The vast majority of India has a very positive view of America, in the strategic community many people think India & US are natural partners, as we are both democracies, open & entrepreneurial (unlike EuropeGeorgeWelch wrote:It is obvious there is a lot of distrust and dislike (even hatred) for the US from the Indian side, but I can tell you from my viewpoint that it is totally one-sided.
India is well-regarded in the US. Sure there's some "They're stealing our jurbs!" sentiment, but everyone is quite positive about the country itself.


However it is the operational level (for want of a better word) I think there is huge levels of distrust, frustration, anger etc (which you might misinterpret as hatred). What drives this,
America's holier than thou attitude, seen in trigger happy sanctions mentality, technology denial etc. this has hit India's scientific community esp. the Defence, Nuclear & Space communities the hardest. Whether this is driven by some Congressman trying to prove his non proliferation credentials or the State department bureaucracy, still struck in the cold war, somebody or the other throws a spanner in the works.
Two American stupidity & gullibility, upto 9/11, I could understand your ignoring Pakistan & its terrorist infrastructure, but after 9/11 America has been taken for a ride by Pakistan, again & again, & you guys still buy all the nonsense which Pakistan throws at you & you reward them with more money, look the other way when they take your money & then stab you in the back. Though, I have to give credit to the Pakistan establishment, hats off to them. I wish our Indian government were half as smart as Pakistan in playing realpolitik.

This is without going into the incredible stupidity of invading Iraq, without finishing the job in Afghanistan & Pakistan, funding both sides of the terror war thanks to your attachment to cheap oil. Replacing scientific innovation with financial innovation. More on this later.
As I said earlier, America thanks to its focus on financial innovation rather than scientific innovation, which has led to the current economic crisis, & is also seriously in danger of being left behind in the next big driver of technological innovation i.e. green tech. China has America literally by its balls, at the moment, maybe one can argue China is equally screwed as it holds so much American currency. However as the lender one still has to believe China has the edge, in this light I really dont see America having the wherewithal to come to India's aid if push comes to shove.GeorgeWelch wrote: From a strategic point of view, the only country that is a real threat to India is China. And if China tried to do something to India, I can assure you that the US would be all over that. Not only would there be no restrictions, we would be funneling you all sorts of supplies and weapons and intelligence assuming we didn't hit China directly ourselves.
Bottom line, maybe Super Hornet is the best deal out there for India, (am no expert, but you do make a very convincing case), the issue is can we work around all these other issues?