India-US Strategic News and Discussion

[Mort Walker]

Can somebody do some search on how other SD employees are viewing Devyani issue on their FB pages?

They would be out of their minds to post anything about DK or the particular situation.

[pankajs]

It is my opinion of the highest order that Wayne Mays needs to be stripped-searched and cavity-searched, Vienna conventions be damned. A shot must be fired across the US' bow as a clear message. They understand nothing else.

They are not immune in that sense. As things stand now even the American ambassador can be frisked and that is why she cancelled her vacation to Nepal. There is a high probability that Alicia will get frisked when she departs.

You can do the full DK too, blame procedural lapses and offer non-regrets as was stress tested so many times by the US beginning with APJK. US being the party to re-interpret the Vienna convention(s) can not cry now. So that defense can be used with absolute impunity. Of course there is no substitute for a backbone.

Edited multiple times for clarity.

[Satya_anveshi]

It is my unsolicited recommendation that US State Department do some internal audit and understand how such human trash as Mays (husband, wife and their ilk) could enter its diplomatic services, identify how many more such cases exist (indications are that trash is widespread all the way to the top), rectify and bring sanity in its operations. While the primary beneficiary of this exercise will be US, there will be some indirect benefit to the planet and global warming situation.

[Raja Bose]

She is friend of Wayne and teaches at American Embassy School. Who are these "Johnsons" ?

Going by the profile pic, the fella is wearing what looks like a US Marine Corps dress uniform so he might be one of the embassy Marines or one of Wayne's 400 security goons?

[anmol]

Going by the profile pic, the fella is wearing what looks like a US Marine Corps dress uniform so he might be one of the embassy Marines or one of Wayne's 400 security goons?

I am so stupid. I did not even see her last name. *facepalm*

[Altair]

I wrote a post for almost 30 minutes about May and her ilk but finally deleted it. I dont want that much of negative energy in my head. There were just too many adjectives and Admins would have banned me anyway.
I recommend everybody watch a movie called " The Help". Its about the racist South White women in the state of Mississipi during last days of Kennedy and their treatment of Black women. May reminds me of one racist white women " Hilly" in that movie. I hope May gets to eat "Minny Pie" soon!!

[Satya_anveshi]

Given the modus-operandi, I suspect that there will be a media hoopla or an event (good old paki related) that will distract peoples attention from US excesses (diplomatic or otherwise) in India/towards Indians. I hope that distraction does not cause too much pain to fellow Indians.

[RCase]

Can somebody do some search on how other SD employees are viewing Devyani issue on their FB pages?

They would be out of their minds to post anything about DK or the particular situation.

We just had a display of discreetion! I guess the May's were NOT out of their minds to think their posts on a public site will be acessible to the WHOLE WORLD, including friendly NSA prism programs! The ironic part is John Wayne was in charge of security and was not aware of cyber security! Maybe they thought that FB is only for westerners and not accessible by INdians; since they are scrounging for their vegetables and probably do not have internet and computers.

Never under estimate the level of stupidity that can be displayed. With a few basic searches, one can get all kinds of infomation about a person; which corporate America is alreday doing! They may have deleted their FB postings, but they will be immotalized by google chacha for a very long time. Pinch me if there isn't a repeat in the very near future.

[Karan M]

Boy, is Chidanand Rajghatta a suck up or what?
Changing God to cow..
Constantly downplaying the behavior...frivolous social media /tattle tale.. attacking the exposers as trolls etc.

One amazing thing about this entire episode is that it brought out in vivid color, who is unabashedly on the Indian side as versus those who are very conflicted.

[Singha]

afaik he is the TOIs journalist in residence in USA.

[Satya_anveshi]

yes. Actually it is good he took up this report and published in TOI. I would ignore those references as an attempt to keep his contacts in good humor rather than seen as joining those "overzealous bloggers and trolls".

[Singha]

exactly. he is just doing some deft cya for himself.

