Now, Talbott does a Clinton!

WASHINGTON: India's nuclear tests in May 1998 caused then US President Bill Clinton to explode into volcanic fury, in part because he had hoped to fulfil his decades-long fascination of India with a visit and greater American engagement.

Clinton was still fuming 24 hours after the May 11 tests when he opened an Oval Office meeting on the subject, saying, "We're going to come down on those guys like a ton of bricks," according to a forthcoming book by former Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott.

But officials toned down his reaction before conveying it publicly. When translated into a White House statement that day, presidential fury became "distress" and "displeasure," Talbott writes in an engaging account of the milestone that led to a dramatic change in Indo-US ties.

Clinton himself would temper his initial anger in the days ahead by acknowledging that India went in for the tests partly because it was convinced it was not getting enough respect (Talbott says he called India "the Rodney Dangerfield of great nations" after an American comedian who constantly complained early in his career that he never got any respect).

Twitted by Senator Jesse Helms for "six years of cosying up to India," Clinton snorted, "Ol' Jesse's got that exactly wrong. My mistake was not cosying up to India a lot earlier so that we might have had some leverage over those guys before they hit the button on that bomb."

But Talbott's book, titled Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb , also provides an authoritative insight into how Clinton prevailed upon successive Indian governments into capping the tests before the BJP broke loose in 1998.

In talks with Narasimha Rao during his visit to Washington in 1994, Clinton obliquely warns him against nuclear tests by telling him "Let's not let anything upset the applecart and keep us from accomplishing what we can do together if we really look to the future and all its possibilities."

He later takes Talbott aside and tells him, "I think I may have softened him up. Now you go give him the hard message."

But as Washington readies to corner India with the nuclear test ban treaty, Rao lets Indian scientists proceed with preparation for tests, a development that is captured by American satellites.

The then US envoy to Delhi Frank Wisner calls on Rao's principal secretary A N Varma and shows him a single sample of the satellite imagery, warning that any tests would backfire on India. When Clinton calls Rao to reinforce Wisner's message, Talbott writes, the Indian prime minister only replies that India would not act irresponsibly.

However, the tests are put on hold exactly as Clinton has hoped, says Talbott. Learning from the experience of being tracked by US satellites, Indian scientists would begin to camouflage their preparations that would take place on May11, 1998 under the BJP-led government.

Tracing the chain of events in Washington on that explosive day, Talbott says the entire Clinton administration was caught by surprise, even shocked, by the tests. He himself was informed of the test by Phyllis Oakley, a senior state department official who heard it on CNN.

He (Talbott) immediately called John Gordon, a deputy director of the CIA, who also hadn't heard about it. Gordon's sardonic comment: The only thing worse than being scooped by CNN was being scooped by the State Department.

Talbott then called Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was at the White House in the office of Sandy Berger, the National Security Adviser. They too had just heard it on CNN. Albright's comment: When it rains, it pours (referring to the set back the same day in the Middle East).

Talbott says Clinton's fondness for India goes back to their Oxford days (they were classmates) when the future US President read British imperial history and books like E M Forster's Passage to India . Both he and Hillary were deeply interested in the region even during their days in Arkansas.

India's nuclear tests angered Clinton

Washington, July 11. (PTI): India's nuclear tests in 1998 had angered then US President Bill Clinton leading him to personally suggest to his Russian counterpart Boris Yelstin, that the two of them and China should jointly pressure India on the nuclear issue.

However, both leaders were dissuaded by advisers from carrying out the proposal, who pointed out that China might regard it as a "harebrained idea," former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, says in his forthcoming book "Engaging India--Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb".

Talbott also disclosed that a Security Council resolution drafted by the Chinese was so anti-Indian that the Americans wanted it changed but it was too late as the Americans had been negligent at the drafting stage.

Giving details on Clinton's proposal to Yeltsin to control India on the nuclear issue, Talbott described that the American President told his Russian counterpart that "I think India has made a terrible mistake". "But I also think India should get credit for fifty years of democracy. We need to help them see that they should not define greatness in a way that gives everyone else headaches. The ruling party there seems particularly to feel that earning the full respect of the world depends on India being a nuclear power."

Clinton then suggested that he and Yeltsin coordinate their approaches, since both were planning trips to New Delhi in the fall.

