India-US Strategic News and Discussion

rajrang · Post by **rajrang** » 03 Aug 2014 22:00

During his previous visit to India under the MMS government, John Kerry mentioned countless times that the US - India engagements were NOT directed at other countries (read China).

Of potentially great significance, during his recent visit to India, he did not repeat that statement even once. An case of loud silence.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 03 Aug 2014 22:21

"We" got kicked out of the WSJ, and "Our" sibling got booted out of the Chindu. Now writing from Our throne for The Daily Beast. Three rungs below National Enquirer. Sad. The guy had the promise to be a good writer if he had stuck to writing with pride in his own heritage rather than coming across as an all-round oiseule.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 04 Aug 2014 03:01

The new flavour of the times,"Putinism" is much in vogue,just watch the Hungarians and what their leader says about the "western democracies".
Fareed Zak's piece from the WP however does a disservice to Putin.he rescued Russia from the clutches of brigands and Western robber barons in cahoots with each other.If you are a law abiding citizen in Russia what do you have to worry about? Putin is immensely popular and has been elected fairly and squarely,something one couldn't say about Dubya Bush who stole an election! How did the global eco collapse happen? Who were the thieves who stole trillions? Russians? What crap,they were Yanqui and Western bankers and their politico partners in crime.And which nations have turned into repressive police states who spy on their own people? The US.The UK is also supposedly the most monitored nation on the planet with CCTVs and its own version of the NS A,GC HQ,part of the "5 eyes" network of Anglo-Saxon nations whose intel is coordinated,tasked and shared.

Hungary's Prime Minister is following Russia's illiberal lead in political and social repression
Fareed Zakaria
Sunday 03 August 2014

When the Cold War ended, Hungary occupied a special place in the story of the revolutions of 1989. It was the first country in the Soviet orbit to abandon communism and embrace liberal democracy.

Today it is again a trendsetter, becoming the first European country to denounce and distance itself from liberal democracy. It is adopting a new system and set of values that are best exemplified by Vladimir Putin's Russia but are finding echoes in other countries as well.

In a major speech last weekend, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban explained that his country is determined to build a new political model – "illiberal democracy".

"The most popular topic in thinking today is trying to understand how systems that are not Western, not liberal, not liberal democracies and perhaps not even democracies can nevertheless make their nations successful," said Mr Orban. For him, the world changed fundamentally in 2008 with what he called "the great Western financial collapse".

Since then, he argued, American power has been in decline and liberal values today embody "corruption, sex and violence". Western Europe has become a land of "freeloaders on the backs of welfare systems". The illiberal role models for the future, he explained, are Russia, Turkey, China, Singapore and India.

Mr Orban's actions over the past few years demonstrate that his own role model has been Russia under Mr Putin. Mr Orban has enacted and implemented in Hungary a version of what can best be described as Putinism. To understand it, we need to go back to its founder.

When he came to power in 2000, Vladimir Putin was determined to bring stability as Russia reeled from internal chaos and economic stagnation. He sought to integrate it into the world and wanted good relations with the West. Over time, Putin established order while presiding over a booming economy. He also began creating a repressive system of political, economic and social control.

The crucial elements of Putinism are nationalism, religion, social conservatism, state capitalism and government domination of the media.They are all different from and hostile to modern Western values of individual rights, tolerance, cosmopolitanism and internationalism.

Mr Orban has followed in Mr Putin's footsteps, eroding judicial independence, limiting individual rights, speaking in nationalist terms about ethnic Hungarians and muzzling the press. The methods of control are often more sophisticated than traditional censorship. Hungary recently announced a 40 per cent tax on ad revenues, which seems to target the country's only major independent television network and could result in its bankruptcy.

There are others who have embraced core elements of Putinism. Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan has veered away from his reformist agenda towards one that is more socially conservative, Islamist and highly nationalistic.

The success of Putinism will depend a great deal on the success of Mr Putin and Russia under him. But if Russia's leader triumphs in Ukraine, turning it into a basket case that comes begging to Moscow, he will look like a winner. If, on the other hand, Ukraine succeeds outside of Russia's orbit and the Russian economy continues to weaken, Putin might find himself presiding over a globally isolated Siberian petro-state.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 06 Aug 2014 01:43

Signs of the times. As the imperial power retreats,the natives get bolder!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/a ... demy-kabul
Afghan soldier kills US general in attack on military academy outside Kabul
Attack at British-run facility wounds 15 and claims life of US major general, highest-ranking American casualty of 13-year war

An Afghan soldier opened fire at a British-run military academy outside Kabul on Tuesday, killing a US major general and wounding at least 15 other troops including a German brigadier general.

The US two-star general, whose identity was not immediately released, became the highest-ranking American officer killed in nearly 13 years of war in Afghanistan. The Pentagon's press secretary said he believed the officer was the highest ranking US military casualty since 9/11.

