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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| India could get US invite for F-35 first flight |
| 2005-09-27 |
| Looks like Indian orders for the JSF may be invited. The US is slowly drawing India away from its traditional defence partners and into the US orbit. As Washington's most ambitious and classified fighter aircraft—the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)—readies for a first flight next year, the Pentagon is preparing to extend a special invitation to New Delhi to witness the event at Fort Worth, Texas. This is significant given that India is not a partner country in the multi-billion dollar project. |
| Posted by:john |
| #5 W made a point of reaching out to India even before 9/11. I recall an article from the '1st 100 days' that had Rice pulling him in to talk to her Indian counterpart when no official meeting was planned. It's clear Rice, Cheney and Rumsfeld were interested in defrosting relations with India as a counterweight to China. We're now seeing the press releases of stuff that's been cooking for a while: aircraft deals (JSF and Boeing commercial), ABM tech, joint exercises, services trade deal, etc. Hopefully things keep going in this direction. We have no strategic conflict on the horizon with India. |
| Posted by: JAB 2005-09-27 22:19 |
| #4 'bout time India was prepared to listen -- this is one that I contend goes both ways. But I am glad it's going well. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-09-27 20:51 |
| #3 They way the Bush administration managed to befriend both india AND pakistan at the same time is nothing short of a diplomatic miracle. And to top it off all but ending hostilities between the two... amazing. |
| Posted by: Damn_Proud_American 2005-09-27 20:09 |
| #2 OS, I agree 100%. About time indeed. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-09-27 20:06 |
| #1 Makes sense. The worlds largest democracy - who is next to the worlds largest dictatorship (China) and large producer of whacko Islamists (Pakistan). Natural ally with common intersts and a common form of government, and not just one of convenience. Bout damn time we started talking to India in a serious manner. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2005-09-27 17:34 |