Should India trust these seductive whispers?

US Secretary of Defence, Ashton B Carter is in India. But why? Apparently because India and US are strategic partners, locked in an embrace that " will build a bright future that benefits both our nations ". " We share a commitment to important principles, including peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of navigation and overflight, countering terrorism and a belief that countries should make their own security and economic choices free from coercion and intimidation," he writes. Do we? He should ask his boss, President Barack Obama who saw no difference between terrorist attacks on India, orchestrated by the ISI of Pakistan, and those inside Pakistan, by extreme jihadist groups, in a joint statement with Nawaz Sharif in October 2015. He presumed to lecture India on nuclear weapons, again equating us with Pakistan. Will the US guarantee safety of " navigation and overflight " over artificial islands that China is building in the South China Sea? The US supplied sophisticated military weapons to Pakistan in 2013, is supplying F16 fighter aircraft and has promised to supply attack helicopters to Pakistan, despite repeated attacks on India, originating from Pakistan. So much for being " free from coercion and intimidation ". This is certainly Obama's gratitude for Pakistan handing Osama bin Laden over in 2011 so that he could win re-election in 2012. So why is Secretary Carter filling us with gas? " While in India, I will work to advance our cooperation on aircraft carriers and jet fighter technology, and new agreements for science and technology cooperation," he writes. Aha, now we understand. He wants to sell us outdated aircraft carriers and fighters for huge amounts of cash. Have we not learnt any lessons from the Baku/Admiral Gorshokov/Vikramaditya saga which cost us in excess of $2 billion for a rust bucket of 1988 vintage? The US is building smaller nuclear weapons, raising tensions in the world. Not being prepared for the aftermath of the killing of Gaddafi in Libya was a mistake Obama said recently. It was not a mistake, it was a heinous crime. Not to learn from the chaos precipitated by the removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq is the act of an imbecile. To unnecessarily invite tension with Russia by instigating an armed coup in Ukraine was also the act of an imbecile. But Obama is no imbecile, although he may think he is too smart. Elected by a combination of black racism and white political correctness he probably wanted to show his relevance by a complete lack of scruples. Mr Carter is " confident that now more than ever, the strategic handshake between the United Sates and India will continue to benefit each of our nations ". God save us. Must never trust the seductive whispers of a forked tongue.