Early reports of the incident were fragmentary. A terse initial statement from Nato's command in Afghanistan, known as the International Security Assistance Force or Isaf, said that an "incident" at the Qargha academy, also known the Marshal Fahim National Defense University, killed an Isaf service member.

Afghan defence ministry spokesperson Zahir Azami said that a soldier wearing an Afghan national army uniform opened fire on a group of international and Afghan soldiers, killing one and wounding an unspecified number of others.

A US official told the Associated Press that "about a dozen" American troops were wounded. The assailant was killed, although it is not clear whether a US or Afghan soldier killed him.

The New York Times first identified the rank of the dead officer. The Pentagon press secretary, Rear Adm John Kirby, would only confirm that a "general officer" had been killed.

"It's a terrible day, a terrible tragedy," Kirby said.

Germany's military said 15 Nato soldiers were wounded, in an assault launched "probably by internal attackers". Kirby said the daylight incident occurred during a "routine site visit" by US officers. The wounded included a German brigadier general, who the German military said was receiving medical treatment and was "not in a life-threatening condition."

The Ministry of Defence in London said it was investigating. "We are aware of reports of an incident at Qargha. The incident is under investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time," a spokesman said.

General Mohammed Afzal Aman, the chief of staff for operations at the Afghan defence ministry, said it was also investigating the reports.

"We are investigating, but it appears that an Afghan army officer opened fire. Three of our officers have been injured, some [Nato] troops have also suffered casualties."

The killing, known in Pentagon and Isaf parlance as a "green on blue" – for a sponsored force turning on its – represents a return to a vexing and wrenching problem faced by international forces in recent years.

By 2012, assaults from Afghan forces had become one of the greatest dangers to US and allied troops in Afghanistan, rivalling homemade bombs, and military leaders said they were unsure about what was driving the attacks. The Long War Journal website chronicled 44 green-on-blue attacks that year.

Better screening and more thorough monitoring of Afghan recruits, coupled with senior-level attention, has typically been cited as a cause for a sharp drop in 2013 and 2014, which have seen 15 such attacks. The bloody day in Kabul is the first such attack since February, and it occurs amid persistent uncertainty surrounding an Afghan presidential election that will determine the future of the US and allied troop presence after this year.

"The insider threat is a pernicious threat," Kirby said, but he dismissed concerns it would undermine US-Afghan cooperation.

"The Afghan national security forces continue to perform at a very strong level of competence and competence and warfare capability," Kirby said.

The officers' training academy, dubbed "Sandhurst in the sand", took its first cadets last October, and will be the only remaining British military presence in the country after operations end this year.

General and flag officers rarely die in combat zones, often a function of their placement in planning areas outside of the fiercest fighting. Even in the unconventional recent counterinsurgency conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where battle fronts and rear areas can arise and change places with each embedded bomb, that pattern has held.

In 2010, a suicide bomber assaulted a Kabul minibus convoy, killing four US and Canadian colonels and lieutenant colonels. A 2008 mortar attack on the secured Green Zone in Iraq made the US army's Stephen Scott, who died while exercising on a treadmill, the ninth US colonel killed in that conflict.

ldev · Post by **ldev** » 06 Aug 2014 02:17

By the Numbers
Glenn Greenwald, formerly of The Guardian who originally met with Snowden in Hong Kong, now works for "The Intercept". They supposedly have a new source named "Snowden 2", who has given some details on the numbers of people on no fly lists etc.

Interesting read.

[img]https://image_prod01-cdn00.cdn.firstlook.org/wp-uploads/sites/1/2014/08/nofly_numbers_v9.jpg[/img]

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 06 Aug 2014 04:18

Facing closure after Khobragade row, US club back in business

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 06 Aug 2014 04:33

^^^^
some details in fine print.

New Delhi’s reasoning was that while these facilities are exempted from Indian taxes and duties, since they are covered under privileges granted to American diplomats, they were also being used by non-diplomats. The club’s members included US citizens from various walks of life, including corporates, academicians and mediapersons.

These members also had access to the commissary in the US embassy, where they could buy duty-free food and beverages. Each member was entitiled to a weekly liquor ration of a bottle of hard liquor, two bottles of wine (standard size) and 12 cans of beer. New Delhi has now forced the US embassy to shut this facility for non-diplomats.

However, diplomats from other countries based in Delhi, who are also members of the club, can still avail the benefits. But while they could earlier pool in their share of duty-free alcohol for distribution at the US embassy’s commissary, that has now stopped. Each country’s embassy is now entitled to duty-free products from its own commissary only.

trying to bring reciprocity one step at a time.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 06 Aug 2014 06:34

So in brief, the US Mission in India was not just utterly incompetent at their diplomatic jobs: they were also misusing their diplomatic privileges big-time by running a tavern and selling illicit hooch and smuggled goods. A Gay Bar, perhaps?

