The first Tweet of 2018 by the President of America stated something no other American President has dared to do. “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe have to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No More!”
First, the Americans have only belatedly understood India. This is partly because of the Cold War. It’s partly because, as I discovered when I was a US Congressional Intern for Eliot Engel in 1994, the Indian Govt was then spending $0 on lobbying the US Government. And whenever it received aid, the US Congressmen who were anti-India (Pakistan spent millions on lobbying) such as Charles Wilson (remember the movie Charlie Wilson’s War) would make anti-India speeches.
Second, the other problem was the lack of mobilisation by the Indians in the US. They hadn’t made their billions yet so hadn’t decided to co-ordinate and organise.
You may think Democrats are natural friends of India, more so than Republicans. Eliot was pro-India, he lobbied the White House when I was in Congress to have Pakistan declared a terrorist state – that you may think does not make him pro-India necessarily – but it was 1994 – the terrorism he was talking about was in Kashmir. And how right Eliot was. He is still in Congress. But don’t forget it was the Republicans who signed the Nuclear Treaty with India, although it was the Democrats and Kennedy who told China to stop trampling freely through an ill-prepared India.
India may say it supports US funding of anti-terror efforts in Pakistan, but India knows, as when the US did it in 1979 against the Afghans via Pakistan, that the US jumped in with money and the ISI kept 90% and sent 10% to the Mujahidin. All this works out well for Britain, because when Cameron was in India, he made clear Britain is not on the fence anymore between India and Pakistan, and he did not backtrack in front of Mr 10% who landed in Britain asking for money a week later whilst his country drowned – I refer to the Pakistani PM.
I recall clearly walking into numerous Congressmen and Senators’ rooms to get their signature on behalf of my boss, Congressman Engel, for US President Clinton to have in 1994 Pakistan declared terrorist State. And have the signed letters. Clinton refused. Trump’s hatred of the Clinton’s and what he considers their Anti-American treachery has foundation.
