AnantD wrote:Shiv:
You are right that this thread is what US should do and not what India should (definitely a freudean slip), however I think our cooperation with the US should go beyond just "training and mutual good feeling". Almost every candidate for POTUS in the 2012 election here is advocating a stronger military relationship with India, but I get the feeling that is going nowhere with too much cynicism (and past baggage) in India. Some of the cynicism is healthy, since it does not allow unwarranted moves and exploitation of India, but countries like Dragon and TSP gain more time and benefit from it. I can't also understand why India can't gear up to defend itself with indigenous industry and still support the US here.
India is more like a mountain. We stand there. We are ourselves. Others can see us and from our heights we can see others. For others we are don't move and we have no apparent direction. Our shadows may fall on others, but we have no intention of crushing others, except may be with some rare avalanche where some neighbor gets smothered, like it happened in '71. When others see us, they only see a mountain that needs to be climbed and mastered. With our politics of non-interference and respect for sovereignty, we too don't want to give any other impression.
As a mountain we are not really playing any game.
We have to start playing the game - all entities - geographic, ideological or manipulative, which are against us need to be crushed or otherwise neutralized.
It is only if India has some new design for the world, that we can convince others or even force others to support them. We say India's and American strategic interests overlap. Does that include anything more than defensive interests for India? Let's say one of India's strategic interests is to break Pakistan, and USA sees some good in that, so may be USA and India could do things together. But is India's interest to really break up Pakistan? Has it ever been suggested by any other party other than us jingos here on BRF? So if it is not our interest, then it is useless to hope that America would look after our unstated interests!
It is not about India following American lead, but rather India laying down the lead and getting America to jump on to the wagon!
We sometimes make it an issue of independence of Indian Foreign Policy vs dependence on others. It is in fact a question of building some inter-dependence with others. What we need is clarity in what we want and how to mold the environment accordingly, and then see if other powers can help or not, and to build inter-dependencies accordingly.
We have to play our game - break-up Pakistan; get China out of Tibet; integrate Asia into India culturally, economically and to some extent politically; and to dictate the World Political and Financial Order!
And we work to "create" the American constituencies which see Pakistan as one big bulls eye, but as a support to our own game!