Who will be better for India: Hillary or Trump?
- In American Elections 2016
- 11:41 AM, Aug 06, 2016
- Hemant Karandikar
Indians love blockbusters. They wait for big banner movies, lap up their teasers and trailers, and throng to theaters in big numbers. They enjoy political blockbusters in similar fashion. In between the blockbusters, they entertain themselves with star gossip and street fights of politicians.
Quite away from the flash lights, they think keenly about how their lives might get affected. They make their choices.
The 2014 general elections, in which it was Narendra Modi against everybody else was a big blockbuster. They watched it rapt attention and made their choices clearheadedly.
The US Presidential election to be held in November 2016 is another such blockbuster. Indians are fast queuing up for it.
Indians love America, they have reasons to be angry with it
Indians know that there something big at stake for India in this election. Many Indians wish to study or pursue careers in the USA, but they are extremely wary of an America that supports the Pakistan's terror machine with military aid. They are perplexed about USA and the Western world's failure to defeat Islamic terror which is growing to cancerous proportions all over the world. They like Americans' passion for individual liberty, but they don't understand America's bending backward to radical Islam that rejects everyone else's right to exist. They suspect that American policy is often gamed to favor wars and terror around the world. They applaud Americans' entrepreneurship, innovation, and drive to make it big in life and they wish to emulate all that. They like Hollywood movies, American technology, and American holidays but they don't like that it supports dictators and monarchs with horrible human rights records in their countries. Indians keenly follow America in their own interest.
Seemingly, Democrat Hillary is an automatic choice for Indians
Donald Trump has come a long way, but Hillary Clinton has been long at it. Hillary is a hard core politician and US-First-Lady-has-been. Trump is just one of the many American business tycoons. Hillary owns and runs an establishment of influence, power, media, and NGO' across the world. Trump merely owns his business.
Hillary is the darling of the Left Liberals of the Campuses and Media, the Human Rights wallas, NGOs, assortment of artists and the US Tech Titans who don't walk their talk of diversity and inclusiveness. Trump's own Republican Party's establishment tried to deny him a nomination. Trump, it seems, is hated universally. (source )
For most, Trump is just a business tycoon with a big ego and cash to match. Some even thought that he was crazed to fancy being a US President. Hillary was ready -tempered by being a senator, US First Lady, and having previously contested Democratic Party's primaries.
Hillary is a woman of global status. Being the first woman Presidential candidate in US is cause for cheer after having a Black as a President. Trump is a white businessman.
No body, except the Republicans who voted for him, ever thought Trump would get Republican Party's nomination.
Indians have an important question: Will Hillary as the US President be better for India than President Trump?
Indians, along with other immigrants, have traditionally voted for Democrats. They believe that Democrats are good for India because they are for globalization, they are inclusive, they take care of minorities, they care for human rights, they are pro-democracy therefore they tilt to India when it comes to China and Pakistan. The US Tech industry giants, whom Indians love, back the Democrats because they are better for innovation.
Looks like Hillary is India's automatic choice. But is it?
A look at the real politic
First and foremost: Both US under Republican and Democrat Presidents have hurt India consistently after India's Prime Minister Nehru spurned J F Kennedy's offer for a UNSC seat in 1950 and nuclear status in 1961 to counter China (Read) The task of securing a UNSC seat and NSG membership has fallen upon Modi Government after decades of wasted time by successive Congress Governments.
A Republican Nixon threatened India during the Bangladesh War by moving US Navy's 8th Fleet in Bay of Bengal and asking China to move troops on India's border (read ) A Democrat Jimmy Carter blocked supply of nuclear material to India (read) After Nuclear weapons test at Pokharan, President Bill Clinton, also a Democrat, imposed economic sanctions on India, including cutting off all military and economic aid, freezing loans by American banks to state-owned Indian companies, prohibiting loans to the Indian government for all except food purchases, prohibiting American aerospace technology and uranium exports to India, and requiring the US to oppose all loan requests by India to international lending agencies.
The Republican Bush administration decided to grant Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) status to Pakistan in 2004. It blocked Narendra Modi's Visa to US which the Democrat Obama refused to unblock. When it comes to Kashmir, both Democrat and Republican Presidents have damaged India's cause by equating India with Pakistan. US position on matters of Indian interest is decided by what it thinks suits its strategic and tactical interests best. This is best exemplified by US's continuation of military aid under Obama to the rogue state of Pakistan which is an epicenter of Islamic terror.
Trump has thumped the desk about immigration and American jobs being taken away. But Democrat Obama's administration has slapped higher US Visa fees for Indian IT companies who wish to send their employees for on site work in US. It has put restrictions on hiring non-American workers by US Companies.
The Second fact: US and its Western allies not only meddle with domestic affairs of India (and other countries) through diplomatic, trade, and NGO channels but they also have funded Islamic terror groups to further their interests like countering Russia, Oil, or access to trade routes via the gulf.
