Slighting Our Indian Allies
Tags: Asia.
Click here to get Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority by Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan.
Of all the monumentally stupid foreign policy mistakes Obama and Co have already made, this may prove the most boneheaded:
My fellow columnist Gordon G. Chang made a piquant point in this space last week in his preview of Hillary Clinton’s trip to East Asia–her first trip abroad as secretary of state. Chiding her for what he regarded as a scheduling misjudgment, he wrote that “she should have reserved time for a stop-over” in India. I agree with him 100%.
Ironically, even as Mrs. Clinton was packing her valise for Beijing, a senior spokesman for the Congress Party, which heads the ruling coalition in New Delhi, made an impassioned freelance appeal for George W. Bush to be awarded the Bharat Ratna (“Jewel of India”), the country’s highest civilian award. The Bharat Ratna is a big, big deal in India and has been awarded only 41 times since its inception in 1954–and only twice to non-Indians, one of whom was the sainted Nelson Mandela. The Congress Party quickly distanced itself from its spokesman’s appeal, no doubt regarding it as a particularly impolitic show of nostalgia for Bush so early in the Age of Obama.
But the truth is that, for all his unpopularity in the U.S. (and Europe, and Latin America, and the Middle East, and practically everywhere else outside Albania and Georgia), Bush is a much-appreciated figure in India–at least in high policy circles. As many have noted, both in Washington and New Delhi, the one indisputable foreign policy success of the eight Bush years was America’s invigorating new alliance with India…
And there goes Hillary to China and Obama finds time to talk to Hamas terrorists…but no one seems to be paying attention to India. The author goes on to generously suggest that Hillary’s failure to visit India isn’t a slight to India – but the plain fact of the matter is that the “special relationship” we’ve had with Britain since World War Two should now be transferred to India. In confronting Chinese ambitions, fighting Islamist terrorism and maintaining democratic solidarity, India and the United States require the assistance of each other. Everything which can be done to keep India on side should be done – and the Obama Administration doesn’t even seem to notice.
Perhaps because India is a democracy it is incapable of being so relentlessly corrupt that Democrats will fall all over themselves to get in on the swag – as regards China, its clear that Hillary has a serious conflict of interest. Or it might just be that India isn’t on the left’s radar – Euro- and Commie-centric, America’s left probably couldn’t spot India on a map.
I hope that someone in the Obama Administration swiftly wakes up on this issue – we need India, India needs us and the world is a safer place when India and the United States work together.
Thank you for visiting Blogs For Victory. If you enjoy our content, please consider making a donation to help us cover the costs of our servers.Mark Noonan is co-author (with Matt Margolis) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at Nevada News and Views. Follow Mark on Twitter.
29 Responses to “Slighting Our Indian Allies”
Caucus of Corruption
Mark
stupid is as stupid does!
O-CHIMPY will soon be the NATIONAL STANDARD for STUPID.
What would one expect from an empty suited, never was, A.A. community organizer posing as FAUX potus, with a fat stupid, pant suited “L” for sec of state?
do I hear BUFFOONERY of biblical proportions?
Mark
O-CHIMPY’s flying monkey show -staff, consisting of OLD klintoon has been’s………..concentrate on RUSH!
Good job less than six weeks, 3 trillion debt added, stock marked -crash and burn,PI$$ off almost every strong ally, have russia Pi$$ on our shoes, and kiss hamas’s A$$ in public
NICE JOB…BARNEY FIFE OBOMBER!
obamacide is a derelict…the duty to represent the USA is in the hands on an individual bought and paid for by the DNC, its backers, and the Chicago Mob….they have no loyalties…no ties to good people…and can only do harm to america
Remember the good old days when these guys screamed that criticizing the president was unpatriotic?
is he really the president…fact…in dozens of active suits across the nation…the legitimacy of his presidency is in question…and…they seem to be getting some substantial backing now….
good ole days? i find it hard to describe 2 months ago…”good ole days”…
weight the difference…we have solid, indisputible facts…accusations against bush were pretty much heresay, speculation, rumors, rhetoric…and outright lies…
only a…mental midget…that pushed the accusations against bush were pretty much heresay, speculation, rumors, rhetoric…and outright lies…could see anything into that idea…the rest of us only see the irony of even trying to misinform people through your…omissions…
Mark,
So now, if Hilary visits another country, it’s an insult to every country she doesn’t visit? Great, we’ve now insulted two hundred other countries.
Please, your hateful tirades are getting more and more ridicules every day.
it is imp to maintain good relations w India.
the Sec of State will go there on a central asian trip which probably will include Iraq, Afghanistan, & Pakistan.
funny
the obamacide’s administration finds it appropriate to visit most of the nations that are enemies of freedom…and condemns our allies that are free…or just ignore them…
and you dont see anything in that casper?
8. js02 | March 5th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Sec State Clinton went to the nations most able to help with financing you country’s way out of the mess that it is in.
9. blochadvocate | March 5th, 2009 at 8:40 am
well, ‘cept 4 syria, israel, palestein, & indonesia.
bloch,
India is a growing country, economically, just like China. Why should they be excluded from “financing you country’s way out of the mess it is in.”?
Must….protect…..leftists….at….all…..costs…….