What else were they doing? We know they did trafficking in humans (the DUI and children). Prostitution? Drug-dealing? Weapons smuggling? Organizing terrorism? Counterfeiting? Dog-racing? Bookmaking? Sounds like a Full-Service Mafia.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 06 Aug 2014 07:17

When it comes to Uncle Sam,"it's nothing personal,only business"!

http://www.asianage.com/columnists/made-us-752
Made in US
Aug 06, 2014

It’s difficult to foresee what will happen in the Israel-Gaza conflict, but the Economist has summed up the situation accurately when it says that Israel is ‘winning the battle (but) losing the war’

For reasons too obvious to need spelling out, world attention is currently focused on Gaza and the intolerably disproportionate use of force by Israel in return for rockets fired on Israeli towns by Hamas, an obnoxious militant organisation also deserving condemnation.

However, at the time of writing more than 1,800 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, 80 per cent of them innocent civilians and a fourth of them children. Israelis’ loss of life has been 67, all except three of them soldiers. The horrified United Nations Human Rights Council met and condemned Israel; the United States was the solitary country to vote against the council’s resolution.
President Barack Obama’s only comment was that Israel had a “right to defend itself”. This is unexceptionable but takes no notice of Israel crossing all limits of inhumanity in the clash of arms with Hamas. For their part both Houses of the US Congress speedily and virtually unanimously voted for more military aid to Israel. This was entirely in keeping with America’s blind support to the Jewish state, together with complete immunity.
Against this backdrop it is nothing short of astonishing that even the American conscience was troubled when the Israelis bombed a second UN-run school in Gaza full of nearly 3,000 refugees despite the sharp condemnation of their first attack on a school run by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) in which 19 people were killed and 100 injured. Even though UNRWA representative Pierre Krahenbuhl gave a full and heartrending account of the Israeli action despite being told 17 times the exact location of the school, the US remained tongue-tied. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called Israel’s shelling of the school a “possible war crime”. The second time around, however, both the White House and the state department have spoken out in the strongest language they have ever used in relation to Israel. A confidante of President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, said on TV that the US was “appalled” by the “disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school”.
Although the bulk of the Western media tilts towards Israel and slants the news in its favour, the public in most countries, including those closely allied with the US, cannot be taken in thanks to the social media. In France, for example, Israelis are being called “racists”. In Britain, the new foreign secretary, Phillip Hammond, was forced to admit that the “situation in Gaza was intolerable”. He made this statement after a big row between the Labour leader, David Miliband, and “10 Downing Street”. Mr Miliband taunted British Prime Minister David Cameron that he had condemned the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli students in a West Bank seminary, but has remained silent after the “massacre” of Palestinians. At the popular level the outrage against the “Israeli blitz” is huge. Nearly 60,000 people demonstrated against the Israeli embassy and then marched to Parliament a week ago. A similar march by 100,000 is planned for August 9. It is difficult to foresee what will happen in the Israel-Gaza conflict next, but the Economist seems to have summed up the situation accurately when it says that Israel is “winning the battle (but) losing the war”.
What a tragedy it is that a framework for the settlement of the Israel-Palestine issue on the “two states” basis, negotiated by the two adversaries secretly at Oslo and signed formally on September 13, 1993, on the south lawns of Bill Clinton’s White House by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, exists. But more than two decades have passed and yet the two sides are unable to clinch it. The Arab states must accept their share of blame because they have done precious little to help their Palestinian brothers. This remains the seminal problem of the Middle East which we like to call West Asia, but not the only one. There are at least three other states in the region that are in such deep turmoil that maintenance of status quo there does not look possible.
Let us begin with Iraq for that is the country the neo-Conservatives of the US, under the leadership of George W. Bush, invaded in 2003, without any sanction from the UN and on the demonstrably false excuse of destroying the weapons of mass destruction of the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. They even promised to convert Iraq into a democracy of such quality that it would become a “role model” for the wider Middle East! Today Iraq is fast ceasing to be a united entity. Sunni Islamic extremists have established control on the Sunni areas in the north of the country and in Syria, calling themselves the Islamic State (ISIS). One of its leaders, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has even appointed himself Caliph. The historical Shia-Sunni conflict is both escalating and spreading across the Muslim world.
In Libya, the war between two rival factions is so acute that the US, Britain and several other countries have withdrawn their embassies from there. We have also advised our nationals to leave that country because it could explode into two any time. Here again the problem was created by the US when, illegally stretching the UN Security Council’s resolution establishing “no flying zones”, it intervened militarily to kill Muammar al-Gaddafi.
In Syria, the American mission to dislodge President Bashar al-Assad has flopped for two reasons: the balance of power between Russia and the United States, and the composition of the opposition to him. The wild bunch out to overthrow Mr Assad would be far more troublesome to America and the world than him.
Finally, the crowning irony: Lieutenant-General Michael T. Flynn, head of the Defence Intelligence Agency of the US, said last week that the United States “is no safer — and in some respects may be less safe — after 13 years of two wars… We have a whole gang of new actors out there that are more dangerous than Al Qaeda”.

