Neglected India: Why Is Washington Ignoring the World's Largest Democracy?

[The Messiah]

No. Then they see you as a threat. They will never accept that another country, another culture, another populace can be their equals. A threat to them yes, equals..'you gotta be kiddin' me..dewd'

Words of wisdom.

 

[Tianshan]

It was an unusual political opening that the Obama administration simply missed, instead choosing to waste its affections on China.

lol at "wasted affections".

 

[W.G.Ewald]

in 2009, such as a free-trade agreement or a commitment to integrate India more closely on a military level with Japan, Australia, and other Asia-Pacific democratic allies? Prior to that election, Prime Minister Singh was hampered by his leftist, mostly anti-American allies—yet he still managed to forge the civil-nuclear deal with President Bush that vaulted US-India ties to a new level. After the 2009 election, Singh and Congress won a resounding victory and jettisoned those parties. It was an unusual political opening that the Obama administration simply missed, instead choosing to waste its affections on China.

Obama has such affection for China, he has said he wants to be China's president.

 

[pmaitra]

Do you remember when Obama went around the world apologizing for the US having the attitude you describe? I guess nobody believed him. :-D

Well at least he tried to hit the reset button with Russia and then his detractors started jumping on their toes, conveniently forgetting that Bush's rhetoric cut no ice with the Russians when they hammered Georgia. Obama hasn't delivered most of what he has promised, but at least I see that he is operating under constraints.

 

[ejazr]

I think this article is overstating the "drift" in US-India relations. It pays in a way to stay aloof from the US at present but work in concert in the background because the US policies in the past decade have isolated it to an extent and Obama has not been able to bridge the damage done in yester years atleast as of now.

But the outreach to Myanmar by Clinton is something what India has been demanding for a long time and shows the co-ordination with India on this bearing fruit. Now if only the next logical step would be to listen to India and its interests, ignore the Israel lobby and make the same diplomatic outreach to Iran. Preferably under an Indian umbrealla. The only way Pakistan can be isolated is if Iran becomes the logistics hub rather than Pakistan.

Eventually, the US must realise that taking any policy decisions in India's neighborhood entails that this be done with consultation with India and not unilateral decisions like we have seen in the past decade. The rest will fall into place automatically.

 

[charlyondfi]

... to listen to India and its interests, ignore the Israel lobby and make the same diplomatic outreach to Iran

Agreed... yet, many people know and argue it for a long time. I don't even think it's close to just probable. In the foreseeable future, NO way USA can escape this kidnapping of Israel lobby...

... ... any policy decisions in India's neighborhood entails that this be done with consultation with India...

Encouraging thoughts... ...yet it still depends on how India can put weight on its own leverage. You won't beg people to respect you. You earn that by yourself... ...

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Iran needs Uncle Sam to play the role of Great Satan forever.

 

[Ray]

The article is basically anti the Obama administration.

Catering for the Indian audience, it is merely playing to the gallery.

It really matters not what whose photo one keeps on his desk. Keeping Jesus Christ's photo on the wall, does not mean that the person is holy, very moral etc. It could be a mere façade for ulterior reasons.

To be fair to Obama, he has been trying to reach out to many groups which are anti US for a variety of reasons. That he has succeeded or not, is a moot point.

In the span of his career, he has achieved a total overhaul of the Muslim world. He has changed the face of politics in Muslim North Africa, carried out a diplomatic regime change in Lebanon and is now going hammer and tongs to see Assad as a footnote in history. Now, there seems to be a wind of change blowing in Myanmar.

From the point of view of US democratic machismo, the US under Obama has achieved more than during other Presidency.

There is no doubt that Obama has a weakness for China. He has made much doveish noise over China. It is obvious that in that calculus, being friendly to India, would be counter productive. However, China being China has used the US dropping of its guard to make hay while the sun shone. When the situation got out of hand with China riding roughshod in the SCS, Obama woke up from his deep dream of peace and got ballistic causing China to get spooked like a wild bronco.

India which bent backwards to be an 'ally' of the US (India loves you President Bush!) realised that there was much to gain by once again pursuing an Indian interest first policy. It rejected the US aircraft in the MMRCA deal. It was a sort of body blow to the US. Yet, to calm troubled waters, India took an aggressive posture demanding her rights for oil exploration at the request of Vietnam in Vietnamese waters which China objected to it, since China was like a goldfish in a bowl. This was in consonance to US vision of the Asia Pacific strategy.

Therefore, as I see it, each is pursing its own policy and there are convergence and divergence as is but natural.

 

[ejazr]

Iran needs Uncle Sam to play the role of Great Satan forever.

That is what the Americans use to say about China until Kissinger went there agreed to recognize the Communist regime and give them the veto seat in the UN and normalised their relations with China.

At the end of the day, Iranian politics vis a vis the US is irrational but the US policies on Iran are not far from being irrational either. For India, it is preferable that US has better relations with Iran and Myanmar than China and if the US wants to succeed, it should take India's advice and work with it on this.

 

[Tshering22]

Because we are the only idiots who take this democracy crap so seriously while others look for national interests.

Enough of this kleptocracy called "democracy" where only votebanks exist, politicians are richer than entire nation combined and people are left to defend themselves.