India-US News and Discussion

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 19 Apr 2010 08:24

Rove wasn't the manager, but he took on an advisory role in summer of 08. I remember some of my Dem friends were seething when they heard that.

If not McCain, who is a strong candidate then?

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 19 Apr 2010 08:27

Rick Davis managed the successful campaign of Dole Banana in 1996. In 2008, Karl Rove took over as a writer for Newsweek about the election, he was an informal advisor to McCain and did not have any say.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 19 Apr 2010 08:30

pgbhat wrote:
Pranav wrote:Hmm ... you seem to be right - it appears that that was a different David Axelrod.
Seem? It is obvious. Nevermind just pulling your leg onlee.

BTW, David Axelrod of Obama fame does not get away scot-free.

Take a look at this http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2009/09/oba ... tions.html

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 19 Apr 2010 10:15

Viv S wrote:Nice pic of Indian and US SF personnel training in Mizoram.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com//artMa ... p=1&pub=47

(Not directly related to the article though).

This is a Pro-US policy article. How can this be even published in a Indian newspaper.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 19 Apr 2010 13:51

Acharya wrote:
Viv S wrote:Nice pic of Indian and US SF personnel training in Mizoram.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com//artMa ... p=1&pub=47

(Not directly related to the article though).
This is a Pro-US policy article. How can this be even published in a Indian newspaper.

I have been following Hindustan Times for a long time now Achayara it was conceived as the mouth piece of Indian national congress, and most people still consider it to be so.

Through its writings, you can sense the official position of the helm of the Congress.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 19 Apr 2010 14:14

As a friend in the know of things told me recently,one will be surprised at the number of media entities which have been seduced by Uncle Sam.

Murugan · Post by **Murugan** » 19 Apr 2010 15:41

Art of Living Foundation to Rededicate Christian Science Church of Los Angeles

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 19 Apr 2010 17:26

Providing direct access to Headley top priority: US

The US on Monday said it has been sharing information with India on David Coleman Headley on a "real time basis" and has made it "top priority" to provide direct access to the American-Pakistani plotter of the Mumbai attacks "as quickly as possible". "The US and India are working at the highest level to provide direct access to Headley. Our government has put this as the highest priority in counter-terror cooperation," US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer told journalists here.

"We recognise the sensitivity of this issue to India and the people of India," stressed Roemer, a former member of the 9/11 commission. "We want to ensure justice is brought to these blood-thirsty terrorist attackers, whether they kill thousands of people in New York or scores of them in Mumbai," he said. "This is an issue we want to resolve as quickly as possible," Roemer said, adding that he has written in his blog that he is "burning the midnight oil" to make this possible.

Brad Goodman · Post by **Brad Goodman** » 19 Apr 2010 19:58

There is a good article on India US relations in atimes by MK Bhadrakumar

The flying Sikh and the peacenik

The Indian strategic thinkers take umbrage that the Obama administration is determined to end the fighting in Afghanistan and as a means of securing that objective, seeks the Taliban's reintegration and reconciliation. They feel badly let down. They want the fighting to go on and on till the Taliban are bled white and vanquished from the face of the earth.

They are unwilling to concede that the Taliban could be essentially a homegrown Afghan movement that outsiders have cynically manipulated over years. Thus, they feel "deeply disturbed" about what is unfolding and feel cheated that the Obama administration "shunned advance consultations on Afghanistan with its Indian partners".

The fact of the matter, however, is that those Indians are almost completely alone in the region in clinging on to their one-dimensional view of the Taliban as a 100% Pakistani clone. Almost all major regional powers of consequence to the Afghan situation - Iran, China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Central Asian states - agree on the limited point that there is need of an inclusive pan-Afghan solution to the present problem if the peace dividends are to be enduring.

Looks like babu's have started the re-calibrate their Afghan strategies now

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 19 Apr 2010 22:22

Indian-American appointed federal judge

... Vijay Gandhi was sworn in as a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court of the Central District of California.

Mr. Gandhi is the first Indian-American federal judge in California and only the second ever Indian-American federal judge in the history of the United States. The first was Judge Amul Thapar, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky after a Senate confirmation on December 13, 2007.

.... 38 years of age Judge Gandhi was also “one of the youngest federal judges currently serving in the Central District.

Other high-profile appointments of Indian-Americans by the Obama administration include Rajiv Shah, Administrator, USAID, Vivek Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer, Aneesh Chopra, First Chief Technology Officer, Farah Pandith, Special Representative to Muslim communities, Richard Verma, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the State Department, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York, and more recently, actor Kal Penn, White House’s associate director of the Office of Public Liaison.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 19 Apr 2010 22:40

X-post Any misuse of arms supplied to Pak will be probed: US

...Singh's apprehensions had prompted Obama to assure him that India's concerns in this regard would be kept in mind while dealing with the issue.

