The Boy Who Cried Wolf

As the world waits in vain for George Bush to get real (and get a life), Iraq continues in a downward spiral. The Allied Forces which is an impressive term for a motley crew of Americans and their faithful sidekicks, the British, have all but thrown up their hands. Even the Iranians are backing the Iraqis now - that's what Bush has accomplished - getting the 2 nations that at one time were at each other's throats for 8 years, on the same side. It's just about the only thing he can be proud of right now. Saddam Hussein has been "smoked out", hauled to court, tried, and convicted but no WMDs have been found; commission after commission (and finally the CIA itself) has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that Osama and Saddam are or ever were in cahoots and the purpose of the now almost 4-year-old invasion still remains murky as ever. Did they go over all the way just to dethrone Saddam? What business is it of theirs? If that's "bringing democracy" let's all get together, read Georgie his Miranda, haul him into a criminal court, and get him convicted - God knows there are enough charges to put him away for 2 lifetimes.

Osama is alive and well and I'm sure very amused by Bush's antics. He held the Superpower by it's scruff and shook it like a rag doll almost 6 years ago and it's still reeling like it just got off a high-speed rollercoaster. No one sympathized with Osama then; in fact, the Americans had the world's sympathy but they lost it pretty quickly when they turned around and simply started shooting in the dark. Now, just about anyone can say "boo" and America will jump. Which is exactly what North Korea and Iran are doing - only this "boo" is more deadly, and America has neither the strength nor the support to do anything about it - because of Iraq. Remember the boy who cried wolf? Well...

It's a terribly sad decline that need not have been. Not too long ago, America did represent the things that she laid claim to - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. She was a proud nation - rich but generous with her money, selling dreams to the rest of the world, mighty but welcoming, unopposed but democratic, and well respected. People flocked to America for the good life and she closed her eyes and opened her arms wide. Because America respected your intellect regardless of which part of the world you came from, she led the world at all negotiating tables - trade, politics, science, sport - it was the Star Spangled banner all the way. (Of course, Hollywood helped immensely with the hype and hooplah.) With the demise of the USSR, the world indulged America to the hilt. America indulged her children and became a spoilt brat.

Then, cable TV came home. Everyone could see America, warts and all, everyday in our living rooms and the sheen wore off. When trade barriers began to break down in Thomas Friedman's increasingly "Flat World" and as more nations began embracing some form of capitalism, we saw the other side of America - the selfish big bully, the rogue elephant in our backyard. But because she gave generously, we grudgingly forgave whatever she took in return.

And then George Bush ascended the throne. Bush is a marvel. It would be interesting to open his skull and peer inside - just to check, you never know. Somebody once called him "the longest serving President to have never won an election." From the start, he was a disaster. Now, he's toxic. His backdoor entry (quite literally - he abandonned the traditional walk to the podium for the presidential swearing in and sped past a barrage of eggs and a gusto rendition of "Hail to the Thief" and sheepishly took his oath) - had already assured him a place in the history books, but he wasn't about to settle for such an unimpressive footnote. Bush was determined for the world to sit up and take note and boy, oh boy, did we! His confidence is mind boggling - surely, he must inspire millions around the globe to dream big. Most of his counterparts who visit or host him, wear a bemused, perplexed look - you never know what the guy is going to do or say next. He's ill informed and quite proud of his ignorance, very often wearing it like a badge of honour. He has a history of ruining everything he touched much before his entry into politics (read Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911"). Almost every business venture he embarked on became a misdaventure and all of them tanked.

Riding in on papa's coatails, little Bush has indeed come far - it's a piece of good luck that he can still hardly believe. For a man who ducked the draft, his readiness to engage the enemy is amazing. Long after his "bring 'em on" rhetoric rebounded and started resounding in his ears, Bush continues to doggedly insist that he's "winning the war on terror" - What war is he talking about? Where is the enemy? Does he even know WHO the enemy is anymore? What has he accomplished in his 6 years of presidency except a vertical division of the world where everyone hates everyone else and everyone else hates America and America hates everyone else? Is that a great legacy to leave behind as the leader of a Superpower? Even that epithet now evokes giggles.

As the world looks on in "shock and awe," the President blunders on gamely. He trots from region to region in right earnest, signing deals, shaking hands, posing for photos, tripping on stairs, smiling, waving, making speeches, and generally making a huge nuisance of himself (as his hosts dead pan bravely barely holding it in) and providing gainful employment to millions of caricature artists the world over.

Never has America commanded such little respect and invited such universal wrath like it does today. In what should surely go down as America's most embarassing moment, Kofi Annan reprimanded the nation's arrogance and blatant disregard for the UN's voice in his farewell speech. Increasingly, America has taken upon itself the role of the UN. At the six-party talks to disuade North Korea from going nuclear (has anyone noticed it's a little too late?) that dissolved into disarray recently at Beijing, the US led an unlikely group: Russia, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and of course Uncle Sam. It was of course a complete waste of time but you can't help marvel at America - look at that group again. Japan and China hate each other; North and South Korea hate each other; the Russians hate everybody, and everybody hates America and there they are sitting and talking! South Korea and Japan are shivering at the prospect of a nuclear weapon in the hands of Kim Jong-Il and rightfully so - Jong-Il is a mad hatter and wears his madness merrily on his sleeve, but today America has reduced both itself and the UN to a bleating sheep that no one pays attention to.

