Posted on 10/01/2008 11:48:33 PM PDT by sidewinder009
As the euphoria of the NSG waiver starts to ebb, I wonder how many of you realise India owes an enormous thank you to George Bush? He’s done for us what no other world leader could have done, and I would add, perhaps none other was prepared to do. But even if you insist there are one or two leaders — Putin or Sarkozy — who might have tried, I’m confident they would not have succeeded. America is the only country that could have delivered the NSG waiver. George Bush is the only president who decided to do so.
First, consider the enormity of the task Bush undertook. The Nuclear Suppliers Group, in its earlier avatar of the London Club, was specifically created in angry response to India’s 1974 Pokhran test with the conscious purpose of containing and restricting India’s nuclear ambitions. No doubt the USA took the lead role in that creation, but that only adds to the significance of Washington’s decision to roll back its own work. This means Bush has unravelled thirty-four years of non-proliferation legislation so a place can be found for India in civil nuclear trade.
To do so he had to confront not just the resistance of the NSG, which was on sharp display last weekend, but the strong non-proliferation lobby at home. Their verdict on the NSG outcome reveals how entrenched their opposition was. They called Vienna “a non-proliferation disaster of historic proportions”. They believe — and there’s a lot of truth in this — that giving India access to nuclear fuel for its civilian reactors allows it to use more (if not all) of its domestic uranium for military purposes. Bush knows that too. Yet he went ahead because he was determined to open the door to civil nuclear trade. He accepted that you can’t stop India making nuclear bombs but you can help it produce clean electricity, and in the process, befriend the country. He put friendship ahead of fear and distrust.
Last weekend showed that many at the NSG disagreed, and until they were bullied by Washington, some were not even prepared to try. The first effort in August produced over 50 amendments. America had to ensure each and everyone was set aside. No doubt India played an important part but we aren’t members of the NSG. Inside the plenary or the small committees, the work was left to America. Russia, Britain and, most of all, France helped but ultimately it was Washington that had to push, cajole or threaten. It succeeded but consider the verdict of this unnamed diplomat who spoke to Reuters: “For the first time in my experience of international diplomatic negotiations, a consensus decision was followed by complete silence in the room. No clapping, nothing”. Clearly there are a few NSG countries who are smarting and even unhappy.
However, the truly incredible part is Bush has done this for a country that is not a traditional ally. Indeed India, in American eyes, is better known as an awkward friend. We’ve never been shy of criticising Washington’s policies. In fact, think how readily we accuse America of imperialism, arrogance, racism not to mention crass materialism and cultural ignorance. We’re even suspicious when Washington supports democracy.
The truth is I can’t quite fathom why Bush has done this for us. I know all the explanations analysts offer and no doubt they make sense but they don’t fully answer the question. And the reason is they can’t explain the connection Bush feels for India. Yet clearly there must be one. Perhaps we’ll only know when Bush himself tells us, but who knows when or if that will be. Yet whilst we wait there’s something we need to say. And, I would add, say it loudly: Thank you, Mr Bush.
I concede George Bush’s Iraq policy or his approach to the WTO or his cowboy rhetoric merit criticism but that doesn’t detract from the thanks we owe him. Not in the least. For others he may be a dreadful president but not for us. For India he’s proved to be the best there’s ever been!
never really understood why the US and India hasn't always been good friends.
Uh, well, you already have nukes. Pakistan has nukes. Iran is on the verge of having nukes.
India is more sane, therefore more trustworthy than Pakistan or Iran.
Why would we not side with you, India? You are a lot less likely to do something stupid.
the world is a very strange place.
The truth is I can’t quite fathom why Bush has done this for us.
What is ironic is that he put the answer before the question and did not even realize it. GW really does believe in democracy (actually republics, but most people conflate the terms). India, for all its faults (and there are many), is a rising republic. One with 1,300,000,000 people in fact. Helping them succeed is the biggest boost for freedom that the world has ever seen. That's why he did it, plain and simple.
I agree. With one additional point. India, while not a “Christian nation” respects religious freedom and has not abandoned the concept of God.
Really? I thought I saw a few thread headers around here lately stating that Christians are being murdered in India.
Must have read it wrong.
Bush is a lame duck gone wild. A daffy duck.
I shudder to think what would've happened to America if Algore was President in the wake of 9/11 (and, if you were to poll Democrats privately, they'd probably agree). Gore would've spent the next three weeks curled in a fetal position, rocking back and forth, muttering to himself, "Daddy never said there'd be days like this, daddy never said there'd be days like this....."
History will show George W. Bush to be the Harry S. Truman of the 21st Century.
I think because India in the past has been more into socialism. Communism and all sort of leftist politics are alive in some parts of the country.
In the 60s and 70s, they led the Non-Aligned Movement in the UN. This movement purported to speak for the world’s poor, but it was really just a front for the USSR.
Also, after independence, there was a lot of anti-Western sentiment in India, and this has softened greatly over the years.
Christianity is India’s third-largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constituting 2.3% of India’s population,[1] .
Christianity arrived in India with the coming of Thomas the Apostle during the 1st century. The second spurt in the growth of Christianity came during the colonization of India which started after discovery of sea route to India by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498.[2][3]
Today Christians are found all across India and in all walks of life, with major populations in parts of South India, Konkan Coast, North-East India and sparse populations in Central India. Christian presence in India is most visible in the form of educational institutions, social services, and hospitals run by Christian organizations.[4] Around 70% of Christians in India are Roman Catholics and the rest mainly Protestants.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_India
I agree.
They get murdered here, too. Considering how small the Christian population of India is, it's a wonder we hear about those murders at all. You must consider that they have a god & goddess of death and destruction, and the followers of those also kill other Hindi. They also have a large Muslim population, and some of those are also fanatics. In 1.3 billion people, even a small percentage is a fairly large number of murderous nutcases.
At last...
It was a deal brokered with India by Bubba that brought down Enron. India simply allowed Enron believe that they would be a financial partner and they reneged at the last minute leaving Enron holding the bag.
The particular facts are out there but I am too tech challenged to find the details.
During the Cold War, America made the decision to side with Pakistan against India. You cannot be too close to Pakistan and be friendly with India.
The US needed Pakistan to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Conversely the Pakistanis used China and the US to contain India.
Russia has always been nervous about China, so Russia has a very strong relationship with India to contain China. India and China have fought a war in 1962, and Nixon and Kissinger favoured closer relationships with China (MVTN under Deng etc). So India was justifiably alarmed about the US and China teaming up against them.
You can now understand why India regards the US as an ‘awkward friend’.
The claim that ‘communism’ and ‘socialism’ is the reason why India diverged from Washington is nonsense. The reasons are more strategic than ideological. The problem is that most American administrations are yet to grasp the fears and even the history of that particular part of the world.
To illustrate the ‘awkward friend’ relationship: Assume India and Pakistan fought a war in Kashmir - would the United States risk losing Pakistani support for the War on Terror in Afghanistan to supply India with F-16’s?
The answer is No.
Now you understand why the Indian Airforce will continue to use Sukhois, MiGs and Mirages and why the Indian Army will continue to use T-72s.
I should have googled first.
Just typed in
Enron deal with India and there were all the ugly details.
They can take that last paragraph and ‘shove it’.
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