"...There are allegations of misuse of weapons given to Pakistan for other purposes. We will investigate it, Congress will take the issue seriously," ...

Also another statement:
India's work in Afghanistan critically important: US

US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer on Monday lauded India's reconstruction work in Afghanistan and stressed that there were opportunities for the two countries to work together in stabilising the violence-torn country...<snip>

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Apr 2010 22:47

shukla wrote:Providing direct access to Headley top priority: US

The US on Monday said it has been sharing information with India on David Coleman Headley on a "real time basis" and has made it "top priority" to provide direct access to the American-Pakistani plotter of the Mumbai attacks "as quickly as possible". "The US and India are working at the highest level to provide direct access to Headley. Our government has put this as the highest priority in counter-terror cooperation," US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer told journalists here.

"We recognise the sensitivity of this issue to India and the people of India," stressed Roemer, a former member of the 9/11 commission. "We want to ensure justice is brought to these blood-thirsty terrorist attackers, whether they kill thousands of people in New York or scores of them in Mumbai," he said. "This is an issue we want to resolve as quickly as possible," Roemer said, adding that he has written in his blog that he is "burning the midnight oil" to make this possible.

Providing access to DCH/DG is a treaty obligation(Extradition Treaty between India and US) of US and not any favor as its being made out by the Amby. A few weeks ago he was making statements contradcitory to what he is saying now. Instead of burning mid-night oil (and adding to pollution

) he should recommend joint interrogation of DCH and move on.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 19 Apr 2010 23:22

^^^ As those expert who train guide dogs tell me that most effective way to teach and train is "positive reinforcement.". For example after Hon. Amby said that "sharing info on real time basis is top priority" , the most effective way is to tell him "Good Boy" and do all the necessary praise... (Because that's the behavior we want from him).

As to bring up "A few weeks ago he was making statements contradcitory to what he is saying now. Instead of burning mid-night oil ..." will only confuse the training. The "leash correction", to be effective, has to be given at the right time. (As it was given to Richard Holbrooke from GOI - After his deplorable statement in Afghanistan and he has to put clarification etc ) .. but as of NOW, he is exhibiting a desirable type of behavior ... .. you have to give some positive reinforcement, (may be entertain him with authentic Indian Masala Chai) so the person feels rewarded.

Its like teaching a dog 'off-leash recall' (btw one of the hardest thing to teach a dog - so it can perform with near 100% reliability ) . If the dog doesn't come back to you right away when you called him but finally comes back at a later time, you don't shout/complain at that time .. ( dog can not understand "few units of time ago you were bad") because the dog will think that you are shouting at him for coming back... best to tell "good boy" and try to reinforce it so it does the required behavior all the time)

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 20 Apr 2010 01:50

Chimera Of Chimerica

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 20 Apr 2010 02:47

Instead of burning mid-night oil (and adding to pollution ) he should recommend joint interrogation of DCH and move on.

The 'war on terror' is a one way street.

Cooperation only occurs one way apparently.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 20 Apr 2010 08:23

Who rules America
The site is more or less an advertisement for the book Who Rules America, but it does offer many tidbits for our reading. Some of the material like the Wealth concentration is pretty much known things. It is not tough to discern the potential political and ideological biases though.

Teaser:
A picture of the power elite:

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Apr 2010 09:59

Amber G. wrote:X-post Any misuse of arms supplied to Pak will be probed: US

Haven't we been hearing this since 1954 and hasn't Pakistan used the arms with impunity against India ? Besides, this statement has come from the US Ambassador to India.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 21 Apr 2010 06:43

U.S. concedes more than India in nuke pact

The United States has made new concessions as part of its civilian nuclear agreement with India, further angering arms control advocates, while New Delhi has yet to make it possible for U.S. companies to benefit from the unprecedented deal.

In the most recent accord completed late last month, Washington agreed to Indian demands to increase the number of plants allowed to reprocess U.S.-supplied nuclear fuel from one to two, with the option of another two if India's needs grow in the future.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Apr 2010 06:55

The flexibility is per needs of the Indian civil side, so where is a "demand" or a "concede"?

Complicate life for nothing at all. And then peddle drugs to control the side effects of nervousness created by such situations.