IM has however forgotten that the US which paid lip service to the carnage,actually swiftly resupplied Israel with ammo to let loose on Gaza! Hamas is quite right when it says that this war will only strengthen it,by a flood of new recruits who will want to fight Israel,which has to depend upon its reservists always.As US analysts have said,in the future,Hamas may be replaced by even more deadly entities.ISIS is in the neighbourhood.

The 72 hr ceasefire must be extended into a permanent one and the international community/UN work ,pardon the use of the word at this time,"on a war footing" to establish an interim and eventually a lasting peace to this most vexing of global crises,which could engulf the globe into another terrifying global conflict which would have a nuclear dimension.The single factor that could achieve a breakthrough is the abandonment of the 7 yr. blockade of Gaza by Israel.As long as this is in place Israel can expect trouble 24X7. Most of the tunnels may have been destroyed,but they can be rebuilt along with new ones in time.Time is not on Israel's side in he long run.It should engineer peace when it is strongest,on favourable terms to it,not later when the balance tilts against it.This battle for Gaza has shown that it has lost a lot of international goodwill,but as the right-wing Economist mag said,it is losing the war.

g.sarkar · Post by **g.sarkar** » 07 Aug 2014 19:40

http://www.firstpost.com/india/us-defen ... 54877.html
US Defence Secy Chuck Hagel arrives in India on 3-day visit
New Delhi: US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in New Delhi on Thursday on a three-day visit and is expected to discuss regional security situation, defence deals worth over Rs 20,000 crore and joint military hardware development projects with the Indian political and military leadership.
Before leaving for India, Hagel had said the US is looking for new partners and relationships in Asia Pacific region which represents both opportunities and challenges.
During his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, the two sides are expected to discuss the regional security situation including the fallout of the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Hagel is also scheduled to hold discussions with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Defence Ministry officials said.
.......
Gautam

krithivas · Post by **krithivas** » 07 Aug 2014 21:28

^^^
Why are B-grade and C-grade players getting an audience with PM Modi?

SanjayC · Post by **SanjayC** » 07 Aug 2014 21:35

India offers to buy more US helicopters, hopes to drive down costs

India has offered to increase an order for U.S. Apache helicopters to drive down costs as the two sides race to close a $1.4 billion deal, officials said, the first big military contract since a new government took office in New Delhi.

The Apache gunships and a deal for Chinook helicopters, both built by Boeing, top the agenda for visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's talks on Friday with India's incoming administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India has offered a follow-on order of 39 AH-64D Apache helicopters in addition to the 22 now being negotiated, a defence ministry official said. The two sides have been wrangling over the price of the gunships in a deal estimated to be worth $1.4 billion.

The initial batch of helicopters is meant to replace the Indian Air Force's ageing fleet of Soviet-era aircraft and will be armed with Hellfire and Stinger missiles.

The Indian army has separately requested a fleet of at least 39 of these attack aircraft, some of which will be deployed as part of a new mountain division it is raising along the disputed border with China, an army official said.

"The point is we are looking at 60 to 70 pieces eventually, so the expectation is the vendor will factor that in, in the price negotiations," said the defence ministry official, asking not to be named in line with ministry policy.

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 07 Aug 2014 22:58

For India outreach, US brings into play Indian-Americans

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 08 Aug 2014 02:21

^^ preparing the ground for big bang visit of modi next month.

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 08 Aug 2014 06:36

There you go...

No Congressional Address for Indian Prime Minister

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not address a joint session of Congress during his visit to the United States in September, his first since becoming the country's leader, Foreign Policy has learned.

An invitation for the charismatic Indian politician to address the two chambers, viewed as the highest honor Congress can bestow on a foreign head of state, gained broad support in the House and Senate over the summer. However, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, informed Modi in a letter dated July 30 that the "unpredictability of the House schedule" meant that Congress could not invite the prime minister for this address after all. Boehner left the door open for a future address at an unspecified date.

"I would be very interested in exploring with you the possibility of a visit to the United States Capitol and an address to a joint meeting of Congress should your travels bring you back to our country in the months and years ahead," read the letter, obtained by FP.

Many expected Modi to address Congress in the last week of September when he's in the United States to meet President Barack Obama and address the United Nations General Assembly. But House leadership is contemplating calling an early recess in September ahead of mid-term elections, which would mean lawmakers would be in their districts during Modi's trip.
The proposed invite, endorsed in eight separate letters circulating in the House and Senate, was seen as an olive branch to India's new leader and an attempt to repair relations after the U.S. revoked his visa in 2005. Then, critics blamed Modi for not stopping the slaughter of Muslims in the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, where Modi served as chief minister. Modi was the only person ever denied a visa under an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an indignity that continues to breed resentment among Modi's supporters in the United States.

