Thursday, March 02, 2006
Bush Moves US to 21st Century Alliance
(This a 2fer post, since I originally put these thoughts on my Warmed Over Cold Warrior blog; but they seem worth the duplication. )
As expected, President Bush has made a major nuclear policy agreement with India, setting both countries on the path to what may become our most significant 21st century alliance. As this news report states :
"Reversing decades of U.S. policy, President Bush ushered India into the world's exclusive nuclear club Thursday with a landmark agreement to share nuclear reactors, fuel and expertise with this energy-starved nation in return for its acceptance of international safeguards. .....
'I'm trying to think differently, not stay stuck in the past,' said Bush, who has made improving relations with India a goal of his administration. Celebrating their agreement, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, 'We have made history today, and I thank you.'
"The U.S.-India nuclear deal was seen as the centerpiece of better relations between the world's oldest and most powerful democracy and the world's largest and fastest-growing one.
India has more than 1 billion people, and its booming economy has created millions of jobs along with consumer demands that have attracted American businesses. ..... Bush acknowledged that Washington and New Delhi were estranged during the Cold War, when India declared itself a nonaligned nation but tilted toward Moscow. "Now the relationship is changing dramatically," he said."
This agreement has grown from an early Bush administration intitiative to shift America foriegn policy from an Europe-Centric focus to one emphasizing Asia and the Mid-East as well. In doing this, India is the key partner. India shares our democratic political and economic philosophies and is on the path to becoming the world's most populous country and largest economy. It has a higher birth rate than China, has embraced market economics and is investing heavily in educatiing its populace - and we share a common language and political heritage from the British.
There will be many more practical political and diplomatic hurdles to be worked out over the years; but, I believe, this is the event marking a second major paradigm shift for our national policy. I expect this recognition of national interest, friendship and partnering will prove as important to our future as the recognition of the need to wage war against a global network of Islamist terrorists and to deny them the Mid-East as a breeding ground.
In both cases, the key element was the presence of a national leader with the ability to recognize the pattern of global reality, the vision to see over traditional paradigms to a novel approach, and the determination to pursue that path in the face of internal and external obstacles. In my mind, truly great leadership is all about getting the really big directions right and pushing the nation in that direction. I think President Bush is doing that; I think he will fare much better in future history than in current polls.
As expected, President Bush has made a major nuclear policy agreement with India, setting both countries on the path to what may become our most significant 21st century alliance. As this news report states :
"Reversing decades of U.S. policy, President Bush ushered India into the world's exclusive nuclear club Thursday with a landmark agreement to share nuclear reactors, fuel and expertise with this energy-starved nation in return for its acceptance of international safeguards. .....
'I'm trying to think differently, not stay stuck in the past,' said Bush, who has made improving relations with India a goal of his administration. Celebrating their agreement, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, 'We have made history today, and I thank you.'
"The U.S.-India nuclear deal was seen as the centerpiece of better relations between the world's oldest and most powerful democracy and the world's largest and fastest-growing one.
India has more than 1 billion people, and its booming economy has created millions of jobs along with consumer demands that have attracted American businesses. ..... Bush acknowledged that Washington and New Delhi were estranged during the Cold War, when India declared itself a nonaligned nation but tilted toward Moscow. "Now the relationship is changing dramatically," he said."
This agreement has grown from an early Bush administration intitiative to shift America foriegn policy from an Europe-Centric focus to one emphasizing Asia and the Mid-East as well. In doing this, India is the key partner. India shares our democratic political and economic philosophies and is on the path to becoming the world's most populous country and largest economy. It has a higher birth rate than China, has embraced market economics and is investing heavily in educatiing its populace - and we share a common language and political heritage from the British.
There will be many more practical political and diplomatic hurdles to be worked out over the years; but, I believe, this is the event marking a second major paradigm shift for our national policy. I expect this recognition of national interest, friendship and partnering will prove as important to our future as the recognition of the need to wage war against a global network of Islamist terrorists and to deny them the Mid-East as a breeding ground.
In both cases, the key element was the presence of a national leader with the ability to recognize the pattern of global reality, the vision to see over traditional paradigms to a novel approach, and the determination to pursue that path in the face of internal and external obstacles. In my mind, truly great leadership is all about getting the really big directions right and pushing the nation in that direction. I think President Bush is doing that; I think he will fare much better in future history than in current polls.