Ameet · Post by **Ameet** » 22 Apr 2010 00:16

Arizona Voters Support Controversial Immigration Bill

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04 ... latestnews

The Arizona bill would create a new misdemeanor crime for failing to have an alien registration document; allow officers to arrest anyone unable to show documents proving their legal residence in the country; and allow people to sue over claims that a government agency is hindering immigration enforcement.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 22 Apr 2010 08:51

Many pompous western rich elities like Richard Gere or this Columbia Prof, Uma Thurman's dad, Robert Thurman, have this superficial infatuation with Buddhism. In and of itself, one could care less. But the problem is the Indian elites follow to the dot whatever western elites preach, and shamefully, embrace their own culture and customs only if it is validated by the west. It is chic to practice Yoga in India because Madona thinks its sexy.

Here is an interview with Robert Thurman and his following observation caught my attention:

Like in India, you have this young girl Shambavi (from Andhra Pradesh) who said: 'We are Hindus, but we will be better Hindus, if we practice Buddhism'.

I have nothing against Buddhism, but pretty soon it might be passe to diss Hinduism and embrace Buddhism. Marraige or dating ads from elite Indians might read: "Born Hindu, but spiritually Buddhist" or some other characterization to dis-own their Hindu identity.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 22 Apr 2010 09:16

Normally I find CRamS's posts illuminating but the above does a gross injustice to that absolutely remarkable interview. It deserves to be read in full.

(I agree that Buddhism is a bit of an upper class infatuation and the poseur's fad, in the West).

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 22 Apr 2010 16:36

US, India holding discussions on access to Headley

The US and Indian authorities are holding discussions on providing New Delhi access to LeT operative David Coleman Headley who has confessed to his role in the Mumbai terror attacks and agreed to be interrogated by foreign agencies.

"Those discussions (of providing Indian investigators access to Headley) are going on between our government and the Indian government at this time. It is part of the plea agreement that Headley would cooperate with Indian authorities," Pakistani-American Headley's lawyer John Theis told PTI.

Theis would not comment on how much more time it would take before Indian investigators are finally given a date to quiz Headley and said "those kind of discussions will happen without the media knowing the specifics of time and place".

Theis said he is not part of the discussions going on between the US and Indian governments but expects to be present when Headley is quizzed.

"I would expect to be present anytime that my client is interviewed by law enforcement officials, be it from India, US or any other country," he said.

Theis refused to give any more details. Headley had last month pleaded guilty to plotting the Mumbai attacks and avoided the death penalty and extradition to India, Pakistan and Denmark by agreeing to be interrogated by foreign agencies on US soil.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 23 Apr 2010 06:48

This article is from NYTimes and is a HUGE food for thought!!

U.S. Faces Choice on New Weapons for Fast Strikes

* President Obama will decide whether to deploy a new class of weapons capable of reaching any corner of the earth from the United States in under an hour and with such accuracy and force that they would greatly diminish America’s reliance on its nuclear arsenal.

* concerns about the technology are so strong that the Obama administration has acceded to a demand by Russia that the United States decommission one nuclear missile for every one of these conventional weapons fielded by the Pentagon. That provision, the White House said, is buried deep inside the New Start treaty

* In theory, the weapon will hurl a conventional warhead of enormous weight at high speed and with pinpoint accuracy, generating the localized destructive power of a nuclear warhead.

* Senator John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at a hearing on Thursday that Prompt Global Strike would be “essential and critical, but also costly.”

* It would travel through the atmosphere at several times the speed of sound, generating so much heat that it would have to be shielded with special materials to avoid melting. But since the vehicle would remain within the atmosphere rather than going into space, it would be far more maneuverable than a ballistic missile

* Mr. Obama himself alluded to the concept in a recent interview with The New York Times, saying it was part of an effort “to move towards less emphasis on nuclear weapons” while insuring “that our conventional weapons capability is an effective deterrent in all but the most extreme circumstances.”

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 23 Apr 2010 07:48

They now saw the wisdom of Kalaam saab. So what more food is needed.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 23 Apr 2010 08:07

That is what I was also thinking. The man is a strategic thinker. Like the Moon impact probe!

negi · Post by **negi** » 23 Apr 2010 08:39

Enqyoob saar used to run around with a 'natraaj' ruler behind nanhas when they used to cry 'ICBM'

, remember his fatwa on ballistic stuff and emphasis on new breed of hypersonic delivery platforms ?

--Having said that I still want my ICBMs as a stop gap filler until we catch up with hypersonic stuff

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 23 Apr 2010 09:10

Pak may give nukes to ‘surrogate Taliban’ for use against India: U.S.

Pakistan may slip over nuclear weapons to the Taliban for use against India in the event of escalated tension or war between the two neighbours, a non-proliferation U.S. commission has said.