Now, the scheduling conflict could be perceived as yet another slight by the U.S. government at a time of slumping U.S.-India relations.

"Since the expectation of a speech was made public ... Indian and American policymakers are now going to have to manage the disappointment that results from it not materializing," Tanvi Madan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Foreign Policy. "This'll require making sure there's an understanding in India - especially with the media and public - that this is not a sign of disrespect to India or Modi, but a result of the Congressional calendar, especially in a mid-term year."

The decision has already rankled Democratic lawmakers who signed letters urging a Modi address to Congress.

"The last thing Congress needs is another vacation when there are pressing issues at stake, and that includes hearing from the leader of one of our most important, strategic allies," said Courtney Gidner, spokeswoman for Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 08 Aug 2014 07:09

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/08/ ... gop-india/
House Poised For Historic Snub Of Indian Prime Minister

The last two Prime Ministers of India – the world’s largest democracy – have had the opportunity to speak before the world’s oldest republic. Now House Republicans, keen to start the election season, are threatening the chance that India’s new leader gets that same opportunity.
After accepting President Barack Obama’s invitation to visit the United States in September, 83 members of Congress invited newly-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak before a joint session of Congress. In the letter written to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), those Members rightly noted that opportunity for the sitting Indian Prime Minister to speak before Congress is a decades-old tradition. In a number of congressional hearings, leading governmental and non-governmental voices have also called for Congress to welcome PM Modi to formally address a joint session, including the Center for American Progress’ Vikram Singh.
However, House Republicans are eager to kick-off election campaigning and the six-week recess before November mid-term elections. In the interest of getting its members back into their districts to politick all the sooner, the House’s leadership may push to end the legislative session on September 19th, instead of October 2nd, according to a report from the Hindustan Times. Neither Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) nor his office responded to messages seeking clarity on the end date of the legislative session. This truncated schedule will make any address by Prime Minister Modi, who plans on visiting Washington in late September, before Congress impossible. By potentially denying Modi an opportunity to highlight the importance of the relationship, House Republicans are placing campaign priorities ahead of their duty to facilitate global partnerships. After refusing to grant Modi a visa in 2005 and allegedly spying on his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the United States would be wise to warmly receive Prime Minister Modi and not exacerbate ill-feelings.
Despite making significant breakthroughs on major issues like defense and civil nuclear ties, the U.S.-India strategic partnership agreements have been accompanied by serious obstacles and lack measurable progress, such as setbacks in the civil-nuclear deal due to disagreements over the liability that nuclear companies would be required to take on under Indian law. Setting the right tone with Prime Minister Modi, who won a historic election in May, will be crucial for, in President Obama’s words, “the century’s defining partnership.” In a speech given at the Center for American Progress last Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry praised Prime Minister Modi for his vision for India and highlighted the election as a “potentially transformative moment in our partnership with India,” and noted that the mutual relationship is needed to solve some of world’s greatest challenges.” Kerry, who was in India this past week attending the 5th annual U.S.-Indian Strategic Dialogue, emphasized the U.S.’ and India’s shared vision on issues ranging from clean energy to homeland security. For the United States, this partnership means more than just several thousand jobs and billions of dollars in trade and defense contracts. It’s a relationship with a rising, global power – a partner who can promote democratic values, counter global threats like terrorism and climate change, and hedge Chinese geopolitical dominance in Asia. Uniting the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy is a crucial piece in the United States’ foreign policy rebalance and is a relationship that should not only be prioritized, but should also be bipartisan. Members from all sides of the aisle have emphasized the importance of the relationship. A long proponent of strong bilateral ties with India, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) stressed that we should “resist the domestic forces that would turn our strategic relationship into a transactional one…[or risk] fall[ing] far short of our potential, as we have before.” While some members of Congress have taken a positive step towards strengthening Indo-American relations, some have, quite frankly, showcased exactly why legislators need greater exposure to our strategic partner. Hopefully Prime Minister Modi will get the opportunity to do just that in September.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 08 Aug 2014 07:22

This is complete cr*p, and the desi idiot media are making a "snub" and a "slight" where none exists.

The facts are a) that PM Modi is coming to US in late September and b) in November there is a midterm election in the US, so all members of COTUS will be kissing babies and desperately slinging mud at their competitors in the elections in their constituencies. No way are they going to be in DC at that time. How the pakistan can NaMo get a decent audience if they WERE to invite him to address COTUS? He would end up making an impassioned speech in Hindi - to pin-drop silence since there won't be a soul present except the Ppl In Dark Glasses.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 08 Aug 2014 07:47

Hype and hoopla always go with any visit to the US by an Indian PM.I don't understand why,as summits with leaders of other nations are accorded less bandwidth.In any case US-Indo visits generally rake up contentious issues,with real and imagined slights emanating from both sides. The GOI should've declared this trip as a "working meeting",not heralding it as if it were a grand "state visit" with er....minus a speech to Congress.

