The (Ex) Washington Realist

T. V. R. Shenoy, a leading Indian columnist, makes a few provocative points in his weekly column. Let me cite several excerpts:

Responding to developments in Georgia: "Frankly, I could care less about Russia's quarrel with Georgia. (Though I must note that President Saakashvili of Georgia is not quite the innocent lamb he is made out to be by a sympathetic American media.)"

About America's diminishing influence: "Two weeks ago, I thought even a lame-duck administration carried enough clout to push the Indian nuclear deal through the Nuclear Suppliers Group. That was clearly an erroneous assumption. The Nuclear Suppliers Group could not reach a conclusion after two days of debate, and has adjourned without specifying exactly when everyone shall reconvene."

And one of the conclusions he draws? "The bottomline is that the Manmohan Singh ministry committed a cardinal error in putting all its eggs in the American basket."

The question is, will this view become more common in key Indian political circles?

In other news, a very interesting signal. Who is going to represent India at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan? India's oil and gas minister. India is indicating where it sees its energy security.