Obama is neither Bush nor Clinton. So our worst fears are coming true. It is said when high profile diplomats from large kingdom visit a king without any apparent reason and try to flatter him it simply means big trouble. The visit of Hillary Clinton is just that. This is why Dr Singh risked election and went for signing nuclear deal while President Bush was in office.

Neither Bush nor Clinton administration had a soft corner for India after all they represented USA so is Obama. The difference lies in perception: Obama either thinks that India can be bullied or it does not deserve special treatment. As our climb down on Doha, climate, Pakistan shows we can be pushed when it comes to crunch but as Iraq has shown we can not be bullied beyond a point. I am no military or foreign affair expert and hope that those in charge are highly competent.

As a citizen and tax payer I think that we must concentrate on substance and so can make concessions which do not mean much for us but are of strategic importance for USA such as use of ports or bases for adequate consideration in terms of concessions which are of interest to us such as containing Pakistan.

Nuclear deal is of mutual interest so we should not accept any new conditions unless the same have been debated and found ok by experts which is what I think will happen. But as us record shows we must not sign under dotted lines regardless of pressure and should wait it out even if it takes 4 more years’. I am sure our Dr Singh will do just that. Meanwhile, let us rise to the occasion and rebuilt the nation.
High hopes but is the only way we can sustain ourselves as a sovereign nation in the long term. When Israel can have leverage with us we can also do the same provided we can make USA believe that engaging us will yield juicy long term returns and we can not be pushed beyond a point. High hopes but then do we have a choice?