PM Modi and former US President Donald Trump (file photo)
Washington: Lieutenant General (Retired) HR McMaster, who was the National Security Advisor to former US President Donald Trump, has made a big claim about India-US relations in his new book. In his book, he has said that the reason for the strategic relations between India and America is China’s aggression. McMaster has written that the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is willing to cooperate with America in an “unprecedented” way mainly because of Chinese aggression, but at the same time it is “scared” of “getting trapped and abandoned”. The former US NSA has also made many other shocking claims in his book.
Let us tell you that while giving details of his tenure as National Security Advisor (NSA) during the administration of former US President Donald Trump, McMaster has written in his book ‘At War with Ourselves’ that he met his Indian counterpart Ajit K. Doval a day before he was sacked by Trump. This book has become available in stores from Tuesday. McMaster said, “A day before being sacked, I met my Indian counterpart Ajit Doval for dinner at Quarter 13, Fort McNair. It is a quiet place located at the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, south of the US Capitol.
US NSA revealed many secrets about Doval
McMaster has also given his observation about India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. He has written that Doval is a person who behaves in accordance with his position. “While walking after dinner, he (Doval) whispered – ‘How long will we work together?’ It does not take long for someone with a background like Doval, who was the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, to understand that I am leaving the Trump administration. Without giving a direct answer, I told him that it was a matter of pride for me to work in this position and I expressed confidence that there will be continuity. “McMaster wrote that both of them knew each other so well that Doval could talk to him directly.
Doval knew what would happen in Afghanistan, yet he asked this question
According to the book of McMaster, who was Trump’s NSA, Doval had asked him, “What will happen in Afghanistan after you leave?” To this McMaster told the Indian NSA that Trump has approved the South Asia strategy and it is the first rational and sustainable strategy in the 17-year war. He wrote, “Doval knew all this, but sometimes you cannot be completely honest even with your closest foreign counterparts. In fact, I understood Doval’s concern and I knew that my response was not that reassuring.
NSA wrote- Trump used to work in an unconventional way
McMaster has written in his book that Trump used to work in an unconventional manner and on impulse. Sometimes it was good and sometimes it was not so good.” In his book, McMaster has given a detailed account of his visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India between 14 April 2017 and 17 April 2017. During his visit to India, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Doval in New Delhi. McMaster wrote about his meeting at Doval’s residence in Janpath, “The conversation with Doval and Jaishankar was easy, because we believed that we had a great opportunity to work together to fulfill our mutual objectives.” At that time Jaishankar was the Foreign Secretary and late Sushma Swaraj was the Foreign Minister.
India is not even afraid of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons
Trump’s former NSA wrote, “We talked about the war in Afghanistan and the threat to India from a nuclear-armed Pakistan, but Jaishankar and Doval completely ignored it. Perhaps they had no fear of Pakistan. Their concern was mainly about the growing aggression of China and they talked about that only. Xi Jinping’s aggressiveness led to his clear thinking for unprecedented cooperation. Deepening partnership between the world’s largest and the world’s oldest democracies seems logical, but India fears being caught in competitions it would prefer to stay away from and is also afraid of being abandoned due to the US’s decreasing attention span and ambiguity about South Asia.” He said that the legacy of India’s leadership in the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War and these concerns are the reason for its ambivalent behavior towards Russia, an important source of arms and oil for India.
NSA also wrote a big thing about PM Modi
McMaster wrote that on the last day of his visit, he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence. “Modi welcomed us warmly. It was clear that deepening and expanding our relations was his top priority. He expressed concern over China’s increasingly aggressive efforts to increase its influence at the expense of India and its growing military presence in the region.” McMaster said that Modi suggested that the US, India, Japan and like-minded partners should emphasize the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific as an inclusive effort in contrast to China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. So that everyone can benefit. He told that at the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister hugged him, put his hand on his shoulders and blessed him.
US NSA felt blessed after receiving blessings from PM Modi
McMaster felt blessed to receive PM Modi’s blessings. He wrote that Modi told him, “You have an aura around you and you will do good work for humanity.” A few months later, Trump hosted Modi at the White House (official residence and office of the President of the United States) on June 25 and June 26, 2017. McMaster wrote, “Between the meeting with Modi’s delegation in the Cabinet Room and the question-answer session in the Rose Garden, we sat together for a few moments in the Oval Office.
In this world, Trump could hug only Modi
Former US President Trump did not like to hug any world leader, except PM Modi. McMaster has written that I warned Trump that PM Modi was going to hug and seeing the way the trip went well, he would probably hug Trump after his statement. He wrote, “Although Trump was known to hug the American flag sometimes on stage, he does not hug people often. But the way they (Trump and Modi) hugged, it did not seem strange. Success. Modi left on June 27, just two days before (Ban Ki) Moon’s arrival. He said that Modi is the first head of state who was hosted by then President Trump and the First Lady for dinner in the ‘Blue Room’. (Language)
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