America, changing.

I am beginning to respect America more. A lot more. Earlier my respect for America was for the spirit of its receptiveness to the people of all geographic regions in its formative years, its benevolent consitution, the role that it had played in bringing the League of Nations into being, its participation to end Hilter's regime, its Marashal's plan... America had championed the concepts of freedom, equality and justice in all immensity, drew such practical philosophical ideals from various philosphers ancient and modern, made it a comprehensive doucment that it stood for and chamioned for.

Industrial Revultion began in Manchester, but it is America that expanded it. Cars, airtravel and computers have become common for the commonman largely because America had a climate that nurtured large scale production of wonderful goods and services and made it possible for the commonman to own and use them.

This is all that I admired about America and what bothered me was that it became a little self centered along the process - ten, twenty years ago and remained so for a long time. When it talked about Democracy or the absence of it in some other nation, it wasn't really worried about Democracy. When it talked about Free Trade, it meant American business interests. When it talked about Peace elsewhere it meant war, overt or covert with that nation.

And it appeared a little arrogant for a period of ten, twenty years... I have a feeling that this is all changing.

Recent history is dominated by its involvement in Iraq... Critics keep harping on the Intelligence goof up about the Weapons of Mass Destruction intelligence which was the public excuse of the American government to go to war, critics and others criticise the sporadic beatings that the troops take, even after three years of the recent Amercian presence in Iraq, kidnap incidents are blown out of proportion by the media, conspiracy theorits say it is all about oil... No, there is a larger design. It is taking time to take shape but it is happening. Slowly. The world is becoming a better place to live.

In taking such a larger view, I let go a few injustices that have occured. Abu Graf, the Iraq Musuem, the inevitable lies and propaganda that still has to go on, it is all part of the game, but in the end the world would be better balanced with yet another harmonious nation in its roll.

It is not what America did in Iraq that makes America more respectable. Its grand design on Iraq (with larger non-military geographic and economic implications in middle east) is still in progress, lot more work to be done, may be with another TWENTY years of its presece and involvement on a significant level, in some form or another. For now, what America has done and is doing in Iraq is not to be disapproved.

What has impressed me most is that it now appears genuine that America respects President Mushraff as an ally. If this happened ten, twenty years ago, it would have been nothing more than a trick, a deceptive posture, a game on a leader of a nation that the Administration would have discarded once the American purpose was served. It has been happening for the past four or five years, and America appears genuine.

With India, America's participation is amazing. America is embracing India and its embrace feels warm. Ok, we took your advice here and there about economic reforms, but we maintained our caution, we were not like the Latin American countries that rushed to reform and faced consequences. It probably took America a bit of time to understand why India was calculatedly slow in its reform progress, why India isn't all that drastic about the reform process as much as America would like it to be, but in the end it has become evident to America that India is progressing in a manner that the progress is sustained. And America has ceased to play one-up, has even made gestures of commendable humility that clearly characterise today's America as refined, more evloved and somewhat great. One little example is the reception hosted to our Union Minsiter recently at the White house, something that would have been conceptually impossible for America as a protocol exception ten, twenty years ago...

I dont know much about America's positive changes in how it handles diplomatic and trade relations with other nations, but how it handles Britain, India, Pakistan offer a glimpse of signs of a refined govenement...

I am a little reluctant to be a America Centric when I talked about the whole world, but it so happens that America has a considerable impact on the whold world.

America can take a few more simple steps, and a few far reaching steps to make the world a wonderful place.

One or two simple steps for now: Invite Fidel Castro to be the Chief Guest in the Foreign Policy Association Dinner. Offer him a cigar officially imported from Havana. Invite Colonel Muammer Guadaffi to lecture on the History of Libya at the John F Kennedy School of Governement, followed by a Dinner at 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue.....