[Virupaksha]

Boy, is Chidanand Rajghatta a suck up or what?
Changing God to cow..
Constantly downplaying the behavior...frivolous social media /tattle tale.. attacking the exposers as trolls etc.

One amazing thing about this entire episode is that it brought out in vivid color, who is unabashedly on the Indian side as versus those who are very conflicted.house negroes

there fixed it

[RCase]

For the May's, here is a modified version of Miranda rights for on line posting:

You have the right to remain silent. Anything that you think and say, write, post or tweet online can and will be used against you by bloggers, press etc. in the court of public opinion. You have the right to unfriend people making derogatory comments. If you are unable to do so, the State Deparment will brings its might and banish you from the cloud.

[Anand K]

One can assume that the Mays' FB friends-list had other members of the diplomatic community.... I mean not just ill-educated lower-tier ignoranuses, EJs or those pining for underage SE Asian h00kers, but trained career diplomats. And ONE of them did not object, pointing out the probability of all this getting out in the open, leave alone the core issue of the gross insensitivity displayed towards the host country?!

[g.sarkar]

I guess the May's were NOT out of their minds to think their posts on a public site will be acessible to the WHOLE WORLD, including friendly NSA prism programs! The ironic part is John Wayne was in charge of security and was not aware of cyber security! Maybe they thought that FB is only for westerners and not accessible by Indians; since they are scrounging for their vegetables and probably do not have internet and computers.

They may not have realized that they were being offensive. When bias and prejudice is so ingrained, some do not even realize that they have it. Just as some Southerners used to argue that slavery was good for the slaves as the blacks were well taken care of, and in any case they could not survive without the slave owner looking out for them. A similar case was when the British population believed that being a part of the British colony was liked by the Indians who would be lost otherwise.
Gautam

[Karan M]

That indeed seems to be the case and it is what India is up against when dealing with these folks.

[Gus]

There is a reason perhaps why she did not travel with her kids. It is not just the reason given out to the press. It is very likely a technical reason, due to the fact that the kids are US citizens. If they were Indian citizens then she could have taken them with her. There is a distinction. If she had tried that there could have been issues created for her at departure. Best is for her husband to take them along with him as he is a US citizen.

well..there's school issues. can't just take them away just like that.

even if the kids carry US passports, i would imagine they have either visas or PIO for travel to india. highly unlikely to not have anything, just in case they have to travel to india on a pinch.

[Anand K]

All consular staff, including the security element, have to take sensitivity training classes, no? I wonder if it was any good or a farce right out Dilbert or "The Office".
Anyway, I guess it's not a question of education and training after all.....

[srin]

The role of an American diplomat is different from those of other countries.

Skills-wise, they need to have the following:
a) Being bullies - because their word is backed by American military or CIA
b) Being salesmen for the American companies - for investment and local govt contracts
c) Pontificate about human rights, when they are the ones who keep taking down hosting govts.

They have it quite easy. I can only admire the Indian diplomats who have had to plow a lonely furrow.

[vina]

Guys go easy on Chidanand Rajghatta and TOI(let) and rrrNDTV . Those guys need access to the "official" channels and it is the destiny to kow-tow, bow and scrape and do "salaam saab" to all the Laat Saabs of every persuation . You and I dont need to do it to put food on the table, but for them it is that important.
For them it is :

Gandha hai, magar ,dhandha hai, (it is dirty ,but it is business, the English of course, nowhere as rhyming as the Hindi)

That rrrNDTV is congenitally Paki-esque is not an issue. You know what kind of animal it is. Al-Hundi of old, will never publish an article on this in the old days (when it was a civilized and dignified pre N. Ram entity) and you have to respect it for its values (however, under the unedifying N.Ram, the balance is lost , especially when it came to internal issues and it becomes a commie pamphlet is a different story).