" ISIS is a standing army that requires state sponsorship - billions in cash, gear, weapons, and logistical, intelligence, and political support. While the West claims it has been handing over hundreds of millions to "moderates" in Syria, it has offered no plausible explanation as to who is providing ISIS and other Al Qaeda affiliates with even more resources enabling the extremists to displace these "moderates." There is no other explanation besides the fact that there were never any moderates to begin with and that the US, UK, France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and even Israel, have from the beginning, intentionally created a mercenary army composed of Al Qaeda extremists of unprecedented dimensions and capabilities. (Source )
US's questionable actions on terror have continued irrespective of its administration -Republican or Democrats. Indeed, it seems that multiple forces operate within the US. One should not overlook that fact a Democrat Obama is blocking a bill in US Congress to deny immunity Saudi government for its possible culpability in 9/11 acts of terror, while a Republican dominated Congress is blocking supply of F-16 to Pakistan under US's aid program.
It is naive to think that Democrats will be better for India than the Republicans when it comes to terror unleashed by Pakistan and other Islamic groups. Democrats hide their personal or strategic interests better than the Republicans do. Democrats cleverly use issues like human rights, religious freedom, or treatment of women while they aid governments which indulge in genocide of minorities (Hindus in Pakistan), treat women atrociously (Saudi, Pakistan and other Islamic States) and abuse Human Rights (Saudi, China) brazenly and consistently.
We Indians need to be better at grasping US's real politic. It is naive to expect that a Democrat Hillary will automatically be a better President than a Republic Trump as far India's interests are concerned.
Hillary favors Pakistan, will not combat terror, has personal interests in China, and meddles through NGOs
Hillary and Bill Clinton received 100 million dollars from autocratic Gulf Governments. Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Oman etc have great ability influence US Policy via Hillary. The Democrats' claim as Human Rights Champions doesn't stand at all as long Hillary is around. (source )
Hillary clearly favors Pakistan. Vice Chairman of her 2016 campiagn is Huma Mahmood Abedin, of Pakistani origin (source ) Robin Raphel,, Senior Adviser under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, characterized Kashmir as disputed territory - a first in the history of US diplomacy. Raphel advocated and developed policy of cooperation with Taliban. Raphel, under Hillary, sided with Pakistan providing it military aid. She advocated Kashmiri's right to self-determination and sided with Sikh separatists. She persuaded Hillary to support them. Raphel also worked for Cassidy & Associates, a Washington based lobbying firm working for Pakistan Government. (Source )
Hillary's NGO arms should be a cause of worry for Indians. She operates through NGOs. She used NGOs based in Netherlands, Denmark, and Scandinavian countries, especially Norway, to fuel agitation against Russian nuclear plant in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. Funding for this came from religious organization in Europe with links to France. It is not difficult to guess the religion.
Hillary tried to frame Narendra Modi under 'genocide' charges. "during the tenure in office of Secretary Clinton, several expert teams in the guise of NGOs were sent to Gujarat to try and find mass graves". The purpose was to then take the matter to the Office of the UN Commissioner of Human Rights in Geneva as an example of genocide. "In 2011, some bones were discovered in a Gujarat field by one of the search teams and there was much excitement, but these were later found to be buffalo bones", an official said. The official added that "no evidence whatsoever of mass graves was uncovered in Gujarat despite six years of clandestine searching for them" by undercover experts posing as representatives of NGOs. He added that "five politicians, three from the state and two in Delhi, assisted the search teams, but the information given by them proved unproductive. Another official, now retired, claimed that "since 2011, several search teams have been active in Punjab, seeking human remains in suspected mass graves". According to them, "key politicians in Punjab have assisted these search teams and on occasion even provided logistical facilities for them". (Source )
Here is another example of how Hillary works to detriment of Indian interests. Vital Voices Global Partnership, co-founded by Hillary and Madelein Albright, sponsored US premiere of the infamous rape documentary 'India's Daughter' illegally produced with the purpose of damaging India's reputation by Leslee Udwin. While Hillary has nothing to say of terrible treatment meted out to women in Islamist countries who pay her foundation richly, she encourages sensationalization of the terrible gang rape that shook India. This documentary was banned by Government of India. (Source )
According to a Congressional testimony by FBI Director Comey, Hillary has lied about her using personal email server for official purpose. Large number of her emails are untraceable. President Barak Obama asked FBI not prosecute her for destroying official government records -a serious crime which attracts a prison term of up to 10 years even in absence of any bad intent. (Source )
China has history of aggression against India. It continues to stake claim on Indian territory of Arunachal. Hillary has strong personal interests in China. Bill Clinton was paid more than half a million dollars for a single speech by a Chinese business group when Hillary was the US Secretary of State. A Chinese Government entity paid 200,000 dollars to Bill Clinton for another speech. (Source )
Given Hillary's financial links with China and Islamist Gulf countries, her lying about use of a private email server, and deleting mails on it is toxic for India.
Trump promises to combat terror, put pressure Pakistan and China, and take down flawed global order
Let us examine what Donald Trump might bring to the White House, if elected as US President.