In any case O'Bumbler has many other fish to fry,more important to his domestic and firang audience.India is and always be looked at by the Yanquis as a huge market of a billion+,plus the potential to fight the white man's war as it did during WW1 and WW2,with millions of Indians in each of those ghastly gobal catastrophes. The mental equation is based upon "inequality".As long as the White Man ,or his current coloured representative speaks with the proverbial forked tongue,as the Bard said,Indo-US summits will be..." a tale
told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing."

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 08 Aug 2014 08:15

UlanBatori wrote:This is complete cr*p, and the desi idiot media are making a "snub" and a "slight" where none exists.

UlanBatoriJi, I agree that there is no snub per se, but the tone of the letter to Modi sounds condescending and even disrespectful to me. If I were to invite someone to my house, and for whatever reason I have to cancel the invitation, I would issue a profuse apology to the guest I invited, and be equally profuse and respectful in requesting to re-schedule. And here we are talking about a head of state. This letter sounds as though Modi is begging to address Congress, and they are saying kiss my ass for now, we'll think about it at another time.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 08 Aug 2014 08:46

Provided they are there!

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 08 Aug 2014 15:47

Just a Hint of Postponing the Visit to a later date, as important understandings are still work in progress, would send the media into a tizzy shouting NaMo forgoing historic opportunity to mend Indo-US relations. See the commentary and the fun. These MSM would not term it as a snub to Unkil/Ombaba.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 08 Aug 2014 17:33

It is an internal matter of the US. They considered internally to invite Modi to address a joint session and suggested this publicly. As far as I know this public suggestion was not rejected by India. Now they have decided they don't have the scheduling window. So Boehner has decided to write to Modi to say so. What has India or Modi got to do with this? The US no longer has the finesse to do this quietly, that's all this says.

As for feelings and how this looks and feels, I personally couldn't give a crap.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 08 Aug 2014 17:49

[img]]http://htmlimg3.scribdassets.com/806kh5 ... 9f7049.jpg[/img]

Language is bizarre at best and the words "safe and successful journey" are scary. Do they have a cooked something for Modi Ji?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 08 Aug 2014 19:02

Is it normal for Speaker of the House to write to a foreign leader no matter how boner he is?

Shouldn't it be conveyed by SD to Indian Ambassador in DC?

Shows dyslexic function in US govt ahead of the elections.

Soemthing for US pundits to worry about.

Next State governors will write to Modi!

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 08 Aug 2014 19:54

the Congis starting with JLN and their royal treatment of white skinned diplomats in delhi have ensured everyone from the 3rd secretary in consulate to anyone back in foreign capitals considers himself equal and deserving by right of personal contacts with the indian PM.

any tom dick harry senator or group of senators coming to delhi on a paid vacation of sorts seems to get appointments with the PM.

delhi facilitated the escape of the union carbide ceo.

delhi was directly threatened by the Enron ceo rebecca mark and did nothing, not even mewl its protest like a common mongrel would.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 08 Aug 2014 19:55

It's actually a nice, friendly letter. The fact that many wanted him to address COTUS is well-known. If the Speaker had just ignored that, it would have been blared out as
US CONGRESS AND SPEAKER IGNORE REQUESTS TO HAVE INDIAN PM ADDRESS COTUS

OTOH, as pointed out above, if they had done things in a stupid manner and invited him and then very few showed up the headline would be

US CONGRESS IGNORES INDIAN PM'S ADDRESS: MOST MEMBERS ABSTAIN!

Instead the Speaker personally sent a letter, saying,

hey, we want you to address us, but it's not going to work with everyone's schedule, please let us take a raincheck on that.

Honest, direct, friendly. I think NaMo will appreciate that a heck of a lot more than JoKerry's insincere, sneaky style.

I think that is a wise move. One has to understand a little bit about Americans to understand that, Dilli Babus who go around with a rod up their musharrafs all worried only about Log Kya Kahenge, will take insults where none is intended.

Incidentally, that is the FIRST time that I have found myself saying anything non-nasty about Speaker Boner. Is it "normal" for the Speaker to write? Hey, is it normal for a goat-herd from Mongolia to write to the Queen of Timbuktu? If there is an honest message that the Queen needs to see, I would say YESS!

Would you rather have left it to the BO WHOTUS or the SDOTUS to convey that message honestly, clearly, and credibly? I would have disbelieved anything those entities said.

Move on to something meaningful pls.

member_22733 · Post by **member_22733** » 08 Aug 2014 20:08

UlanBatori wrote:Incidentally, that is the FIRST time that I have found myself saying anything non-nasty about Speaker Boner. Is it "normal" for the Speaker to write? Hey, is it normal for a goat-herd from Mongolia to write to the Queen of Timbuktu? If there is an honest message that the Queen needs to see, I would say YESS!