All in all, this entire Khobragade episode is a shameful chapter in India US relations. Somebody, somewhere in the US made a call to prosecute and it went immediately horribly wrong right after with the strip search and everything. Once it happened, there is no way it could have gone any other way than it did. The US trying to act tough and to brazen it out , mainly in an attempt to save face, simply made it more difficult for them, and just made it even more spiteful and petty. In the end, with the Mays being exposed for the diplomatic equivalent of Lyddy England of the Iraq war infamy, the US nose has been firmly rubbed and scraped in the mud.

I, under nearly ANY circumstance could never countenance putting out names in a name, shame and destroy endeavor (lets face it, the Mays are being put through a wringer and will be later left to dry , maybe not right away, but everyone knows the end) and I get no pleasure whatsoever in what happened to the Mays, but rather feel sad.It was a distasteful deed, but it needed to be done.

What however is appalling is the culture of disrespectful and frankly contemptuous, racist and hateful behavior by the US diplomatic personnel to the people of this country, towards Hindus in general and more so to someone in poor circumstances like their gardener who played with their dog and threw the ball for the dog to fetch , or some random passerby in the street or the Imam of the Mosque who was so nice to them to welcome them in and give them hospitality!

I have great love, regard and respect for the ordinary American on the street. I lived there for many many years in multiple states, have very close friends and schoolmates and neighbors whom I have deep regard, respect and love for, many of my family are married to Americans, I dated Americans , none of this is unique to me, this is true for a many many of the folks here in BRF and indeed many are US citizens who have spent a greater part of their lives in the US than in India. The average American would be appalled by the behavior of the Mays and the rest of their diplomatic friends, most of them , not very educated or cultured (including the Mays themselves and for eg. the Greek American woman claimed that she could go out in the streets of Delhi only with Vicks Vaporub on her nose is someone with just about high school education with barely anything after that). It is perplexing why an average American who would not behave this way back home, morph into something hideous abroad . Maybe it is because only the dregs in America end up in the foreign service in the middle and lower levels ?

Many of us who lived in the US had far better income, education , jobs and everything else than what an average person/ nay even very well to do people there had. But that was no reason to treat anyone disrespectfully. None (I fervently hope none) of us did that. Doing so would have reflected poorly on own values and upbringing. Those fundamental values are true to Americans as well. So why is it that when the American diplomat is in a situation where he/she has far higher income and wealth and power than someone else in another setting we see this kind of contemptuous behavior towards someone else whom you automatically see as beneath you for either religion or wealth or social status or race or whatever reason?

All in all , it was a terrible shame that America has gone through , and I do think that there would be serious regrets there on how and why this entire thing happened in the first place and went so terribly wrong. Heads will roll in the State Dept sometime soon. If it doesn't I would be very disappointed with the American I knew for so long.

[pankajs]

rrrNDTV

That is a new one but quite apt. Think hindi.

[Sagar G]

^^^^ I think Hari saar was the first one to coin that term in namo thread.

[pankajs]

I did not know that. I am often away from the board for long periods.

[Sagar G]

Sorry to say vina saar but the America you paint sounds like Pakistan that is painted by media. Pakistani people don't want enmity with India it's only the military and politician who are inimical to India yada yada. Your and many others might have experienced the "good" face of Americans but India has been always at the receiving end of the inimical actions of USA. At the end of the day the way how America behaves towards India is what decides how Indians will look towards America and given the history of American behaviour towards India and her interests it's foolish to think that people of US like India.

Your system is the reflection of your society and the American diplomats come from the same society that exists there so their behaviour is a direct mirror of their society and no amount of excuses is going to hide this simple fact that the American society is bigoted and racist down to the core.

[vina]

Your and many others might have experienced the "good" face of Americans but India has been always at the receiving end of the inimical actions of USA.

That is not true. It is never binary. America has done a lot of good for India as well. Let us not get into extremes here.

At the end of the day the way how America behaves towards India is what decides how Indians will look towards America and given the history of American behaviour towards India and her interests it's foolish to think that people of US like India.

