group. The Shatabdi Express transported me there and back in great comfort. A wonderful train. All of Rajasthan entrances me. The noble Rajput legacy. Jaipur. Udaipur. Jodhpur. And perhaps my favourite, the medieval walled city of Jaisalmer, land of the Bhatti princes, born of the moon. Parapets into the sky. On some nights, there must be stars nowhere else above the planet because they all seem to be over Jaisalmer. I am surprised some city in northern Europe has not sued Jaisalmer for stealing all the stars. Be sure and take your sunglasses along when you go there —to deal with the starry nights. Standing in Jaisalmer, close your eyes for a moment and see the camel caravans coming through this desert town a thousand years ago, which I now realise by India's civilizational standards is only yesterday —a fellow on the street might have said to me, 'yes, they came through Jaisalmer, just a little while ago.' Upon returning to the United States, the only item on Blackwill's desk at the National Security Council was a tiny figurine of Ganesh, the Hindu elephant-headed god of wisdom and success while a huge map