The Final Cut

On the 8th, Obama spoke to the Indian Parliament in the Lok Sabha. I was annoyed at first by his long and dry rant on how India is so great and how it is a full-fledged World Power. That is more of a lie than true. India is obviously still a newly-hatched chick. The amount of corruption and embezzlement that it so proudly professes to is NOT a sign of regret. It is not an exaggeration to say that every single man and woman sitting in the hall has succumbed to some sort of bribe. Consider Sonia Gandhi, an Italian by birth, but won the Prime Ministership. Nevertheless, about 75% of Obama's entire speech was on the economy or, again, on the Indian super "democracy."

What have we become?

His American outreach (or, "help", as he put it) policy scares me. "America [is a] leader in strengthening Asia." As if reaching into the Middle East wasn't enough, does this man wants to pocket ALL of Asia? No, wait he had another bright idea: India's sovereignty. In his exact words: "the disputes between your two countries can only be resolved by the people of both your countries." But, his speech as a whole pulls away from this idea. In fact, his attempt to identify Asian countries' sovereignties might well have casted a bigger blow. And here's this about how India's "democracy" has become so successful: "We [the United States] have worked to make it a reality." What the hell? Did he just take credit on behalf of the USA for India's democracy? Obama: did you forget about your "great influence." Gandhi? Nehru?...Jinnah?

But besides this awkward Bushesque statement, Obama's message was rather successful. His point, the three areas in which the USA and India could and should and have worked together (prosperity in both countries, civilian-operated nuclear technology and defense and civil space) really spoke to me. Unlike Bush, who spent so much time courting Pakistan, Obama laid out the facts. He promised the Indian people that the US would advise Pakistan that "[terrorist] safe havens within their borders are unacceptable." But the best part of the President's entire speech was this: "the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks must be brought to justice." Sure, this may seem just like any other speech by this "master orator," but this did/is doing something no other president, in my opinion, has ever done before in American history: he acknowledged an Asian country's democracy. As in, its ability to burgeon "not in spite of democracy, [but] because of democracy." I don't think he won the hearts of many Indian Americans; but, I'm sure he's won the hearts of many back home. Again, sure his comments might have lead to a boastful and proudish interpretation of his intentions, but their paucity made it obvious that they took a backseat to his emphasis on Indo-American diplomacy and cooperation. So, yes, if Obama's mission in India was to secure the trust of and alliance with the Largest Democracy in the World: Mission Accomplished, Mr. President. But, if he actually believes those statements that mar his speech: I hope to God he doesn't win a second election.