Lets face it, the average American cares two hoots about India and the average Indian cares too hoots about America. Both of the people are too busy with their daily lives and routine (like trying to put food on table and catch the cricket score of your team or the football score of your team) to nurse a grudge and care either way. In short, both are normal people doing normal things.

Your system is the reflection of your society and the American diplomats come from the same society that exists there so their behaviour is a direct mirror of their society and no amount of excuses is going to hide this simple fact that the American society is bigoted and racist down to the core.

Rubbish. There is no monolithic society there, just as it doesn't exist in any place. You will find an entire spectrum from the extreme racists ,to the extreme on the other side with an overwhelming majority of the population clustering largely in the middle to very open spectrum. Lets not get carried away in all this and that and lose sight of truth and perspective.

The US diplomutt scene in India is running basically abnormal , nearly a pathology. Head Office needs to check and remedy.

[Altair]

the whole meat/protein thing is very similar to the TSP taller/stronger complex. no wonder they get along so well with TSP elites - their view of india/indians/indian culture is in perfect alignment.

a lot of amirkhan's get all twisted up on vegan/vegetarian Vs meat eating argument. visceral and abusive.

It has to do with a vatican cardinal's comment that the Anti-Christ is a Vegetarian. It was during the millennium. Since then the fight between veggies and Non-veggies took a religious turn.

[Virupaksha]

Indian americans mostly are in contact with top 10% of the americans. These people are highly educated. Universities and IT companies or departments form the places of interactions for most of them.

To say that this 10% is reflected by 90% is another mistake. The values of US are represented by these 90%. There is a reason why Obama spent a huge amount of money telling he was christian (which he was) and hiding his middle name.

As the spanish and thus cathoics gain more prominence with the increasing population in US, expect more.

[Sagar G]

That is not true. It is never binary. America has done a lot of good for India as well. Let us not get into extremes here.

Like......

Lets face it, the average American cares two hoots about India and the average Indian cares too hoots about America. Both of the people are too busy with their daily lives and routine (like trying to put food on table and catch the cricket score of your team or the football score of your team) to nurse a grudge and care either way. In short, both are normal people doing normal things.

Exactly so why did you bring in about your personal experience with some average American joes who has got nothing to do with the Devyani matter or even the recent revelations about their diplomats ???

Rubbish. There is no monolithic society there, just as it doesn't exist in any place. You will find an entire spectrum from the extreme racists ,to the extreme on the other side with an overwhelming majority of the population clustering largely in the middle to very open spectrum. Lets not get carried away in all this and that and lose sight of truth and perspective.

The US diplomutt scene in India is running basically abnormal , nearly a pathology. Head Office needs to check and remedy.

I am absolutely right just take a look at how America treats everybody else a few good Americans whom you have dealt with doesn't constitute the entire America because had it been such then the American behaviour towards the world would have been different.

Let's accept your theory that Americans are basically good then what is your explanation for hegemony/bigotry/holier-than-thou behaviour of America ???

[Nesoj]

Now that the dust is settling down … if one see’s the whole issue from a micro level, the whole affair appears to be something hatched up by the May family rather than a Grand Conspiracy by Unkle.

- The senior Richards were attached to the bungalow occupied by the Mays and were living in the servants quarters of the bungalow, serving previous occupants also.

- Jr Richard (the drunken driver) working at the Mozambique embassy, was surely visiting his parents along with his kids (and Sangeeta before her departure) and all were certainly known to the Mays (probably that was the only contact that the Mays had with ‘Indians’ outside their diplomatic circle). Maybe, as that the kids were motherless after SR left, it was the grandmother that was raising the kids and all were living in servants quarters of the May’s bungalow (to be checked).

- as some servants in Indian households do, the senior Richards would have probably cribbed day in and day out, to the Mays, as to how life was tough i India and how they could not depend on the drunken driver once they were retired.

- Mays probably grateful for the boot licking servitude shown by their brown slaves, looked for a way to import them into the US, where they could continue serving Massa & Mama.

