A Positive Step For American-Indian Relations

Last week, we wrote an article* discussing whether the public reprimand administered by the Indian Establishment to David Miliband, British Foreign Secretary, was a signal to the Obama Administration. This week’s events suggest that it was and that the Obama Administration interpreted it as such.

This week, the Administration took the sensible and smart decision to remove Kashmir from the mandate given to Richard C. Holbrooke, the President’s top envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is being celebrated in New Delhi as another affirmation of increasingly warm relations between America and India.

We welcome this step and commend the Obama Administration for their decisive and early action. We also commend the Indian Establishment for being tough, unequivocal as well as verbally aggressive towards Miliband.

While we call this a positive step, it is really the elimination of a negative step. President George Bush had launched an extraordinary initiative to build a far-reaching, strategic relationship with India**.  It seems that the Obama Administration is inclined to build on this relationship rather than meddle in India’s internal affairs.   

This is a relief to everyone that desires closer relations between the world’s two greatest democracies. In particular, this is a very positive signal to the US and Indian Armed Forces that have invested so much in building inter-operational capabilities with a view to establish a military partnership***. We have written before that, in our view, such an American-Indian security partnership will prove to be the key to world security by 2025, if not sooner.


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References:

* “Miliband’s Comments – Trial Balloon Between Obama Administration & Indian Government?” – January 24, 2009 – https://cinemarasik.com/2009/01/24/milibands-comments–trial-balloon-between-obama-administration–indian-government.aspx

** Our articles about President Bush and India

– “President Bush and India – Views of CinemaRasik and New York Times” – January 17, 2009 – https://cinemarasik.com/2009/01/15/president-bush-and-india–views-of-cinemarasik-and-new-york-times-2.aspx

– “President Bush and India – His Vision, His Accomplishments and His Legacy” – September 14, 2008 –  https://cinemarasik.com/2008/09/12/president-bush-and-india–his-vision-his-accomplishments-and-his-legacy.aspx