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Dr. Gary W. Buffington's avatar

And to quote Henry John Temple, Lord Palmerston: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." It is in the strategic interests of the United States to pursue improved relations with India even if to some Narendra Modi may be a bit unsavory. To quote another great Democrat President, FDR, in discussing Nicaragua's Anastasio Somoza: “Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.”

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Dr. Gary W. Buffington's avatar

Paul,

I would suggest the relationship between India and the US has long been in need of a reset if not a complete overhaul particularly since with a population of 1.43 billion people India is one of the few functioning democracies in a part of the world not known for democratic polities. However, just because Narendra Modi does not fit the stereotype of the Oxford-educated European Parliamentarian should not be used as a straw man argument to derail a long overdue restructuring of the bi-lateral relationship between Washington and Delhi. Or to quote another famous Texan, LBJ, "It's probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."

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