Beware of American adulations!
Posted by seumasach on September 6, 2012
5th September, 2012
It wouldn’t have been difficult at all for the Washington Post reporter to get the apt quotations to embellish his highly critical piece on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. What matters is the overall disenchantment of the American media with the PM. First, Time magazine; now WaPo.
Such reports are often a tell-tale sign of the shift in political winds. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev used to be lionised by the Western media when he was president but when the end came and it became clear the Russian leader wouldn’t get a second term in the Kremlin, the tone changed and he became a butt of ridicule.
The plain truth is, Barack Obama administration has lost interest in Manmohan Singh. The 2012 Democratic National Platform, which was released yesterday and is something of an election manifesto for Obama, had a lengthy 9000-word section on foreign policy and yet it devoted just a single 33-word sentence to India — 0.03 percent. It just about sums up how disappointed the US administration is today with India’s performance.
A variety of reasons can be attributed, starting from the “loss” of the $16 billion dollar MMRCA deal. The US and its lobbyists openly sulked. Again, the anticipated nuclear commerce worth $150 billion hasn’t yet materialized — and none seems likely in a foreseeable future. Congress Party’s focus is on the 2014 general elections and it is expedient not to undertake economic “reforms” despite the US’ urgings.
In sum, Indian market is not going to boost the US’ exports and create job opportunities for the Americans. The Indian economy is not going to be the milch cow it was expected to be. Obama has naturally lost interest.
On the foreign policy side, too, India is proving a hard nut. India is horrified at the thought of becoming the “lynchpin” in the US’ Asia-Pacific strategies. It manifestly holds in poor opinion the US’ Middle East policies and is pursuing an independent foreign policy toward Iran, Russia, China, etc. Most important, India seems more than ever convinced that there is going to be great relevance for the principles of non-alignment in the contemporary world situation.
Reportedly, the US arms manufacturers who had set up camp in Delhi with high expectations of making a kill in the Indian arms bazaar, are in low spirits and are packing their bags. They would rather secure business from India via the FMS route.
From all accounts, India is not dumping the Russian friends, either. In fact, the India-Russia defence cooperation is going in full steam. On top of it all now comes the visit by the Chinese defence minister Liang Guanglie to India just when Washington is rachetting up tension with Beijing. The very fact that a Joint Press Communique was issued after Liang’s visit underscores the momentum in India-China relations, leave along the impressive outcome of the visit.
In sum, the US has determined that PM has become a “burnt-out case” and is of no more use to them. In Kerala, we’d say he’s become like a curry leaf which can (or should) now be thrown away or spat out, having served its purpose when the broth was being cooked in the kitchen.
PM’s experience should be an eye-opener for all Indian politicians, especially the GenNext. The Americans can be ass kissers when there is some chance for them to make money. So, American adulations shouldn’t go to the heads of the Indian leaders. It will be hilarious to go through some of the things that the Americans (and our guys) wrote and spoke about our PM when the 2008 nuclear deal was being negotiated. He was then the paragon of all virtues.
In These New Times 
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