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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Politics of possessing arms

To me the entire nuclear deal with the US of A looks rather uninteresting and I have not bothered to follow the news stories. But, few amusing things that I observed which I wanted to share:
1. The entire deal seems to be about India'a ability to produce nuclear arms, or to put it in Bush lingo, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and the American need to control Indian ability to create these WMD
2. America is willing to share some knowledge or skill or whatever if India will tell them what it does with the raw material that it used to make WMD. The American policy seems to say that 'as long as we know what you are doing, its fine with us'. What about the WMD of America, would they in return inform India what they do with their raw material or for that matter any other country? Seems rather unlikely.
3. Now there is a news that Australia who is one of the suppliers of the raw material with which we can make arms, wants to compel India to sign-up with America for them to supply us. In this day of free market economy, it looks childish. Australia should be happy to sell their raw material to whomsoever is willing to pay the highest price, what is their business what is done with these materials and how are the WMD to be deployed. Do they insist on such deals with all those people they supply stuff. In return can India too can ask Australia what the hell goes into the strange shining red un-edible thing the export to us in the name of Apple? Why not?
4. Our own political fight to me looks even more funny, the Commies want the ability to test shoot weapons, like the hero in old movies, they can once in a while target practice the WMD without being inspected by Uncle Sam. Some representative of Uncle Sam says, 'no go' for this, don't understand what is his problem. They should know that commies have never ruled India and are most unlikely to do anything on their own ever beyond street theater. And it is so harmless, after all Americans test shoot at real targets like Iraqis or Afghan mountain goats.
5. Now why would the commies be interested to WMD target practice is beyond my understanding. If it is deterrence, then against whom? Only Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka don't have nuclear weapons among our immediate neighbours. Bhutan is too small, Nepal are commie friends for now, Bangladesh are bengalis and hence friends of 80% of the commie leaders of India and that leaves Sri Lanka which has enough problems of its own for it to be deterred by a nuclear practice shot from India. The commie heads of India can be pre-occupied with meaningless banter endlessly.
6. What is the Congress' problem? It seems to be saying 'look we made a deal, we don't care what anyone thinks, we go ahead with', I suppose this is the PMs idea of 'inclusive growth' which is so much tom-toms these days.
7. And finally, Georgie old man, where were you all these days, we missed you. What an amusing analysis, if only Pranab and others in the Cabinet had any sense of humour they would have laughed their hearts out with his analysis. What is he supposed to have said, 'that in the US the head of the state cannot bluff so much' and, 'in China for such a deal the PM would have been shot'. That is by far the boldest reality statement on the two super powers by any politician in India today. Georgie's best since the time he (rather late in the day) admitted to being frisked on arrival at the US airport when he was a minister in the cabinet. At one stroke, he had lampooned the US President (how much Bush has bluffed in the US over the WMD among other things in the last few years is well recorded) and on the other, done a provocation on the Chinese, who have been doing a major PR as a built up for the Olympics.
8. P.S. - I think the only sad part of this entire comedy show being enacted is the non-participation of the old bunch of BJP jokers. Poor sods, they are so much caught up in self doubt these days.

Maybe my understanding is simplistic, but, I think realist. The US will prevail is foregone conclusion. Communists don't have the guts to pull the plug on the Congress, they have never had it going so good for them, they will eventually settle for some face saving formula. The congress does not care one way or the other, even if there were by-elections tomorrow, with no visible opposition, they perhaps can win with a better majority. Ultimately nuclear technology is the power and politics of possessing arms, the powerful and vulnerable want to own, possess, create, sustain as much arms as possible as they consider themselves weak without the weapons. The politicians don't understand arms, but, think it is their right to control them. Arms are no great development priority, inclusive or otherwise, nuclear arms are extremely destructive and there is no logic for nuclear energy for a poor country as the technology for it is extremely costly. We can live peacefully without both, but, we may then miss all the comedy!

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