Yeltsin, who always welcomed demonstrations that the United States and Russia were joining forces to solve the world's most daunting problems, eagerly assented.

does the book mention the Clinton government tried to coerce India into doing a power plant deal with Enron???

What do you mean "tried?" The Commerce department practically beat India into submission on financing and building a major LNG power plant. The only problem? Well, although India is incredibly rich in coal, they don't have any LNG. So, going into the deal, India (and Enron) knew that while India's population is one of the poorest populations in the world, Enron sold them the power plant, and then they would supply India with the LNG needed to run the plant. Never mind that they would supply power at costs that the people of India couldn't afford to pay!

And when India stopped paying for the power plant? Take a look at what happened to Enron.

Mark

RE: the Clinton government tried to coerce India into doing a power plant deal with Enron

"Enron had favoured Clinton: Reports," PTI SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2002, Times of India

"WASHINGTON: Enron Power Corporation had become a cash cow for a large number of US Congressmen, and had extended elaborate favours to former President Bill Clinton in exchange for his help for the Dabhol project, reports say.

"Enron gave $100,000 to the Democrats to secure Clinton's help on the Dabhol project, The Wahington Times reported on Saturday. It also donated half a million dollars for Clinton's political campaign and another $100,000 for various inaugural functions, the report added." [End excerpt]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1957983425.cms

The report goes on to explain the Bush Administration connection plus this

"Former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, The Washington Post reports, also got into the act on behalf of Enron. Chairman of the executive committee of Citigroup, one of Enron's main creditors, Rubin called up Peter Fischer, Treasury Undersecretary, and asked 'what he thought of the idea' of calling bond-rating agencies to help forestall a crippling reduction in Enron's credit rating. However, fortunately for Bush, Fischer did not respond."

Except for "Kenny Boy's" contributions to Republicans you will not likelu see any of the above (and more) in any of today's reports from mainstream media employees' accounts of the Lay indictment.

Enter the U.S. taxpayers and "free" trade's most honored advocate, Bill Clinton.

"Harvard pans Clinton-Lay sweetheart deal in India, Failed Enron project now a case study in bad government at Kennedy School," WorldNetDaily.com, October 3, 2002. By Paul Sperry

"WASHINGTON – The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is holding up a failed Enron Corp. power project in India – which former President Clinton helped broker and fund with government loans – as a lesson in bad public policy and business.

The case study, a copy of which was obtained by WorldNetDaily, is used in a class taught by Kennedy School professor Henry Lee." [End excerpt]

If you connect the political contribution dots (both parties, BTW) and government help IMO this is little more than money laundering,

To wit, "the Clinton administration backed the project with more than $642 million in loans and insurance from the government's two primary development banks -- the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. . . 'We had a lot of access in the Clinton administration,' Lay told PBS' 'Frontline' in a May 22, 2001, interview."

A lot of the money found its way into the pockets of politicians of both Parties. (Again, mainstream media employees will spike the Clinton part of the Lay story.)

I think they are still counting the losses from the $3 billion project so besides the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars given Mr. Lay up front how much is this going to cost taxpayers?

I don't know the final cost. "Free" traders don't have to risk their own money (What a deal!) they got the Ex-Im Bank, OPIC, and other government agencies for that plus the taxpayer supported World Bank and its Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

Last I heard Enron, et al. were asking taxpayers to give them several hundred millions of dollars more to cover their "free" trade butts.

RE: "wonder if she [Pelosi] likes the Clinton/ENRON connection and will complain about that"

What Clinton/ENRON connection?

I've just completed an exhaustive 0.79 seconds google study. Here are the results

Results 1 - 10 of about 147,000 for enron clinton. (0.25 seconds)

Results 1 - 10 of about 419,000 for enron bush. (0.54 seconds)

Oh yeah? You ask. What about today's news?

I know that this is important so I don't mind sacrificing my free time. Here's the same study but this time with google news.

Results 1 - 10 of about 271 for enron clinton. (0.07 seconds)

Results 1 - 10 of about 3,630 for enron bush. (0.15 seconds)

Conclusion as a mainstream media employee would report the results: "Study proves Bush - Enron connection is well hidden, takes twice as long to find the evidence."

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