LOL! same here. Boehner has been such a clusterf***. He is really stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. The repubs have gone insane with hatred against Ombaba (for very clear reasons), and Boehner is the leader of the the one weapon they have control over: The House. They are using that weapon to beat up anyone who is on their wrong side. Boehner appears to be an MMS style "helpless goat in the middle of fox den" kind of individual. This cycle of repub primaries should turn into a match between the insane and the batshit insane..

However, that letter is honest and the reasons stated are genuine. It is written in a typical American 'matter of fact' way. There is no snub there. There is no need for conspiracy here.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 09 Aug 2014 01:58

Petition on the White House website by Pakistan supported motley groups asking for ban on PM Modi's visit. After having failed to stop Modi using a coalition of missionary & Muslim groups, an attempt is being made using Khalistani groups now.
Already 54000 signatures on the petition
If it reaches 100,000, President Obama will have to make a statement.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petiti ... n/8fdsZrWf

Things we can do
Please mass circulate asking people to write to the White House using this linkhttps://wwws.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments or call the White House comments number orhttps://wwws.whitehouse.gov/contact/write-or-call#call

1.Ask them to take down this petition because This petition is directly libelous to the Hindu community and is based on false accusation aimed at invoking hatred against the 1 billion Hindus around the world.
2.Tell them that the independent judiciary in India has absolved Modi of any wrongdoing for 2002.
3.BJP was not involvement in any attacks on any community in Odisha.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email and all files transmitted with it may contain confidential information intended solely for the person(s) to which it is addressed. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender and discard the original message immediately. If you are not the intended addressee, please note that disclosing, copying or distributing this email is strictly prohibited.

Pulikeshi · Post by **Pulikeshi** » 09 Aug 2014 02:02

svinayak wrote: Things we can do

Or get 100K signatures in support of the visit, the potus can say we are == onlee!

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 09 Aug 2014 02:23

Come on, guys. Look: The visit is already scheduled. What's BO gonna do?

Oh! A bunch of my supporters the ITs (International Terrorists), Commies, Pakis, Airliner-Bombers all are unhappy, so I am going to refuse to allow the PM of India to step in the WHOTUS?

I for one would be happy: leaves all the more time for the PM to visit, say, Ulan Bator instead of catching indigestion from the sprouts-and-broccoli "vegetarian" menu at the WHOTUS and trying not to

seeing and smelling the carnivores tearing into the cow and pig innards with the bones sticking out.

Just ignore the commie-pakis. Glad to see the Khalistanis taking the lead in this fine effort: Some Over(fed)jees Fliends of the Bee Jay Pee spent a lot of credibility sucking up to the Khalistanis during the election run-up, and now they have predictably done what the Khalistanis always have done: show that "Khalistan" == "Pakistan".

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 09 Aug 2014 03:06

The petitioner Sikh For Justice is facade for most violent SSF, based in Pakistan. These are the same guys who did most of the killing in Punjab in 80s. Modi will visit and nothing these idiots can do about.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 09 Aug 2014 03:06

The petitioner Sikh For Justice is facade for most violent SSF, based in Pakistan. These are the same guys who did most of the killing in Punjab in 80s. Modi will visit and nothing these idiots can do about.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 09 Aug 2014 03:49

Republicans Think India's Narendra Modi Is New Reagan

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 09 Aug 2014 06:01

LokeshC wrote:
UlanBatori wrote:Incidentally, that is the FIRST time that I have found myself saying anything non-nasty about Speaker Boner. Is it "normal" for the Speaker to write? Hey, is it normal for a goat-herd from Mongolia to write to the Queen of Timbuktu? If there is an honest message that the Queen needs to see, I would say YESS!
LOL! same here. Boehner has been such a clusterf***. He is really stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. The repubs have gone insane with hatred against Ombaba (for very clear reasons), and Boehner is the leader of the the one weapon they have control over: The House. They are using that weapon to beat up anyone who is on their wrong side. Boehner appears to be an MMS style "helpless goat in the middle of fox den" kind of individual. This cycle of repub primaries should turn into a match between the insane and the batshit insane..

However, that letter is honest and the reasons stated are genuine. It is written in a typical American 'matter of fact' way. There is no snub there. There is no need for conspiracy here.

Ah, I see. But why is he orange?

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 09 Aug 2014 06:08

UlanBatori wrote:Come on, guys. Look: The visit is already scheduled. What's BO gonna do?
Oh! A bunch of my supporters the ITs (International Terrorists), Commies, Pakis, Airliner-Bombers all are unhappy, so I am going to refuse to allow the PM of India to step in the WHOTUS?
I for one would be happy: leaves all the more time for the PM to visit, say, Ulan Bator instead of catching indigestion from the sprouts-and-broccoli "vegetarian" menu at the WHOTUS and trying not to seeing and smelling the carnivores tearing into the cow and pig innards with the bones sticking out.

