Why is the US desperate to have the nuclear deal?

The proffered Indo-US nuclear agreement is, by definition, so extraordinary, that it is possible to overlook some of its deeper features. These “deeper features” pertain to the diplomatic approach that the US has taken with respect to this deal; first, Ambassador Mulford rode from door to door in New Delhi, parleying not only with the political parties but also with individual leaders, lobbying for support. Then a clump of influential Senators, led by the distinguished Joseph Biden made for India, where they set June-July as a deadline for approving the long overdue Nuclear Deal. As if that were not enough, almost immediately, Secretary of Defence Bob Gates declared that September would do just as well. And finally, sensing Prime Minister Singh’s predicament over his Communist colleagues, the US declared that it was ready to sign the agreement with a “minority government” in India. If you choose to add the fact that the Indian government prevailed upon President Bush to include a “non hindrance clause” in the text of the agreement and that the Nuclear Deal passed Congress 359-68 and Senate by 85-14 “with the kind of support reserved for Mothers’ Day resolutions”, it becomes apparent that the diplomatic high-handedness so characteristic of the US has been starkly absent.

The latter betrays a reality that can only grow on the American people and on the rest of the world. The US has already made more enemies than it can possibly afford to fight. As if that were not enough, the Chinese have a dagger pointed at the heart of America and Putin (or if you must mention it, through his new puppet President Dmitri Medvedev) has revived the Cold War in spirit, if not in form. The European Union, with the exception of the UK, has largely been put off by the strong arm tactics of the Bush Administration. John Howard’s Conservatives have crumbled in Australia and, of late, the Far Left has made inroads into the German Bundestag, thereby undermining Chancellor Merkel, who has been a steadfast supporter of the US policies. Last week, the Socialists carried Spain yet again and, in England the Labour Party faces a tough election pretty soon. Things are not looking up for the United States. A more liberal President in Washington will make things a little, but not significantly, easier. As such, India is the pretty much the only major nation where America’s ratings have continued to soar. Little wonder then, that the Americans have been very tolerant of India’s mood swings.

It is also evident that President Bush is desperate to leave a legacy. On the domestic as well as on most international fronts, Bush has driven himself and his Republican Party into doom. With their noses to the ground, it is hardly surprising that the President and his men want to achieve an agreement that would shape US foreign policy for many decades to come.

So, is the nuclear deal dead? Most certainly. You cannot expect the opposition BJP to do more than is politically expedient. When Manmohan Singh finally appealed to Atalji for support a couple of weeks ago, it was already too late. The Prime Minister has pursued a policy of confrontation with the Opposition and now it is too late to mend fences. Even after the Chinese cleared the decks for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (or more precisely, the 印度共产党（马克思主义）) to support the nuclear deal, it was obvious that the inexorable comrades would be unable to overcome their phobia for the US. The Prime Minister should have known better than to assume he could persuade them eventually. We remember how Manmohan Singh inaugurated the era of economic reforms in India. What Manmohan Singh does not remember, or perhaps, never cared to find out, was how much hard work Narasimha Rao put in with BJP leaders prior to that. A foreign policy initiative of this magnitude should always involve the Opposition. Perhaps Dr. Singh will notice that the latest delegation from the Bush Administration was led by Senators Biden and Kerry, both Democrats. We have always known that Prime Minister Singh, who delights in his Rajya Sabha membership, is not a real politician. We know that Dr. Singh is smart enough to know this as well as we do. And that is why I think I see in him a very cheap man who is clinging on to a job at the cost of self respect.

The deal is dead, but this is not the end of the world. Both India and the US have missed an opportunity. There are good failures and there are bad failures. The nuclear deal fell through because India got entangled in the trappings of democracy; therefore, this failure is of the former kind. In America as well as in India, there is a sense of the inevitable that looks beyond the day to day business of diplomacy. As long as we remember that the cure for all ills of democracy is more democracy, there will be life beyond a single disappointment.