The Trans-Atlantic Relationship is obsolete!

There can be no dispute that America was in a sense an extension of the European civilization. At the same time, the United States of America has developed its own identity for the past couple of centuries. There have been some ups and downs in the bilateral relationship between Europe and the US over the same period of time. The division of influence after World War II, between the Soviet Union and the United States, brought Europe closer to its traditional ally. But things started to change after the collapse of the much despised Soviet Empire. Europe got busy with the European Union and the newly independent Eastern Europe. The United States started to look at other opportunities in Asia, Latin America and the African continent.

The process of looking beyond Europe and Japan started with President Bill Clinton. It was more in reaction to the events rather than any specific vision of his administration. Clinton even visited India in March 2000, after a gap of 22 years and initiated some bilateral initiatives. According to Strobe Talbott, Deputy Secretary of State in Clinton administration, Bill Clinton did not understand the significance of this opportunity till he left office. Clinton had a typical European mind-set same as Senator John McCain. It is to the credit of George W Bush administration, that it actually developed a serious foreign policy towards China and India. President Bush has actually taken the time to think this through and initiated a forward policy towards Asia. History would give him credit for making this investment!

‘The Post American World’ is disappointing…

Fareed Zakaria’s latest release ‘The Post American World’ is a disappointing study. I expected a lot from a scholar of his stature. Fareed talks about ‘The Rise of the Rest’ but got stuck with China and India. There is no mention of the rising importance of a country like Australia, a major raw material supplier to China and a significant Naval Power. Brazil has been mentioned in passing where as it is an important part of the ‘BRIC Countries’. Brazil poses the most serious challenge to the United States in that region. Out of the four major emerging economies, Brazil is the most significant country in terms of technology and agriculture. It might be the next food basket of the world. Canada is the largest trading partner of America and an emerging competitor in the manufacture of commercial aircrafts. Dubai could be the next airline-hub of the world. There is a lot to be said about the emerging Eastern Europe. I expected him to talk a lot about a revitalized Japan. And what about Israel, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea and Vietnam. The rise of Chindia is very misleading.

Zakaria is obviously quite taken in by the Chinese line of the next major power, but lacks the in-depth knowledge about their old civilization. China is too complex and carries lot of contradictions with it. I would rather refrain from commenting at this time. Talking about India, Fareed shows a typical mind-set of an 18 year old coming to America and making it. When he left India, it was a Nehru-Gandhi fiefdom. I also left India at the same time but was much older. Since then I have spent enough time going back and forth and understanding the post Nehru India. Fareed Zakaria and his family are the products of a Nehru legacy. Fareed has completely missed the second independence struggle led by P V Narasimha Rao (father of Modern India), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (the diplomat of India) and Dr Manmohan Singh (the architect of India). Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi only laid the foundation for India. It was Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh, Vajpayee, Advani and Chidambaram who actually built the country. Zakaria has dismissed a full term of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) as a brief accident. He considers BJP a ‘Hindu Nationalist Party’ and therefore not significant. Fareed must understand, we wouldn’t be talking about India but for BJP and the ‘Nuclear Explosions’. The world did not hear the GDP or the growth rate.

A conversation between Charlie Rose and Fareed Zakharia on May 1, 2008