Bush, of course, is looking for one last war to go out guns blazing. His choices are Iran and North Korea. Ahmadinejad has made it very plain what he thinks of Bush. The UN approved nuclear technology sanctions against Iran 2 days ago; the sanction forbids any country from trading in civil nuclear material or technology with Iran and isolates Iran completely, but it remains to be seen if that will break Iran's backbone; highly unlikely. The Security Council also tried to bring in a travel ban against Iran which (surprise surprise) Russia didn't allow. (Russia's foreign policy has always been pretty simple: "My enemy's enemy is my friend"). Ahmadinejad's reply was characteristic: Go to hell. The next day, one of his ministers was in the media, telling everyone who cared to listen that Iran will redouble its efforts at uranium enrichment.

If America wants to be taken seriously, the Americans should first disarm themselves. Then, they should get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Next, they should get out of the Israel-Palestine conflict; America will never be able to understand or solve West Asia's problems, at least, most certainly not with George Bush as the President; and lastly, America should gag and tie her President and keep him at home. The rest of us can take care of ourselves very well, thank you very much.

It's the economy, stupid

Fending off bullets from every quarter, the beleaguered US President looks set to push the India-US nuke deal through both Houses. The nuclear deal hasn’t gone down well with either the Indian public or the US. For starters, most of us really don’t know what the fine print reads. In our own media, we have different news channels and different newspapers telling us different things – what we think depends on who we watch and what we read – and no two sources of information agree on a single point.

India is not a signatory to the NPT and traditionally, the US has refused to do nuclear commerce with non-signatories. India becomes the first exception to the rule and will receive civilian nuclear fuel and technology despite staying out of the NPT. Amid vociferous opposition from some factions about setting a bad precedent, President Bush managed to push the nuclear bill through treating India as a special case because of its responsible nuclear record (what this means is anyone’s guess since the US imposed sanctions on civilian nuclear cooperation on India because we tested in 1974). But the US has the tough task of convincing the Nuclear Suppliers Group – a group of 45 nations – to ride along. Right now, no one is really going along with anything that America says or does. So why is America going out on a limb for the deal?

It’s stupid for us to think they love us very much. India will need a lot more energy in the coming years than we are capable of producing. America’s stake in India is high, especially since 1990 when we embraced “liberalization” – it’s another matter that we were by then pushed to the wall – we hardly opened up out of choice; we had nowhere to turn. It had been proven beyond reasonable doubt that Russia’s brand of socialism was not going to sustain us anymore.

India has gained America’s respect as an emerging economic power that can’t be ignored. To America’s credit, if they can’t beat you, they’ll join you which is exactly what they’ve done with India. Today, America’s investments in India need uninterrupted energy supply – we can’t guarantee that, so Uncle Sam is stepping in to take care of itself; we shouldn’t pretend that it’s not beneficial to us either and we shouldn’t expect the US not to look out for itself. They’re doing business and they will drive a hard bargain. This deal is not so much about politics as it is about business. In America, business drives politics and not the other way around like it used to be in India in the good old Nehruvian socialism days. This is a deal that the American business community wants and what they want, they usually get – despite everything, the dollar still shines brighter than every other currency. How much can we come away with? Can we match America’s selfishness and secure our own future? That should be the starting point of our negotiations on the 123 Agreement that the US and India are expected to sign, the clauses of which will become binding on India. It’s time to show the world - not just the US - how hard we can play.

"...When we talk of tomorrow, the Gods laugh"

When you lose someone you love, your world crumbles. Your days and nights become living hell. Every night becomes a nightmare of tears, memories, and insomnia. Every morning, you wish you didn't have to get out of bed. Then, the tears dry up. You can't cry anymore, but the grief doesn't go away. It envelopes you and nibbles at your insides. It’s almost a physical pain that won’t heal because you’re gnawing at it constantly - because you can't get the person off your mind; no matter where you go or what you do, memories relentlessly flood you - everything you see and everything you do reminds you of the person you've lost. It makes the grief unbearable. Everything becomes an effort – to talk, to eat, to dress, living itself seems like an effort that’s not worth the trouble. Then, you become desperate. What you wouldn't do to bring him/her back! What you wouldn't give to hear that voice one more time, to see that smile one more time, for one last conversation, one last hug, one last goodbye...but nothing will change. You can cry till you’re blue, you can "if only" endlessly...nothing will change. It's the final bow and the curtain won't come up. Ever.

Then, you quieten down. You resign yourself to the fact and you learn to live with your grief. Time will not heal a loss - it will only make it worse - but what Time does is, it teaches you to smile through your pain. It teaches you to function inspite of it. It also does something else: It makes you completely fearless. You forget what it is like to be afraid. What can you possibly be afraid of after you've faced this? Suddenly, you can look Life in the eye and say "Is that all there is to it?" It's strangely liberating - that you've gone to hell and come back and you’ve survived. It also realigns your priorities like nothing else can. Nothing seems so important anymore - we're all going to the same place...alone, carrying nothing with us.

This is one of my dad's favourite quotes: "Time is Nature’s way of keeping everything from happening at once. When we talk of tomorrow, the Gods laugh." I never tried to understand what this meant when I had my father. I understand now, Daddy.