“If something broke out in Kashmir that reignited the vitriol between India and Pakistan, that could be an incident that could cause someone to make the decision.

“We don’t want to use these weapons, but we’re going to let our surrogate Taliban have access to these weapons and they’ll do our dirty work,” Bob Graham, head of U.S. Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism told U.S. legislators at a Congressional hearing.

For CT type analysts - It is US telling India to fall in line and behave otherwise you will be nuked by our porxies.

naren · Post by **naren** » 23 Apr 2010 09:19

CRamS wrote:I have nothing against Buddhism, but pretty soon it might be passe to diss Hinduism and embrace Buddhism. Marraige or dating ads from elite Indians might read: "Born Hindu, but spiritually Buddhist" or some other characterization to dis-own their Hindu identity.

Buddhism will never reach the Asoka period glory. Many Buddhist scholars make this mistake - they think present day hinduism is the same as Buddha era hinduism. Wrong. Adi Shankara embraced many of the good things of Buddhism (idol worship, ban on animal sacrifice, reduction of rituals etc.) & shunned the things he considered not worthy. During His time, two forms of Indian spirituality existed: the missionary version and the Brahmin version.

The missionary version of Indian spirituality - Buddhism - is easy to destroy. Kill the chief abbot. Burn the monasteries & books. Ban begging. Ban overt displays. The monks will go underground and naturally they cannot revive the religion. So Buddhism is very easy to kill.

The Brahmin version of Indian spirituality - Hinduism - is not so easy to destroy. There is no chief religious head. There are no monasteries. There is no religious book to burn, the texts are passed down orally. There is no need for grand temples - just a stone would suffice. The only way to kill hinduism is to kill the Brahmins en-masse. When you destroy a community fully, the other communities will be radicalized. Naturally you are left with the next best choice - jiziya on kaffirs. This is what happened during the Islamic era.

So the present day hinduism we have is time-tested. The only way we are going to blow it away is by being hyper on casteism. So in a sense, Buddhism will keep a check on casteism. Besides, Buddhism is a cherished Indian system which we have lost unfortunately. On ideological level, there is perfect harmony between Buddhism and Hinduism (Advaita to be specific). Buddhism is good only. No need to worry.

I've seen many videos of Prof Thurman. Though at times he is critical of Hinduism, because he is looking from Buddhist perspective, he is a genuine India lover.

negi · Post by **negi** » 23 Apr 2010 09:20

Since when did Talibunnies become anti India ? if TSP does pass one such device to Talipaan it is Unkil who would be having sleepless nights , India can care two hoots about Paki nukes falling into Taliban's hands. It is Unkil who makes distinction between good/bad Taliban or even the TSPA and the terrorists as far as India is concerned TSP nukes are under the control of TSPA.

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 23 Apr 2010 15:31

LeT poses common threat to US, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan: US

The United States says it has stepped up anti-terror cooperation with India, Pakistan and Afghanistan as Pakistan based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for 26/11 Mumbai attacks, posed a threat to all four nations. "It's a threat to our citizens, it's a threat to Indian citizens, and next door it's a threat to Pakistani citizens, and next door it's a threat to Afghan citizens," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Thursday.

"I think this is (why) - we have stepped up our cooperation with all of these countries," he said when asked how serious a threat LeT, which had mounted all the major terrorist attacks in India in the last 10 years, poses to US national security interest. "Together we are trying to reduce the threat of violent extremism that threatens all of us and our respective citizens, Crowley said. "It is a work in progress. Tragically, we see examples of this every week." "But it is a priority. For each of these countries, counter-terrorism is a central pillar of our ongoing strategic dialogue and something that we will continue to work collectively to see if we can't reduce the threat to our citizens," he said.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 23 Apr 2010 17:22

CRamS wrote: some other characterization to dis-own their Hindu identity.

Will probably start a new thread on a related topic in the niqab forum.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 23 Apr 2010 17:37

negi wrote:Enqyoob saar used to run around with a 'natraaj' ruler behind nanhas when they used to cry 'ICBM' , remember his fatwa on ballistic stuff and emphasis on new breed of hypersonic delivery platforms ?

--Having said that I still want my ICBMs as a stop gap filler until we catch up with hypersonic stuff

This is what I would say.

Always work towards new astras. But no need to forget/dismantle the astra you already know/have.

We do not know what situation we will end up in. A handful of ICBMs will act as insurance. Who knew that Aswatthama would hurl a Brahmastra at the end of Kurukshetra war; that too after the death of Duryodhana and 18 Akshauhinis? If Arjuna did not learn/have Brahmastra the story of India would have been different.

