Bang Galore
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Don't you see? The charges against the Indian diplomat were entirely the work of New York prosecutors. The US State Department, the US Government had no idea this was going to happen. There is no intention on the part of the USA to demean India. However, in the US, the Federal Government cannot subvert local legal proceedings for political or diplomatic reasons without paying a huge political price because of exposure by our free press. The very best "solution" for this is for India to recall their diplomat, refuse to have her appear in US Court, and expel some US diplomats in retaliation. After one month, things can return to normal.
I agree with the gist of what you have said above but I'm a little surprised that the state department got into action to prevent Bharara's office from going after Russian diplomats, many who were junior when compared to this Indian diplomat, yet seemed to participate here. Where that decision was taken is not clear but some state department official seemed aware of it.
However Indian reaction, while sometimes a bit overboard(including by many here) is founded on the right idea. Diplomacy works on the principle of reciprocity. Regardless of who initiated what, the matter must be brought to a swift conclusion, one way or the other. There has been unnecessary bad blood & there will probably be more damage if this thing doesn't go away & quick.
The statement by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara appeared to have taken much of the Obama administration, including his own Justice Department bosses, by surprise.
“We didn’t know it was coming,” said a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.
It appeared that no one in the administration wanted to seem cavalier about the mistreatment of foreign workers or to override law enforcement. But there was a widespread feeling among officials that, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry said in a conversation Wednesday with India’s national security adviser, “certain courtesies were not extended” in the case.
“The fact here is that we are respectful of the law enforcement process,” the senior official said. “We also have to be respectful of the fact that how these things are handled can have enormous repercussions, especially in a country with sensitivities like India.”
Relevant officials in the administration have known for months that an investigation was underway, but “nobody knew this was going to happen,” another U.S. official said. Referring to Khobragade’s arrest, made after she dropped her children off at school, and her booking, strip-search and incarceration in New York, the official said, “That’s not the way these things are done.”
“If they wanted to throw the book at her,” the second official said, the United States could have protested to the Indian Embassy in Washington and “made her leave the country. That’s the way these things are done,” particularly in cases in which no physical abuse is alleged.