Obama ready to sell India to appease China
November 19, 2009, (Sawf News) - Obama's readiness to sell out Indian interest to appease China must come as a grim warning to those of us advocating a closer alignment with the US.
Obama's electoral victory was celebrated with joy by Indians at home and the US alike. I had reservations, but remember sounding them to friends and family I felt hopelessly isolated.
Thanks to the Nehru legacy, Indian school system and the country's press, socialist ideals are deeply ingrained into Indian minds. We like to be always perched on a high moral pedestal, which our schools and press don't warn us often leads to economic impoverishment and even slavery. So I wasn't surprised to see Indians dance in joy following Obama's victory last year.
My reservations against Obama were not rooted in his ideology but on the track record of successive democratic administration, which have consistently undermined India's strategic interests. Bush was the first US President who is a true friend of India. Not Bill Clinton, surely not Obama.
I think history will judge George W Bush differently on at least two grounds His decisions to pursue terrorism anywhere and everywhere in the world and to put brakes on China's ambitions to become the dominant global entity. Both were sound decisions and on both the decisions the Obama administration appears to be wavering.
Obama's decision not to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the latter's recent visit to Washington, in deference to Chinese pressure, was regretful. However, his joint statement with Chinese Premier Hu Jintao on Tuesday referring to relations between India and Pakistan was outrageous.
The statement grandly declared that the US and China "support the improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan" and are ready to "strengthen communication, dialogue and cooperation on issues related to South Asia and work together to promote peace, stability and development in that region."
Obama was, of course, bending backwards to please China and he must have had good reasons to do so. Maybe the US debt to China was his imperative. Or perhaps he takes his Nobel Peace prize too seriously. What was shocking about the statement was the Obama administration's readiness to sell out India, which has repeatedly declared it does not want third party mediation in its disputes with Pakistan.
Militarily, the US is more closely allied with Pakistan than India. The joint statement made it clear that the US cares more about its relationship with China than India. And here we are thinking we should be more closely allied to the US and make it our major arms supplier over the Russians who have quietly stood by us over decades.
Pakistan and China are India's biggest problems today. Both are governed by autocratic regimes the Army in the case of Pakistan and the Communist Party in the case of China. Both have nuclear arsenals unabashedly targeted at India. Both lay claims to large tracts of Indian territory and do not forsake the use of force to wrest it from us. Pakistan is perhaps the one country that has used terrorism as state policy with deadly effect without being branded a terrorist state.
Under the circumstances, it is not difficult to comprehend why Indians are enraged at the Obama statement.
Considering that a joint statement is always long deliberated and carefully crafted it is almost impossible to condone it.
I believe Obama may have just undone all the efforts that Boeing put in to present the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as the best choice for India's MMRCA project.
Its past dismal history as an arms supplier to India and current conflicts of interests, vis-a-vis our potential enemies, make the US a very unreliable arms supplier.
Frankly, I wouldn't mind if the $ 11 billion earmarked for the MMRCA project was allocated to DRDO to come up with a new fighter. Those who have been reading the blog will understand how much of an effort from me that statement must have taken!
Obama ready to sell India to appease China
November 19, 2009, (Sawf News) - Obama's readiness to sell out Indian interest to appease China must come as a grim warning to those of us advocating a closer alignment with the US.
Obama's electoral victory was celebrated with joy by Indians at home and the US alike. I had reservations, but remember sounding them to friends and family I felt hopelessly isolated.
Thanks to the Nehru legacy, Indian school system and the country's press, socialist ideals are deeply ingrained into Indian minds. We like to be always perched on a high moral pedestal, which our schools and press don't warn us often leads to economic impoverishment and even slavery. So I wasn't surprised to see Indians dance in joy following Obama's victory last year.
My reservations against Obama were not rooted in his ideology but on the track record of successive democratic administration, which have consistently undermined India's strategic interests. Bush was the first US President who is a true friend of India. Not Bill Clinton, surely not Obama.
I think history will judge George W Bush differently on at least two grounds His decisions to pursue terrorism anywhere and everywhere in the world and to put brakes on China's ambitions to become the dominant global entity. Both were sound decisions and on both the decisions the Obama administration appears to be wavering.
Obama's decision not to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the latter's recent visit to Washington, in deference to Chinese pressure, was regretful. However, his joint statement with Chinese Premier Hu Jintao on Tuesday referring to relations between India and Pakistan was outrageous.
The statement grandly declared that the US and China "support the improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan" and are ready to "strengthen communication, dialogue and cooperation on issues related to South Asia and work together to promote peace, stability and development in that region."
Obama was, of course, bending backwards to please China and he must have had good reasons to do so. Maybe the US debt to China was his imperative. Or perhaps he takes his Nobel Peace prize too seriously. What was shocking about the statement was the Obama administration's readiness to sell out India, which has repeatedly declared it does not want third party mediation in its disputes with Pakistan.
Militarily, the US is more closely allied with Pakistan than India. The joint statement made it clear that the US cares more about its relationship with China than India. And here we are thinking we should be more closely allied to the US and make it our major arms supplier over the Russians who have quietly stood by us over decades.
Pakistan and China are India's biggest problems today. Both are governed by autocratic regimes the Army in the case of Pakistan and the Communist Party in the case of China. Both have nuclear arsenals unabashedly targeted at India. Both lay claims to large tracts of Indian territory and do not forsake the use of force to wrest it from us. Pakistan is perhaps the one country that has used terrorism as state policy with deadly effect without being branded a terrorist state.
Under the circumstances, it is not difficult to comprehend why Indians are enraged at the Obama statement.
Considering that a joint statement is always long deliberated and carefully crafted it is almost impossible to condone it.
I believe Obama may have just undone all the efforts that Boeing put in to present the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as the best choice for India's MMRCA project.
Its past dismal history as an arms supplier to India and current conflicts of interests, vis-a-vis our potential enemies, make the US a very unreliable arms supplier.
Frankly, I wouldn't mind if the $ 11 billion earmarked for the MMRCA project was allocated to DRDO to come up with a new fighter. Those who have been reading the blog will understand how much of an effort from me that statement must have taken!
Obama ready to sell India to appease China
First you narrowed your ties and now you will expand your ties with Russia again.
