On 18th July 2005 when George W Bush and Dr Manmohan Singh jointly announced the historic nuclear agreement in Washington, many thought that this would be the beginning of a relationship that would dominate the world in the 21st century. Some even compared it to the US-Israel relationship that has been rock steady for the last 6 decades. But Dr Singh would have never imagined at that time that the nuclear deal which was the symbol of this new love affair between the two nations for which he also put his chair and the government on the line in 2008 (The Left pull support from the UPA) would start loosing its sheen so early.
Bush and Dr Singh were the architects of this new strategic relationship which was created on mutual benefit & trust. But unfortunately for India the meaning of the word ‘mutual benefit’ which was defined by these two leaders in 2005 changed in January 2009 when Barack Obama took over as the president of the United States of America.
In the last one year there have been three key issues that clearly indicate Washington’s priority and preference. The thorniest issue has been the 26/11 investigation. From the time of 26/11, India’s reliance on the US to pressurize Pakistan to act against the Pakistan based terror camps has been a complete failure. Yes, the US has publicly always made statements that Pakistan must act and speed up the process. But the reality still remains that Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of 26/11 is still roaming around scot free. Similarly when David Headley admitted his role in the 26/11 attack, the US officials immediately made it clear to India that Headley will not be extradited to India. The only assurance given was that Indian investigators would be given access to him for questioning. How soon and for what period is still not known. The third issue has been the India-Iran relationship. The US has been continuously pressurizing India not to do any business with Iran. India has been in talks with Iran over the multi billion dollar gas pipeline which is pivotal for India’s growing energy needs.
Lets take an hypothetical example with regards to 26/11 investigations. Had the US been in India’s position and say Iraq or even Iran had been directly responsible for 9/11 then would it had ever allowed India to do business with either Iran or Iraq? It launched an all out war against Afghanistan in 2002. Not only did it attack Afghanistan but took along with it a host of sycophants like the UK, Australia etc, who were not the victims of 9/11. But on the other hand now the US is not only providing financial aid to Pakistan but also considers it a big partner in its fight against the Taliban. And for India, Pakistan’s soil was used to attack Mumbai on 26/11.
Similarly to the issue of Iran with which the US has had a long standing problem and till date the US has been alleging that Iran has a hidden nuclear weapons program in place which is dangerous for the world. Washington has been pressing for more sanctions and pressurizing New Delhi not to do any business with them. Iran is a democratic state and even if there are grey areas in their nuclear plan even then it should be handled through a dialogue in the same manner as the US has been advocating India on the Pakistan issue. Washington has all this while pushing India to have a dialogue with Islamabad even though they have failed to deliver on the 26/11 front. Washington has no right to tell New Delhi not to work with Iran. Washington has never had any problem with Israel, which has all along developed weapons and used them against Palestine.
And the last but the most major issue relates to Headley. US attacked Afghanistan citing that Osama Bin Laden is hiding there. Ironically, one of the main culprits (Headley) who has accepted his role in 26/11 is sitting in the US but the victim India cannot extradite him. But hypothetically, had India given shelter or even arrested Osama then was there ever a chance that the US would have agreed to him not been extradited to the US?
All these three issues highlight the double standards that have been followed by the US administration. It also reflects that Obama’s priority is not India but Afghanistan for which it needs Pakistan. That’s the precise reason why it is not handing over Headley as that would lead to a complete exposure of Pakistan’s role.
Dr Singh who is currently in the US for the nuclear summit and also met Obama should step up the gas. It is essential to convey the message to their US counterparts that 26/11 investigation is as important for India as the 9/11 attack was for the US. And its time that India stands firm even on the Iran issue. Because the nuclear deal is now history & there isn’t any more big presents coming from the US. If India stifles under US pressure then its journey to become the superpower of this century would be defeated.
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