George W. Bush, master of diplomacy

Holy Haroon Siddiqui! The Toronto Star's leading anti-imperialist, anti-Afghan war, anti-American and pro-Islamist columnist chalks one up for Bush the Younger:

The increasing irrelevance of the G8 was illustrated yesterday when the summit's most significant event was not even on the agenda – in fact, couldn't have been, given that it involved a non-member, India.

President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shook hands on a landmark nuclear deal [actually the deal has been developing for quite a while - MC].

India is to get access to American – and, peripherally, other Western, including Canadian – nuclear fuel and technology, even though it hasn't signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and has no plans to.

This caps an emerging alliance between India and the U.S., backed by Israel. It is "a genuine strategic partnership," Singh said, with Bush by his side.

[...]

Leftists, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – yes, they still exist in India and are in power in Bengal state – have condemned India's slide into the American-Israeli orbit. They point to India voting with the U.S. at the International Atomic Energy Agency against Iran, a traditional ally.

The leftists, with 59 seats in India's pizza parliament of 545, have been part of the coalition headed by Singh's Congress party, and have held up passage of the deal.

A complicating factor has been the Muslim minority, at 150 million an electoral force Congress has traditionally counted on. Most oppose the deal, mainly because of "American geopolitical excesses in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threats to Iran," as one Muslim party put it.

But Singh, a Sikh sensitive to other minorities, has been deft in breaking the political gridlock. He has just won over a regional party with 39 seats and strong Muslim support. He needs only five more votes to muster the majority to survive a no-confidence vote.

[...]

This remarkable geopolitical realignment, with the world's most powerful democracy coming together with the world's largest, is quite an achievement for Singh – and, more so, for Bush.

Haroon the Magnificent did naturally have to drag in Israel gratuitously, plus find kind words for Iran. But if he feels it necessary to write such a piece, it must be a great feat of diplomacy indeed.

Let's just hope that Mr Singh's government survives that confidence motion.

Mark C.

Posted by markc at July 10, 2008 06:00 PM