- First a job was found for SR with an Indian diplomat leaving for US. (It will be VERY INTERESTING to know who recommended SR to DK)

- certainly the Mays would have known of the double contract in the very beginning itself, from the senior Richards / SR .. and I would bet that the Richards had shown a copy of the same to the Mays, even before she signed it (this always happens here, where ones drivers / maids etc often consult with their employers before signing outside contracts / legal stuff etc … just to be sure that Saab feels it OK and there would be no problems later on)

- the plan hatched by the Mays (I wouldn’t attribute much of this to the Richards) was
- to attach SR to an Indian diplomat in US (well knowing that there were always 2 contracts, breaking US laws),
- have her abscond after a reasonable time to build the case,
- complain to Rescue Organizations & have a case filed,
- spirit off Jr Richards & kids to the US,
- have DK arrested, have her convicted of a misdemeanor and she gets off after paying a fine & back wages (funds for SR to start a new life in US)
- ensure that the Jr Richards family got their Green Cards based on the conviction of SK
- and once done, have them process papers for the Sr Richards as dependents and bring them also to the US
- the Sr Richards, in gratitude, could continue slaving for the Mays in Texas, picking cotton.

- SK was probably selected as the fall guy as she was comparatively junior, a bit dumb (check those videos where she gives a talk), a woman (couldn’t create too much fuss), rich enough to pay a fine when convicted (Adarsh flat), and most important, her hubby and kids (?) were US citizens that could be elbow twisted. Past incidents had proven that the Indian Govt would take it lying down and they certainly did not anticipate any major rumpus. (I would go as far as saying that SK would have earlier met the Mays socially and was vetted by them as suitable for their plan , and SR was recommended to DK by them)

- where the game plan went wrong was
- when PB, trying to prove he was ‘whiter than white’, charged out with six guns blazing, and publicly arrested DK and went gave her the works, rather than keep it a low level affair
- the Mays would have probably expected public opinion to go against DK, similar to recent cases of ill treatment of domestic helpers by MP’s in Delhi
- US forgot a cardinal rule of India, that you can insult politicians and get away with it, similarly nothing happens if you insult past presidents, businessmen, technocrats, educationalists or film stars.... but touch a babu ... !!! You are 'Dead Meat' !! Babu's don't scream or hit with a nail. they just turn the screw .. tighter and tighter .. until one cries 'Mama'

Aftermath …

- DK
- would be posted in MEA for some time and with her connections then be posted somewhere in Europe (after all wasn’t German her language in IFS training (something for which rules were broken)
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... t-language
- her hubby, the wine philosopher & kids would probably relocate from US and the kids would graduate from the Sorbonne rather than Harvard

- Richards

- SR and family will now live the American dream, working as a maid cleaning toilets of only white folk
- added bonus is that she would never have to see her in laws again in her life (the family would never dare to come to India) and I don’t think it easy for the Sr Richards to move there, given the stink it has caused (could GOI please cancel their passports, if any)

- Mays
- SD would certainly be conducting an inquiry into the whole matter and the culpability of the Mays is certainly to be exposed. I don’t think either of them has any future in the SD, and would most probably be shunted off to some low level job or maybe even sacked. Their escapade having resulted in all these loss of privileges to the Staff here are certainly not going to endear them to the SD. Those FB reveals are certainly not going to help either.

- Indian Embassy
- on tenterhooks, as there are 14 similar maids working with the diplomats there. As usual, files are flying and decisions grounded

- US Embassy
- down in the dumps,
- limited duty free booze and food, (only their embassy’s quota - no more +40 embassies)
- no bringing in ‘personal effects’ a week before their tenure is over and then ‘disposing’ it off in the black market
- no more uncensured movie shows
- no diplomatic privileges for family members
- limited diplomatic privileges for consular staff
- commissionaire closed down - no more juicy beef steaks (have to manage with Indian Water Buffallo) Revenue loss $ 3 million that was used to subsidise the diplomats further
- liable to be booked for traffic offences
- family members liable to be charged for VISA violations (illegally working while the visa is specifically for residence and not work)
- family members found working liable to pay income tax
- maybe Indian nationals working in the Embassy would raise a class action suite for disparity in wages between Indian & US nations for the same job, and/or a claim for min US wages by the cooks, gardeners, etc working inside the embassy (US Territory)

