Out of office, former US President gets candid about his love for India and takes full credit for the nuke deal.
Former US president George W Bush single-handedly turned decades of animosity and uneasy ties with India into a positive engagement at a meet organised by a media house on Saturday. Bush acknowledged that during his tenure, India was his priority in foreign policy and added that he saw India becoming a major force long ago, and wanted America to pay attention.
Bush returned the lavish compliments he received from prime minister Manmohan Singh saying he was honoured to count him as a friend. Bush may have been one of the most disliked Presidents of the US. But without him the India-US nuclear deal, which ended India's isolation, would not have been possible. Bush called the deal "India's passport to the world" and pointed out that the N-deal shows that US recognises India's nuclear programme.
It is a fact that without Bush's backing, India would not have been able to get the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) to lift the exemptions that were in place for a country which had refused to sign the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). The US literally arm-twisted some members of the NSG in Vienna to get the required exemptions for India.
Bush also said he believed India should be a member of the UN Security Council. But the former president acknowledged that it may be difficult, considering the political manouevering that went into the selection. The effort has, so far, made little headway. The grim truth is none of the permanent members want to expand the charmed circle that includes the US, UK, China, Russia and France.
On terrorism, Bush said both the US and India were engaged in an ideological battle against extremists who kill innocents. He said 9/11 in the US, and 26/11 in India, gave both nations clarity to tackle terrorism. On Afghanistan, he said, “America and India must work together to win the war in Afghanistan. The mission in Afghanistan has been long and difficult and costly. I believe it is necessary for stability and peace.” He agreed with US President Barack Obama that the US-India relations were not only one of the most important ties in the world, but they should also be one of the best.
But he cautioned that it would not happen automatically and the two nations would have to make important choices, including cooperation in the war in Afghanistan. “The Taliban, Al Qaida and their extremist allies are trying to take over Afghanistan again. If they find safe havens, the Afghan people, particularly women, would face a return to brutality. The region and the world would face serious threats,” Bush warned.
Expressing his love for India, Bush said that his life has changed after retirement, but not his love for India. “America feels a special kinship with the people of largest democracy,” he said.
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