Sunday, March 28, 2004
The unheralded alliance between the United States and India
The next time you hear somebody accuse the Bush Administration of unilateralism, point out that this President has brought the United States closer to India than at any time in history. I have been a bit of a broken record on this point, partly because there has been so little on this huge story in the American media.
Today we have news that U.S. and Indian infantry are engaged in wargames in the jungles of northeastern India.
The exercises are part of increasingly close military ties between the United States and India which were on opposite sides during the Cold War.
Joint military exercises have expanded over the past two years with Indian troops also visiting the US for wargames in Alaska and elsewhere.
You don't hear much about this for two reasons. First, the Administration does not want to beat its own chest, because doing so would tremendously annoy Pakistan, which finally seems to be carrying our water in the war against Al-Qaeda. Second, the warming of U.S. - India relations is so inconsistent with the dominent theme pushed along by the major media -- that the Bush crowd doesn't "do" diplomacy -- that the press would rather ignore it.
Today we have news that U.S. and Indian infantry are engaged in wargames in the jungles of northeastern India.
The exercises are part of increasingly close military ties between the United States and India which were on opposite sides during the Cold War.
Joint military exercises have expanded over the past two years with Indian troops also visiting the US for wargames in Alaska and elsewhere.
You don't hear much about this for two reasons. First, the Administration does not want to beat its own chest, because doing so would tremendously annoy Pakistan, which finally seems to be carrying our water in the war against Al-Qaeda. Second, the warming of U.S. - India relations is so inconsistent with the dominent theme pushed along by the major media -- that the Bush crowd doesn't "do" diplomacy -- that the press would rather ignore it.
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