Just ignore the commie-pakis. Glad to see the Khalistanis taking the lead in this fine effort: Some Over(fed)jees Fliends of the Bee Jay Pee spent a lot of credibility sucking up to the Khalistanis during the election run-up, and now they have predictably done what the Khalistanis always have done: show that "Khalistan" == "Pakistan".

Un-misphortunately, Modi has seen all the bones and guts in (fu$k you dorphin, fu$k you whale!) land and (tallel than mountains deepel than see) land. There is nothing new there. He is going to be PM for 5 years, pack gud-chanaa from india and partake in the minimal chai biscuit. He has to visit, I would rater he skip the general assembly, with a letter up its ar$e telling it where it stands wrt ebola, syria, sudan, eukraine, gaza and the like along witha call to abolish the security council. Take a team of business people minus arms merchants to whotus, and abolish the missionary/religious preacher visa the day before departing for usa. stop by moscow or beijing on the way back for equal-equal. one can dream, cant one?

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 09 Aug 2014 06:43

LokeshC wrote: However, that letter is honest and the reasons stated are genuine. It is written in a typical American 'matter of fact' way. There is no snub there. There is no need for conspiracy here.

I agree with you often, but on the above, you've got to be kidding me. IMO, there is nothing mundane and routine about that letter. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but John bone head (who sheds tears at the drop of a hat) was probably and unconsciously condescending and disrespectful to Modi. Would that clown dare address Bibi Nuttinyahoo that way after inviting him to the congress and then having to cancel? No he would have done shastaanga namaskaram to Bibi begging for his forgiveness. Likeiwse, would the tone be the same were he to address say David Cameron or Angela Merkel etc? Come on, that letter was disgusting and disrespectful in its tone.

Now that said, should India and DDM shed any tears and make a big deal? Absolutely not. As someone else suggested, if Modi really has the kind of b@lls he claimed he has during the campaign, then as someone else suggested, he should visit US with business leaders, shun military purchases unless US stops gifting F-solas to TSP, and on the way back meet Putin to show equal equal. I am still willing to give Modi more time, but his approach to TSP and US is turning out to be the same as MMS. Maybe folks like me are dreaming too much, and perhaps India simply does not have the kind of muscle power we think it has, and so even if Modi wants to be tough, he is woefully constrained.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 09 Aug 2014 07:50

UlanBatori wrote:BO WHOTUS or the SDOTUS

Whenever I see anything ending in OTUS from you, UBji, why do you have this feeling that you meant DOOFUS?

please to be transparent only sir JEE.

member_22733 · Post by **member_22733** » 09 Aug 2014 08:23

CRamS wrote:
LokeshC wrote: However, that letter is honest and the reasons stated are genuine. It is written in a typical American 'matter of fact' way. There is no snub there. There is no need for conspiracy here.
I agree with you often, but on the above, you've got to be kidding me. IMO, there is nothing mundane and routine about that letter. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but John bone head (who sheds tears at the drop of a hat) was probably and unconsciously condescending and disrespectful to Modi. Would that clown dare address Bibi Nuttinyahoo that way after inviting him to the congress and then having to cancel? No he would have done shastaanga namaskaram to Bibi begging for his forgiveness. Likeiwse, would the tone be the same were he to address say David Cameron or Angela Merkel etc? Come on, that letter was disgusting and disrespectful in its tone.

Now that said, should India and DDM shed any tears and make a big deal? Absolutely not. As someone else suggested, if Modi really has the kind of b@lls he claimed he has during the campaign, then as someone else suggested, he should visit US with business leaders, shun military purchases unless US stops gifting F-solas to TSP, and on the way back meet Putin to show equal equal. I am still willing to give Modi more time, but his approach to TSP and US is turning out to be the same as MMS. Maybe folks like me are dreaming too much, and perhaps India simply does not have the kind of muscle power we think it has, and so even if Modi wants to be tough, he is woefully constrained.

You do realize that the time frame that he was supposed to visit coincides with what could be the beginning of an ugly war for the House right? THe elections are in November and already the lunatics from the Tea party are winning the primaries. In such conditions the House may call for recess and it may not even get to function properly during the whole of that month.

Even if they consider Modi to be a mass murderer, he is visiting in the capacity of a state leader. That would not be a normal session of the house, and it would take a lot of preparation and protocol. That is why I am inclined to believe that it was genuine.

member_22733 · Post by **member_22733** » 09 Aug 2014 08:26

Shreeman wrote:Ah, I see. But why is he orange?

If he was a little more orange, he may pass for a BJP RSS "saffron sanghi" mole in GOP. I always suspected that there was a RAW agent in that party somewhere

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 09 Aug 2014 09:02

LokeshCJi,

The cancellation was for a genuine and understandable reason. I am referring to the tone and tenor of that letter.