It is a shame there is a hold up on what would be the beginning of a beautiful geopolitical relationship. Some time ago India and America under the negotiations of the Singh government and the Bush Administration worked out the details for sharing nuclear technology.
I don’t care what anyone says moving to a close relationship with India will be a huge geopolitical coup for both America and India.
Part of the problem is the past history between India and America.
For decades India was in the old Communist Soviet camp as buddies with weapons and technology. This was the case despite of the fact India is a Parliamentarian democracy and the Soviets were a despotic communist dictatorship bent on spreading the delusion of Marxist/Leninism.
Part of this association with the old USSR was because India’s mortal enemy Pakistan had become a buddy with America during the days America was funding the Afghan Islamist revolt in then Communist Afghanistan. (This is another classic evidence of betrayal to America after help to be delivered from Communism.) Also India and Communist China were rattling sabers over border issues as was the old USSR and China on that border. Also India had gone the nuclear route in its quest for defense against the hated enemy Pakistan and the nominal enemy China.
Thus clearly it was in the National Interest of India to be in the deceased Soviet orbit.
The times, they are a changing.
Communist super power the USSR is no more. The old Soviets have chosen a republican form of government and lost much of their Soviet Union satellites. Russia is still a viable power but it is a mere shell of its past global designs for world hegemony.
Pakistan and America are still hooked up however that partnership is becoming more and more tenuous every day as Islamism appears to be the most influential dynamic among Pakistanis and some ruling elites in the government (Constant peace accords with the Taliban and refusing to let American troops into Pakistan to track down the Taliban and al Qaeda is evidence of that).
India and China (ironically both dominated by socialistic or communistic thinking) are becoming global competitors capitalistically for global markets and thus are still not the best of friends. China is a particular nuisance for India because the Chinese government is using their no found market wealth to modernize their military and make a go for Asian hegemony as the new Russia is also trying to build a regional hegemonic sphere.
India’s special relationship to the Russians is becoming less reliable as is Pakistan’s relationship to America.
India before and since independence from the U.K. in 1948 has been at odds with the Indian Muslim population; which is why a Pakistan (E. Pakistan later became independent Bangladesh) was carved out of the Indian sub-continent. India as Israel has known Islamist terrorism against their Hindi population as Israel has against their Jewish population.
The times we live in would make India and America natural allies. What is the hold-up?
Singh’s Parliamentarian government and America’s Senate have problems with each other. The former mistrusts America in being involved in their WMD program and the latter are upset that India is not part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and does not want to share peaceful nuclear technology that might be an enhancement to India’s WMD program. For America and India to be internationally compliant, there are a few international regulatory agencies that also must sign off on the America/India nuke pact (such as the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group).
Can Bush and Singh manage to push the pact through before their nation’s mutual upcoming elections? It would be in America’s interest for that to happen.
JRH 7/27/08
I don’t care what anyone says moving to a close relationship with India will be a huge geopolitical coup for both America and India.
Part of the problem is the past history between India and America.
For decades India was in the old Communist Soviet camp as buddies with weapons and technology. This was the case despite of the fact India is a Parliamentarian democracy and the Soviets were a despotic communist dictatorship bent on spreading the delusion of Marxist/Leninism.
Part of this association with the old USSR was because India’s mortal enemy Pakistan had become a buddy with America during the days America was funding the Afghan Islamist revolt in then Communist Afghanistan. (This is another classic evidence of betrayal to America after help to be delivered from Communism.) Also India and Communist China were rattling sabers over border issues as was the old USSR and China on that border. Also India had gone the nuclear route in its quest for defense against the hated enemy Pakistan and the nominal enemy China.
Thus clearly it was in the National Interest of India to be in the deceased Soviet orbit.
The times, they are a changing.
Communist super power the USSR is no more. The old Soviets have chosen a republican form of government and lost much of their Soviet Union satellites. Russia is still a viable power but it is a mere shell of its past global designs for world hegemony.
Pakistan and America are still hooked up however that partnership is becoming more and more tenuous every day as Islamism appears to be the most influential dynamic among Pakistanis and some ruling elites in the government (Constant peace accords with the Taliban and refusing to let American troops into Pakistan to track down the Taliban and al Qaeda is evidence of that).
India and China (ironically both dominated by socialistic or communistic thinking) are becoming global competitors capitalistically for global markets and thus are still not the best of friends. China is a particular nuisance for India because the Chinese government is using their no found market wealth to modernize their military and make a go for Asian hegemony as the new Russia is also trying to build a regional hegemonic sphere.
India’s special relationship to the Russians is becoming less reliable as is Pakistan’s relationship to America.
India before and since independence from the U.K. in 1948 has been at odds with the Indian Muslim population; which is why a Pakistan (E. Pakistan later became independent Bangladesh) was carved out of the Indian sub-continent. India as Israel has known Islamist terrorism against their Hindi population as Israel has against their Jewish population.
The times we live in would make India and America natural allies. What is the hold-up?
Singh’s Parliamentarian government and America’s Senate have problems with each other. The former mistrusts America in being involved in their WMD program and the latter are upset that India is not part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and does not want to share peaceful nuclear technology that might be an enhancement to India’s WMD program. For America and India to be internationally compliant, there are a few international regulatory agencies that also must sign off on the America/India nuke pact (such as the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group).
Can Bush and Singh manage to push the pact through before their nation’s mutual upcoming elections? It would be in America’s interest for that to happen.
JRH 7/27/08
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