Trump's focus is on stopping illegal immigration might eventually open up space for legal immigration of skilled Indians. Trump's focus is on blue collar American jobs in its steel and automotive industries in particular and manufacturing in general. If he succeeds, China which holds a huge trade surplus of manufactured goods and will suffer more, not India. Maximum US manufacturing jobs have shifted to China. On the other hand, US Tech industry needs skilled Indian professionals to continue its global domination. The businessman in Trump will be pragmatic about it.
Trump is emphatic about combating Islamic terror, naming it unambiguously. Radical Islam is the root cause of terror. Without acknowledging this fact, it is not possible to defeat it. (Read more about the root cause https://www.myind.net/dhaka-attack-reign-terror-continues-due-denial-its-root-cause ) Trump has tossed up many ideas about how to prevent terror -from banning Muslims from entering the US, to restricting entry to those coming terror supporting states like Pakistan, to making a database to track Muslims in US (source). Though he is severely criticized as a 'racist' or a 'hatemonger' or a 'bigot ( favorite abuses of the Left Liberals who take upon themselves to categorize anyone without looking at their own horrible records of supporting Islamist regimes and Sharia practices), he is unfazed. If you accept the root cause of terror you must do something about it even if it is termed as profiling of Muslims. Trump has promised to do just that. Trump also plans to defeat ISIS by sending US troops on ground if necessary.
Trump has shaken US allies and NATO members by demanding that they pay equitably for their own defense. He threatens to pull out of NATO. This should be reality check for European countries who get protected by American money to the extent of 70% (source ) and are free to run their disastrous policies of letting terrorists roam around Europe under cover of Syrian refugees and cause havoc.
Trump is likely to stop economic aid to Pakistan if it continues to support terrorist groups in India and Afghanistan (source). He will also challenge China by advocating that Japan and South Korea should develop Nuclear arsenals. (source and this )
Trump's 'America First policy' is painted by Democrats and self-declared globalists in India as anti-globalist. It will be positive for India. Obama's and Hillary's globalism is totally defective. It perpetuates America's right to cherry pick in global deals -whether that of WTO or Climate pact -while binding down developing countries like India. Hillary's non-state actors like Clinton Foundation and NGO s make the whole set up dangerous for India. When it comes to attracting FDI and support for Make in India programs, India will find it easier to deal with a pragmatic businessman like Trump than Hillary's machinations driven by personal interests.
Trump questions today's flawed global order
America as a self-appointed global cop has been disastrous for world. Menace of ISIS is a dramatic example what is wrong with this global cop and its NATO allies running a global order.
If you need further corroboration of US 's and Western Powers' role in creating ISIS and before that Al Qaeda, here it is:
"Between this admission, and an earlier exposé in 2007 by veteran journalist Seymour Hersh in his New Yorker piece titled, “The Redirection” where US and Saudi plans to use Al Qaeda to wage proxy war on Syria and Iran were revealed, it is clear that both Al Qaeda and ISIS are being used by the West to wage war on Damascus, Baghdad, Tehran, and even Moscow.
http://journal-neo.org/2016/03/22/brussels-attack-the-true-implications-of-isis-links/
While some Western newspapers are already trying to frame the Belgium attack as “incompetence” by European security agencies, there must be a better explanation as to why this “war with ISIS” continues to drag on, when the source of ISIS’ fighting capacity appears to be within rather than beyond the West – and aiding rather than opposing Western special interests.
http://journal-neo.org/2016/03/22/brussels-attack-the-true-implications-of-isis-links/ " (source )
Trump questions this global order of terror.
"He lists the results of 15 years of Bush-Obama wars in the Middle East: civil war, religious fanaticism, thousands of Americans killed, trillions of dollars lost, a vacuum created that ISIS has filled.
To the neocons’ worldwide crusade for democracy, Trump’s retort is that it was always a “dangerous idea” to think “we could make Western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interest in becoming Western democracies.”
We are “overextended,” he declared, “We must rebuild our military.” Our NATO allies have been freeloading for half a century. NAFTA was a lousy deal. In running up $4 trillion in trade surpluses since Bush I, the Chinese have been eating our lunch." (Source)
In conclusion
Hillary Clinton's support to Pakistan and other Islamists countries, her personal interests in China, her refusal to name and take on Islamists terror, her meddling in India's internal affairs, her use of personal and non-state NGO actors to further her agenda in divergence of US's official position and her hollow claims of working for Human Rights, Minorities and Women as shown above means that she will hurt India's interests.
Donald Trump, though a Republican, has questioned the flawed world order. He has promised to come down heavily on terror. He has indicated end of support Pakistan and putting pressure on China. Perhaps, for all these reasons his own party establishment tried to block his nomination. His winning the primaries reflects the mood of Americans. He has promised to bring jobs back in America and make Americans better off. There may be some downside for India's body shop IT industry. The fact is that irrespective of who becomes President, India's IT industry needs to reinvent itself for its own good. A pragmatic Trump will be better partner for India even when dealing with Visa issues.
India's interests will be best served with Donald Trump as US President.
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