Re: [Fwd: Jim Hoagland interviews Prime Minister Manmohan Singh]

Rajeev Srinivasan wrote:

> apr 20th
>
> india to become one of 'five or six' major powers, apparently.
>
> for this, there is no need for the yanks, it will happen in the next
> five years with no particular effort given that india is already the
> tenth largest economy in the world.
>
> where india needs the yanks is to leapfrog china.
>
> if india were capable of some fancy footwork it would become *number
> one*: the reason is that china is likely to disintegrate because it is
> a contradiction -- a totalitarian, secretive state which cannot
> survive for long. the us is on a long downhill path.
>
> if india didnt have utter losers for its 'leaders' india could become
> the Numero Uno.
>
> as things stand india will be an also-ran, never a contender. nehru's
> vision coming unerringly true.
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Jim Hoagland interviews Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
> Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 08:35:24 -0400
> From: Ram Narayanan <ram@usindiafriendship.us>
> To: rajeev.srinivasan@gmail.com
>
>
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902480.html
>
>
> WASHINGTON POST.COM
>
> *Bush’s Indian Ally
> *
> By Jim Hoagland
>
> Thursday, April 20, 2006; Page A25
>
> NEW DELHI -- At a time when even friendly governments are quick to
> distance themselves from the United States and its pugnacious,
> embattled president, India is a strategic maverick. The former
> firebrand of the Non-Aligned Movement has chosen this moment to forge
> a close partnership with Washington and to speak up positively about
> American power in world affairs.
>
> "This lack of nuclear cooperation is the last remaining cobweb from
> our old relationship, and we can now sweep it aside," Prime Minister
> Manmohan Singh said with an expressive wave of his hand. "There are no
> other barriers to a more productive, more durable relationship with
> the United States. The potential is enormous for our two nations."
>
> India is the new China in the eyes of the Bush administration, which
> has promised to help this once-slumbering Asian giant develop into one
> of the world’s five or six major economic and political powers. That
> undertaking has instilled a new sense of security in the Indian
> capital and erased long-standing tensions.
>
> Singh praised "the new thinking" in Washington during our conversation
> and easily skipped over renewed U.S. arms sales to Pakistan, American
> pressure for action on Iran and other topics that would have sunk most
> of his predecessors into bitter grumbling about neo-imperialism.
>
> The Indian leader’s impressively modest and precise manner sets a
> moderate tone for his remarks. A visitor quickly understands why he is
> trusted and respected by his peers in the rough-and-tumble world of
> Indian politics. That does not prevent him from being candid in his
> assessments:
>
> "We recognize that the United States is the preeminent superpower in
> the world and that it is in India’s interest to have good relations
> with the United States . . . as a very important partner in realizing
> our development ambitions," he acknowledged.
>
> One way of helping with development and environmental protection,
> Singh quickly suggested, was for the U.S. Congress to approve
> legislative changes that clear the way for the United States to
> provide civilian nuclear technology and supplies to India after a
> 32-year ban triggered by India’s development and testing of nuclear
> weapons.
>
> Bush and Singh reached agreement last July on reciprocal steps for the
> resumption of nuclear energy cooperation outside the international
> Non-Proliferation Treaty. Singh has persuaded his left-wing allies in
> the coalition government he heads not "to wreck the boat" by opposing
> "an agreement that is in India’s interest" because of their suspicion
> of Washington.
>
> The administration hopes to move the legislative changes through
> Congress in May, giving Bush a badly needed foreign policy success as
> well as the first direct American influence over India’s nuclear
> weapons program, which would be partially covered by new safeguards
> and inspections.
>
> Singh would not speculate on the consequences of a refusal by Congress
> to accept the agreement. But in response to questions, he did identify
> two things that he does not expect to happen.
>
> Asked if India would ever put all of its reactors under full-scope
> safeguards -- as some U.S. critics say Bush should have demanded -- he
> replied: "No. We would like the world to move toward universal nuclear
> disarmament. But given the circumstances, we need a strategic nuclear
> weapons program. In our neighborhood, China is a nuclear power and on
> our western frontier there is Pakistan, which developed its weapons
> through clandestine proliferation."
>
> And he said he could not imagine circumstances that would require
> India to resume nuclear testing, an option that his Indian critics
> assert is a sovereign right. "Our scientists tell me they need no
> further tests. As for the distant future, I cannot predict forever,
> but our commitment is to continue our unilateral moratorium."
>
> *The conversation underscored for me that flaws in the nuclear draft
> agreement are heavily outweighed by the advantages it brings in
> cutting global pollution, easing pressure on oil markets and bringing
> a substantial part of India’s nuclear program under international
> supervision.*
>
> Noting that Chinese President Hu Jintao was visiting the United States
> this week, Singh insisted that "we are not developing our relationship
> with the U.S. at the cost of our relationship with China, which is our
> neighbor and with which our trade is growing at a handsome rate. . . .
> President Bush told me this is a sensible way to proceed, and that
> America will remain engaged with China, too."
>
> *On Iran, he urged Washington to allow "the maximum scope for dialogue
> and discussions. The Iranian regime may need some time to settle
> down." But, he added, "we are very clear that we do not want another
> nuclear weapons power in the region."
> *
> India is moving from a past of shaking an angry finger in the American
> face to providing a helping hand for U.S. power in the future. *The
> Senate and House should move expeditiously to set this transformation
> in motion.
> *
> /jimhoagland@washpost.com/
>
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