Them Dense Indians

Tom Lantos is an angry man. He is so angry, in fact, that he lashed out at Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and called him "dense" (a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with, for different reasons). The reason? India's foreign policy with Iran vis-a-vis its nuclear program is not "in sync" with US policy. The good Congressman said:

"It was incomprehensible to me that people as sophisticated and knowledgeable as our Indian counterparts should not be aware of how significant their position, vis-a-vis Iran is to this Congress, and, I hope this hearing will make them aware at least tangentially that this may be destroying far more significant relationships than they are having with Tehran unless they become sensitive to our view on that subject."

The Americans want India to vote in the IAEA Board to refer the matter of Iran's nuclear program to the Security Council (h/t Nitin Pai), who will then decide what to do in terms of sanctions or worse. India, like China, France and Russia, is reluctant to do so, given its relationship with Iran. Consequently, the Yanks are furious.

Those dense idiots at the Indian Ministry for External Affairs! Don't they see they're ruining the Indo-US bonhommie by consorting with a reprehensible dictatorship? I mean, sure, they've got their own foreign policy concerns, but c'mon, you should feel for your friends when they might have nuclear tipped missiles pointed at them, right? And what about the nuclear proliferation? Will someone please think about the nuclear proliferation? Should you throw away such an incredibly fruitful relationship because of your narrow, short term goals? Hell no! Wake, up, you dense idiots!

Nitin Pai, however, has a solution to the problem:

India is a member of the IAEA board. Unlike China, Russia and the United States, it is not a member of the UN Security Council. By that token, the burden of actually imposing sanctions on Iran will lie on China, Russia and France. India should let them have the privilege of defending a nuclear bad boy at the United Nations. The permanent five, including the United States, are not keen to admit India as one among them. So why should India allow them to escape the responsibility that comes with their position?

Ha! Why indeed?

Posted in Politics and Economics.