George Bush Jr says India emerging power, wants more trade

The New York Times’ columnist William Safire revealed on Thursday how Bush called him to provide a preview of his speech. “He notes that `in this speech I do mention India as an emerging power that the United States must open up a bit more trade with’,” Safire wrote.

Bush’s expatiation of a foreign policy vision is evidently meant to erase the embarrassing flub over not knowing world leaders’ names. It is also aimed at countering Democratic propaganda that the Republican Party is isolationist.

In a clear swipe at what they see as the Clinton administration’s universal fire-fighting approach, Bush’s advisers are formulating a platform that rejects isolationism, but which also repudiates “drifting from crisis to crisis like a cork” in areas where no vital US interests are involved.

In that context, Bush advocates a more focused policy — advancing relations with major allies and “great powers” such as Russia, China and, potentially, India.

Which Bush’s spin masters are trying to selltheir candidate as a man who hires good people to deal with the details while he has the `big picture,’ the architects of his foreign policy are several experts who served with his father George Bush Sr and his predecessor Ronald Reagan.

Dubbed the “Vulcans” after the Roman God of fire and metalworking, the team is said to have fabricated a construct that returns US foreign policy to major objectives like engaging a nationalistic China, a resurgent Russia and an emerging India, instead of dissipating energy in secondary conflicts.While the Clinton White House is busy engaging India — rather belatedly, according to some — Bush’s early gambit after the quiz flub has stirred some interest among South Asia experts.

It is now certain that Clinton will visit India — in February, US officials are saying privately, and adding that Pakistan is out of the picture. But the proposed visit has been so star-crossed that some community activists are actually intrigued by the prospects of Bush visit if the Clintontrip does not come through.

In recent years, as the Indian community has grown in wealth and political stature, they have tended to move away from Democratic politics into the Republican fold. This is particularly true of the wealthy physicians.If Bush Jr’s foreign policy vision is effected, it will be quite a change from previous Republican administrations which had no time or inclination to engage New Delhi extensively or deeply.

The Reagan White House was too busy fighting the Cold War while the Bush era was centered around the Gulf conflict. In fact, Bush’s eight-member foreign policy team consists of some heavy hitters from that era.

Three of them, Richard Armitage, Richard Perle, and Dov Zakheim, are well known Cold War types from the Reagan administration. Five others — Robert Blackwell, Stephen Hadley, Condoleeza Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, and Robert Zoellick — served in the Bush Sr White House.

Particularly interesting in the Asian context is Bush Jr’s China policy.Although his father was anambassador to China and oversaw improved relations with Beijing, Bush Jr sees it more as an emerging threat and has confected the phrase “strategic competitor,” an expression that may resonate with some Indian analysts.