THE LOOSERS
- Diplomats of the 40 embassy’s who due to religious and social considerations were prohibited from importing booze & other haram stuff, but subverted their Country's rules by handing over the import quotas to the US embassy, from where they used to stealthily purchase their personal tipple. (expect subtle back door pressure from diplomats of Mullah-Nadu's to revert this decision)

THE WINNERS
- Local Black market suppliers of imported scotch now that the biggest black market supplier has been shut down

[KLNMurthy]

Interesting excerpt from Gandhi's My Experiments With Truths:

(The context is the Natal Indian Congress's struggles for Indians' rights in South Africa, and hopefully it is not OT for this thread.)

The white traders were alarmed. When they first welcomed the Indian labourers, they had not reckoned with their business skill. They might be tolerated as independent agriculturists, but their competition in trade could not be brooked.
This sowed the seed of the antagonism to Indians. Many other factors contributed to its growth. Our different ways of living, our simplicity, our contentment with small gains, our indifference to the laws of hygiene and sanitation, our slowness in keeping our surroundings clean and tidy, and our stinginess in keeping our houses in good repair--all these, combined with the difference in religion, contributed to fan the flame of antagonism.

[amit]

There's one problem with the scenario Nesoji. If we assume that this was a local hachet job by the Mays then that brings into question the role of the US Amby. If she didn't know about something like this then it calls into question her competence. And if she did know then it's inconceivable that her bosses in SD didn't know.

No sir the Mays are the sacrificial bakhras being offered to protect the higher ups.

[chaanakya]

This is no ordinary operation when USD is involved in it from tip to toe. So your CT may not be correct one. Else why would US risk relations with so called friendly country.

However You missed two things in that list:

Diplomutts and NRis have to pay full price for Indian Gas (LPG)

But cars with CD Plate are still using subsidised Diesel and Petrol from Indian bunks.Need to stop that as well. Oily Moily , will you listen to this.

[amit]

Nisha Biswal's trip didn't happen it seems. She was supposed to come today. However there is some intelligence meeting on in Delhi today. It's good that we don't stop everything. Only concentrate on transactional stuff and shun ceremonial visits

[vina]

I am absolutely right just take a look at how America treats everybody else a few good Americans whom you have dealt with doesn't constitute the entire America because had it been such then the American behaviour towards the world would have been different.

You couldn't be more wrong. Political behavior of the state is usually never reflective of underlying society's values , especially in international relations and towards others outside their borders. For eg, France did "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" for its people and then had colonized close to half the world. England had the Magna Carta , but set up a crushingly cruel and exploitative empire (including slave labor) in an Empire were the sun never set. For eg, in America, the soaring oratory in the constitution "We hold it self evident that all men are created equal by their maker etccc............." in parallel saw the most horrific slavery in modern times for some couple of 100 years after that no full liberty and rights until some 50 years ago, why much of that soaring principles were themselves written by slave owners. Similarly, you can argue that much of the Indian constitution which is hugely emancipatory and even cathartic in terms of liberation from oppression for untold millions was written by folks who were themselves casteist,oppressive and whatever adjective you can find. The point is , guiding values live on, and society changes for the better in the long run , of course with the exception of places like Pakiland where the aim is to go back to 6th Century and hence regresses.

Let's accept your theory that Americans are basically good then what is your explanation for hegemony/bigotry/holier-than-thou behaviour of America ???

Refer back to the previous long winded answer. You should learn to disconnect the average Joe Six Pack American , from the political animal called the US Govt (though the US Gov shouts from the rooftops about values reflected from the people etc..) . Our own folks in the Independence movement knew that fact and we were friendly with the British people, Gandhi, Nehru, you name it.. And Nehru even bonked Edwina ,the Viceroy's wife !

