Delulu is never a solulu

In my previous blog I started with hinting about the looming eventful presidency of Donald Trump. Its not even an year; we have already seen, a fierce condescending meeting between Zelensky at the Oval Office, mediation claims in the India-Pakistan conflict, a trade war through exorbitant tariffs, Nobel peace prize talks, and the recent false demise rumors. This blog is not about Trump, whom I feel is odd, frivolous and clumsy. But is about his delusion that the USA is still the only superpower and he is the master.

One of my teachers used to say Bill Clinton was the last American president blessed to enjoy the only superpower suit. But I would cross a mark to place George W. Bush initial term (2001 - 2005) also, mainly because of the Afghanistan invasion soon after 9/11 and illegitimate Iraq invasion, both requiring strong conviction and arbitrariness. Unfortunately, Trump at the helm is having a daydream of having a similar cushion. The advantage of Clinton and Bush were the snail paced rebounding Russia after the fall of arch-rival Soviets and nascent dragon - the People's Republic of China. But today, in Trump's times, Russia, beating all prognoses of downfall, is still strong, and the assertive China, with her economic and technological might, is extending arms, pushing the USA into tough waters. Like the final nail in the coffin, the rise of India has created the recipe for a multipolar world, something that is allergic to Washington DC.

In the following paragraphs, I am trying to explain why I say the American president is in a delusion. Soon after assuming power, Trump, in his usual rhetoric, made a statement that he's going to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours. But the reality shows not only does the war is continuing, Trump's stance has shackled the traditional USA-Europe relationship. The takeaways from the Trump-Putin meeting held in Alaska two weeks back expose the former's superpower claims. Firstly, the USA has likely changed their demand from a ceasefire to a permanent truce, which aligns with the Russian position. Secondly, the American administration has reiterated ceding Ukrainian eastern territories to Russia as part of the truce agreement. There are ample talks in the air explaining Trump's vulnerabilities to Putin, ranging from election fraud to private files. However, since they are yet to prove true, I'm not interested in briefing. Thus, it is clear no American president has the leverage to end the war singlehandedly assuming a superpower position, and Trump's try has exacerbated the relationship with NATO.

Another episode of Trump's delusion unveiled when India entered into a war with Pakistan in retaliation to a brutal terror attack in Kashmir valley. Trump started claiming mediation roles between the two countries in exchange for trade offers. But the credibility got challenged when Indian officials, including PM Modi inside the Parliament and External Affairs Minister (EAM) inside and outside, clarified that the ceasefire with Pakistan was bilateral, ignoring any third-party intervention, thereby clearing the air and upholding nations sovereignty. However Trump didn't stop there and placed penalty tariffs on India for buying oil from Russia. Top officials from the Trump administration were showering opprobrium on India for buying discounted Russian oil and making a profit, alleging India is making money from war and running the Russian war machine. Peter Navarro, U.S. trade advisor, went overboard claiming the Russia-Ukraine war a Modi war. However, the Indian government was not ready to sit on the fence, welcoming all allegations. The EAM, Foreign Secretary, and Ministry of External Affairs statement exposed the double standards of the USA by targeting India and avoiding China from penalty tariffs while they buy more oil from Russia and the EU, who is the largest LNG buyer and has a mammoth 70 billion trade with Russia. This makes some believe that India's neglecting mediation claims might have played a role in tariff fixing. But deep inside, other converging issues like mooting rupee payment inside BRICS, circumventing the dollar, and denying access to agriculture and dairy markets for USA firms would have participated in the arbitrary action. If news reports are to be considered, the final blow has happened with PM Modi visiting China for the SCO summit, denying Trump's call not once but four times. I'm not emphasizing this claim since both countries haven't confirmed such an incident yet, through official channels. While the Indo-USA relationship is in turbulence, another set of people feeling the same will be the Indian Right Wing, who were in a dalliance with Trump merely because of his some Islamophobic stands. Whatsoever, it is visible that India has upheld its sovereignty, and Trump's fantasy has made cracks in the meticulously crafted Indo-USA relation in the past two decades.

Despite this two countries having a decent to good relation with the Trump administration will be Pakistan and Israel. For Pakistan, the USA the largest shareholder didn't vote against loan aid in the IMF after the Pahalgam attack, overlooking India's claims of diverting funds for terrorism. The Pakistani army chief, Asim Munir, whose fanatical statements are regarded by many as a reason for inciting violence in Pahalgam is a habitual offender and even made a nuclear sabre rattling against India while in the USA just a few days after the world mourned for the hibakusha and their loved ones who lost life in 1945. About the second country, Israel, I believe there's no need to explain much about their ties with the USA. They are enjoying blanket support for atrocities carried out in Palestine, which is nothing less than genocide. Mr. Trump, who vehemently bats for cutting government expenditure, especially for non-American purposes, is mute on their largest exchequer burden. When Israeli PM Netanyahu has called Trump greatest friend , Munir recommended him for Nobel peace prize two panegyric actions giving Trump and well-wishers goosebumps.

Trump, if he wishes, can continue surviving in the misconception of only global superpower leader. But that doesn't alter the reality of India's massive economic growth, China's grand scale ambitions, and refusal of Russia to decline. India is focusing on multi-alignment which puts us in a position to bear fruits of the unveiling multipolar world. Before concluding, let me make clear that my intention is not to substantiate that India is going to have a smooth future, relationships with China is going to be seamless, or Indo-USA ties are done. But to substantiate that Trump is in a delusion which for good or bad he wishes to perpetuate. Thank you for the kind attention to this matter.