On the hypersonic delivery platform - My newbie question on Brahmos is in that direction. What can truly we achieve TODAY in our strategic context with available platforms?

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 23 Apr 2010 17:39

Muppalla wrote:Pak may give nukes to ‘surrogate Taliban’ for use against India: U.S.

For CT type analysts - It is US telling India to fall in line and behave otherwise you will be nuked by our porxies.

What counter argument/strategy India can apply in this scenario?

This is all the more reason to destroy Taliban permanently? Can India run a "white paper" media campaign all over the world using western press references? How much it costs? a few $'0 millions?

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 23 Apr 2010 20:55

naren wrote:

On ideological level, there is perfect harmony between Buddhism and Hinduism (Advaita to be specific). Buddhism is good only. No need to worry.

We will continue on the new thread Shiv is about to start, but philosophically speaking, I thought Hinduism and Buddhism are out of synch: non-duality Vs duality. Sri Sri Ravishnakar quoted Adi Sankara who apparently once said when asked on his veiws about Buddhism: he said that if there is an "I" and something other than "I" (Buddhism), what is the nature of "I" (Hinduism)?

I grant that I am no expert on these deep matters, matter of fact, in the tradition of Guru Shiksha parampara, I am indeed looking forward to meeting that one Guru who I can trust to enlighten me on these matters. Most of the "gurus" we have nowadays like say Swami Nityananda will sure enlighten me and that too with practical experience on more mundane matters, but thats not what I am looking for

. Matter of fact, Uma Thurman can do a better job at that

.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 23 Apr 2010 22:33

shukla wrote:LeT poses common threat to US, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan: US

Whose intelligence is US trying to insult? India's? TSP's? TSP would be laughing their ass off, even as they accept this characterization. Their solution: lets resume composite dialouge so that India can find some way to hand over Kashmir valley and then LET would no longer be a threat to "world peace".

I am f$%^*$%g sick and tired of seeing US unable to come around and accept that TSP views LET as a crucial asset in its arsenal against India. Do they fake this ignorance and put out this sophistry as a means to appear to India that they are against LET?

Have you guys notice that Indian elite cowards have gone slow on this "terrorism poses a threat to TSP also" mantra? At least on this count, I am with the Pakijabis who in no uncertain terms have possibly conveyed to SDRE elites that if you cowards want to fight it out, lets do so, but please shove your condescending concern for us right up your anatomy where it belongs. We ain't scared of any LET, give us Kashmir for a start and we'll see where we go from there.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 23 Apr 2010 23:35

RamaY wrote:
Muppalla wrote:Pak may give nukes to ‘surrogate Taliban’ for use against India: U.S.

For CT type analysts - It is US telling India to fall in line and behave otherwise you will be nuked by our porxies.
What counter argument/strategy India can apply in this scenario?

This is all the more reason to destroy Taliban permanently? Can India run a "white paper" media campaign all over the world using western press references? How much it costs? a few $'0 millions?

There are millions of Baloch and Pathans ready to do the opposite . Who knows may be the get access to readymade stuff from Burkina Faso.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 23 Apr 2010 23:47

negi wrote:Since when did Talibunnies become anti India ? if TSP does pass one such device to Talipaan it is Unkil who would be having sleepless nights , India can care two hoots about Paki nukes falling into Taliban's hands. It is Unkil who makes distinction between good/bad Taliban or even the TSPA and the terrorists as far as India is concerned TSP nukes are under the control of TSPA.

There is this theory on the table that the non-state actors use India as an experimental ground and then try the same on a grander scale out west. The US is naturally insulated, so these non-state actors will have to be far more creative.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 24 Apr 2010 00:13

negi wrote:Since when did Talibunnies become anti India ? if TSP does pass one such device to Talipaan it is Unkil who would be having sleepless nights , India can care two hoots about Paki nukes falling into Taliban's hands. It is Unkil who makes distinction between good/bad Taliban or even the TSPA and the terrorists as far as India is concerned TSP nukes are under the control of TSPA.

Completely agree with this view.

Taliban -> is controlled by Paki Army -> is controled by US; Any Paki and Taliban (mis)adventure happens with a direct signoff from US admin.

Secondly, it is immaterial whether Taliban is *actually* divided or not; there is a open, public, and sustained perception that they are and that is what matters.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 24 Apr 2010 00:14

Cross posting from India-Russia thread.

How I wish, there is just one Indian diplomat who can give it back to Amercians like this Russian diplomat has: Understanding Terrorism. Instead we hear the same crap about how deep India US strategic relations are.