Bottomline, interstate relations and govt is messy and sometimes dirty business. But you can and must have basic mutual respect and civility and we should fully insist on it from both sides!

[Singha]

the expellent diplomat was head of the Indi-US anti terrorism co-operation as well!

[Virupaksha]

There's one problem with the scenario Nesoji. If we assume that this was a local hachet job by the Mays then that brings into question the role of the US Amby. If she didn't know about something like this then it calls into question her competence. And if she did know then it's inconceivable that her bosses in SD didn't know.

No sir the Mays are the sacrificial bakhras being offered to protect the higher ups.

the Mays would not be able to provide t-visa for the richards. T-visa outside the country requires explicit permission from the justice dept (whiter than white). This decision was taken atleast at amby or even higher level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_visa

Note the time line.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... s-delhi-hc

July 5: Devyani registers a complaint of harassment, extortion and blackmailing with NYPD which does nothing. Also files a complaint against the maid and her Delhi-based husband with Delhi Police. The same day Indian summons US embassy officials here.

July 8: Khobragade, who had also filed a complaint of theft against the maid, is called to an immigration lawyer's office where she is asked by the maid to shell out $10,000, convert her official passport into an ordinary one and help with her visa which would allow her to live in the US. Angered by these tactics, India revokes her passport. She was now living illegally in the US.


.....

September 4: State department steps in, writes to the Indian ambassador saying the matter was of "considerable concern" for the US.

September 21: The embassy replies, saying this was none of US' business and that the maid was seeking a monetary settlement and US visa, whereby subverting both Indian and US laws.

September 20: Delhi HC passes an interim injunction restraining the maid and her husband from filing for any action against Khobragade in any foreign court.

November 19: A Delhi court issues a non-bailable warrant against the maid.

December 6: The warrant is forwarded to the US embassy with an official request to arrest the woman and facilitate her repatriation but this is ignored.

December 10: The maid's husband and children fly off to New York after they are given visa confirming India's suspicion that the maid was acting to get herself a "trafficked person" status.

Preeti Bharara came much much later into the picture to issue the T-visa to richards around december, after the arrest warrant was sent to the US embassy.

If amby did not all this by december, when the state department had already stepped in by september - the amby is a failure and is not worth that post. I would say that by december when Preeti Bharara came into picture, Kerry was already in loop. He might not have cared about it, but the file would have passed through his office.

The mays might have put their weight behind those decisions, but the decision making was clearly higher.

[sunnyP]

I'm amazed that these diplomats/CIA folks are stupid enough to:

1. Share their racist thoughts on fb of all places.
2. Not know about the relevant fb security settings which allowed us all to read what they wrote.

[chaanakya]

the expellent diplomat was head of the Indi-US anti terrorism co-operation as well!

Boss , he is what I said he is. CIA is in forefront of Anti Terror war. This fellow was the muscle part of the CIA : Operations. There is another one heading Intelligence. And he is a Political Consular. Name withheld on request. You will find details leaking in media slowly. These buggers will be scurrying for covers. Of course station Chief is the fat cat in India. Isloo made US withdrew Isloo station chief in hurry. They were quite angry about it. But could do nothing as Isloo shadows them 27*7. Also remeber , wifey of an Amby was CIA agent and her name was revealed by some US citizens sworn to protect sh!t as some would proudly inform us here. Those citizens are facing the heat now.

One can safely assume that 75% of staff and family members posted in US embassy and consulates are CIA operatives under cover of various kinds of diplomatic immunity. Need to step up surveillance of these buggers.

[Sanjay]

TOI's writer maligned those who brought this to the fore.

As a matter of course, a letter to the editior (forget whether it will be published or not) should be sent highlighting the defamation perpetrated by CR.

Rhetorical question, is CR proud to be Indian or wishes he was something else ?