India-US tango becomes more intimate
WHEN Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs in the US State Department, visited India last week, Indians had the barely suppressed excitement of a suitor waiting for an "I do" from a comely bride. This was because Burns discussed the US approach to India’s candidacy for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. India’s ambitions took a step closer to reality after the US let it be known that it wants only two more new permanent members besides, of course, Japan, and wants to freeze the membership when it comes to the likes of Germany. India thinks, for valid reasons, that it fits the bill for having "a flourishing democracy" as described by none other than President George W. Bush, and has been involved with the UN right from the beginning, particularly two score peacekeeping operations across the world. What has really mattered — and most Indians, barring the leftist ideologues and those still living in the Cold War era, accept this — is that the US has come to recognise India as a regional power. Not only that, the US has come to depend upon its solidarity and support on a number of issues. This is, of course, because American national interests coincide with India’s on many counts.
posted by Unknown @ 12:14 PM
4 Comments:
As soon as the leftists catch on to India's status as an likely ally of the US they will begin the search for ways to vilify it. It then won't take them more than five minutes to identify the caste system (which they never noticed or cared about while vacationing there) as a form of 'racism'. Look then for the flood of bleeding-heart articles in the NYT, etc., etc.
This process has all the predictability of a wind-up toy.
India's seat on the Security Council is long overdue in my opinion. Perhaps someone can help me, but I remember reading an article recently about France opposing this - at least partly to do with India having chosen Boeing over Airbus in a large transaction. Does anyone have any knowledge of this?
John b, your memory is basically correct. Go to the link below to get an account, albeit anonymously sourced, from an Indian site:
http://srirangan.net/india-defence/node/234.
Evan:
Thanks. I like this quote from the article:
"“Despite French insistence that the US was an unreliable ally,” said a diplomat, “India preferred the US somewhat blindly, and if the Americans are unreliable with us, they are going to be very unreliable with you. Those Boeings are not going to come in time for Air India to take commercial advantage, and it would be foolhardy to choose the F-16 over the Mirage.”
French insistance that the U.S. is an unreliable ally - that's rich coming from France. In one way they are reliable I suppose, you can always depend upon them to surrender when things get tough.
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