Another Yalta moment for a new world order
Indeed, isn't this how history rolls on—when a statesman appears out of nowhere with a sledgehammer and a bold agenda to break the crust? The demolition is painful to watch and the outcome difficult to predict, which is reflected in the industrial-scale demonisation of Trump by the self-styled 'liberal globalists'. Trump has smashed not only 'the norms and conventions that governed US trade relations, use of military force and engagement with stalwart partners and alliances', as Politico characterised it, but also rolled back the agencies entrusted with foreign policy tasks including USAID, CIA, Pentagon and the state department.
Indian foreign policy elites seek solace that Trump's policies will not have a long shelf life and could be easily reversed once he leaves office. However, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted at the closing panel of the Colorado summit, in her capacity as co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group, 'We have to recognise that we're probably not going back to exactly that system'.
We find Trump's pugilistic approach on India-Pakistan tensions to be irksome, as our attempts to influence it on the edges are being rebuffed. But US mediation between India and Pakistan has been a fact of life going all the way back to the Indus Waters Treaty. The difference today is that Trump is claiming credit for it, which is profoundly embarrassing for the Indian leadership. But then, our politicians are second to none in grandstanding either.
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