President George Bush boarded Air Force One on Friday bound for Europe and
the Middle East amid clear cut indications that the fortunes of Russia and
France were skidding while India was all set to be the flavour of the US
administration at the G-8 summit.Not only has
Washington welcomed and supported Prime Minister Vajpayee's peace initiative
but the administration has also noted India's careful position on Iraq and
the absence of public criticism of the war. This is an administration which
does not like its world view to be challenged and India did just that - it
did not and quietly went about announcing unilateral peace initiatives on
Kashmir.
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India's patience in dealing with Pakistan have also earned high marks. In
fact as the administration builds a coalition of reliable friends for the
mid-east peace process, New Delhi can count on being in that group which the
US will turn to for counsel and behind-the-scene diplomacy.
All of this will jump-start India's global economic and
political profile and as one US source put it, "who knows it could also be
India's ticket to the United Nations Security Council".
Read the report at TOI:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=478484628