Anytime you want to visit India all you have to do is call customer service. Lol!
thats because labor is so cheap there…the underclass work for a few dollars a day…companies like AT&T exploit them, dont pay them fair wages…and benefit millions for it
in reality tired, it makes more sense for them to seek help from free countries than nations that are strict communists…strengthening freedom instead of slavery is what america is all about..
on top of the fact that we should not be borrowing a dime to start with…
Mark,
if Clinton did stop in India, you would have complained that she didn’t stop there first. Or you would have asked why she snubbed Suadi Arabia or some other foolish complaint. Just keep finding something else that you feel you should criticize.
Comments #1-3 above just shows the mentality of a lot of conservatives. No actual valid comments regarding the topic of the thread, just names. And you people say we go off topic. Geesh.
Mark,
Stopping in the West Bank is not “finding time to talk to Hamas terrorists”.
12. ricorun | March 5th, 2009 at 9:56 am
good one!
Obama is very clumsy, and needs to develop a finer appreciation of the diplomacy he touted so much back when it was just an abstraction and a talking point.
Sending back the bust of Churchill was insulting, and his failure to host the PM of the UK in the manner usually reserved for such VIPs was a blunder.
You rabid Lefties can be as snarky as you want to, but your silly snideness really only refelcts your auditions for knee pad acceptance and not any kind of valid criticism or defense.
rico
STOP it!!!!!!!!!
LOL
you are killing me, LOL
Be careful though joestogeboston will accuse you of being racist and call for mark to ban you!
NO…..HUMOR (soup)…….FOR……YOU!
rico
was that you or spook who had the biden funny last night ? it was a killer!
joe
Comments #1-3 above just shows the mentality of a lot of conservatives. No actual valid comments regarding the topic of the thread, just names.
we are following your playbook used on Bush and conservatives-for the last eight years, and having a ball with it.
It is grand to see you little lefties get your PANTIES in a wad over your own tactics use against you.
Get used to it A$$HAT !
js02 #13: “thats because labor is so cheap there…the underclass work for a few dollars a day…companies like AT&T exploit them, dont pay them fair wages…and benefit millions for it”
Anyone notice how every now and then js02 lets fly with some bong-loaded hard-left remark? Generally, I appreciate the distinctive feminine voice that she brings to the threads here, but this sort of comment makes me think that she is just some addled liberal that comes here to work out her self-loathing and, um, “issues”. Ecch.
fooldisclosure: Anyone notice how every now and then js02 lets fly with some bong-loaded hard-left remark?
Golly gee… no I haven’t. Lol!!!
“Euro- and Commie-centric, America’s left probably couldn’t spot India on a map.”
It is located east of Pakistan, west of Bangladesh and south of Nepal and north of the island nation of Sri Lanka formally known as Ceylon.
Did I pass, did I pass? Or can I still claim to be left?
Oh, and when did Obama talk to Hamas?
By the way, one of the biggest boneheaded foreign policy blunders was committed by Bush when he included Iran in his axis of evil comment during the State of the Union in 2002. This moved the Iranian electorate toward a more extremist position and elected Ahmedinijad. I think resolving Iran will be more important than getting things straight with India. Obama has been in office for less than two months and you are criticizing him about India?
Mark,
You’re forgetting about Pakistan. To favor India right now would be foolish; if anything, we should be subtly bringing pressure on them to stop scaring the Pakistanis, because that is diverting troops from the NWFP.
Cam1,
You pass, but not perfectly. Burma (or Myanmar, if you prefer) is east of India; Bangladesh is surrounded on all sides.
Sergei,
You’re treating Pakistan as if it were a Great Power along the lines of India – its not; its a third rate power which has a lot of troubles, but when the US and India speak as one, Pakistan will have to listen.
Now, to be sure, we go slow and careful in Pakistan – and the Indians know this even better than we do – but in the end, we can bend Pakistan to our desires.
cam,
I keep reminding you: The Iranian electorate had no say in the choice of President of Iran…it was all pre-arranged by the mullahs, and the low-turn out election was just a pro-forma bit of window dressing on tyranny.
joe,
If you had been reading my stuff for the past 6 years you’d know that I have been all about the Indian alliance – this is nothing new for me.
So, pay attention, or don’t comment.
Mark,
Going “slow and careful” with Pakistan is much of what got us into our current mess.
You’re talking about this as though it’s about geopolitics. It’s not. It’s about this. Need I remind you? I know that, in order to exonerate Bush, you like to pretend that Osama died at Tora Bora, but in my opinion that’s very nearly as disgusting as the Bush haters who say Osama was framed. Face it, he got away.
Osama bin Laden brutally murdered thousands, and injured hundreds of thousands. He plunged Afghanistan into war yet again. He aided that monster Zarqawi in raping Iraq. He proved that it is possible to strike America and get away with it.
He is our number one priority.
20. fooldisclosure | March 5th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
“Anyone notice how every now and then js02 lets fly with some bong-loaded hard-left remark? Generally, I appreciate the distinctive feminine voice that she brings to the threads here, but this sort of comment makes me think that she is just some addled liberal that comes here to work out her self-loathing and, um, “issues”. Ecch.”
actually fool – js is a grandpa. and the confusion u & js BOTH have is actually thinking u understand conservatism.
course when ur professor is el rushbo, who was hanging around the KC Royals & ESPN while I was studying poli sci, then u utter confusion is completely understandable.