by Milo Cleveland Beach, Past Director Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution
Indian Prime Minister Singh was feted at the first State dinner at the White House of the Obama Administration. Manmohan Singh in his toast recognized this as a particular honor.
A tradition dating back to 1874, state dinners are the most treasured and formal honor a U.S. president can offer a foreign dignitary, and the most coveted invitation in Washington. A tradition dating back to 1874, state dinners are the most treasured and formal honor a U.S. president can offer a foreign dignitary, and the most coveted invitation in Washington.
The Tuesday night dinner showed Obama’s intention to signal strong ties with the world’s largest democracy and go his own way in navigating the pomp and tradition of White House customs. [CNN.com]
Prime Minister Singh underscored the close cooperation between his government and that of the United States in his remarks about President Obama’s importance him as a symbol of social progress and of the importance of his views on the world stage:
Obama’s election was “an inspiration to all those who cherish the values of diversity, democracy and equal opportunity,” Singh said, adding that India “warmly applauded” the Nobel Peace Prize awarded Obama this year for “the healing touch you have provided and the power of your idealism and your vision.”
“We need to find new pathways of international cooperation that respond more effectively to the grave challenges caused by the growing interdependence of nations,” Singh said. “As two leading democracies, India and the United States must play a leading role in building a shared destiny for all humankind.”
Coming on the heels of a less than stellar trip through Asia including important stops in Japan and China, the success of the Singh visit convince the President that he is headed down road to the restoration of a more favorable image both at home and abroad. But the overt negative reaction of other governments and of his own people make it clear that he will not survive for a second term.
It is at home with his own people that the task to reclaim his popularity will be harder. There is a substantial amount of rising anger against his left of center policies and legislation. His poll numbers have made a steep and rapid decline. The change we need now is leadership. A growing number of people are organizing to defeat the Democrats in 2010; the President in 2012.
Obama will have a difficult time with this new close relationship with India that mirrors India’s own difficulties in the region: The Pakistani government must be appeased. Maintaining the balance of power region between a nuclear India and an equally armed Pakistan will be critical to world peace and to allow opportunity and time to defeat Militant Islamists.
Pakistani cooperation in the fight against Islamic Militants within their borders will determine our own success of ridding the area of them. The President will speak to the nation December 1st about his new strategy and troop levels.
But as relations with India were improved by this visit, concurrently our former ally, Britain, grew increasingly anti-American and anti-Obama with an unusually stinging criticism of the President.
Mr Ainsworth took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.
A “period of hiatus” in Washington – and a lack of clear direction – had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.
Senior British Government sources have become increasingly frustrated with Mr Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan, the Daily Telegraph disclosed earlier this month, with several former British defence chiefs echoing the concerns.
[But Mr Ainsworth is the first Government minister to express in public what amounts to personal criticism of the US president’s leadership over the conflict which has so far cost 235 British lives.]
Polls show most voters now want an early withdrawal from Afghanistan. The major reason for this change in support are a direct result of the deaths of 98 British service personnel this year alone.
Ministers say the mission is vital to stop international terrorists using Afghanistan as a base, but Gordon Brown has promised an “exit strategy” that could start next year.
Mr Ainsworth took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.
A “period of hiatus” in Washington – and a lack of clear direction – had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.
Senior British Government sources have become increasingly frustrated with Mr Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan, the Daily Delegraph disclosed earlier this month, with several former British defence chiefs echoing the concerns.
But Mr Ainsworth is the first Government minister to express in public what amounts to personal criticism of the US president’s leadership over the conflict which has so far cost 235 British lives.
Polls show most voters now want an early withdrawal, following the death of 98 British service personnel this year alone.
Ministers say the mission is vital to stop international terrorists using Afghanistan as a base, but Gordon Brown has promised an “exit strategy” that could start next year.
The Defence Secretary’s blunt remarks about the US threaten to strain further a transatlantic relationship already under pressure over the British release of the Lockerbie bomber and Mr Obama’s decision to snub Mr Brown at the United Nations in September. [The Telegraph]
Since his first visit to Britain, President Obama has been lukewarm to this ally of long-standing and deep commitment. He has single-handedly brought this relationship to the brink of destruction. The timing of Ainsworth’s criticism is no accident. It highlights Obama’s lack of even-handed dealings with foreign governments in general; its former allies in particular.
But it is well that there was success in an important region regardless of the Ainsworth criticism. It is also well to remember that Britain has one of the fastest growing minorities , Muslims. It is clear that the President is not only uneven in his approach to other countries but that he has forgotten that British troops have died fighting Militant Muslims AT OUR REQUEST.
America has the blood of these soldiers on its hands. It is a serious error to ignore their Prime Minister and to dishonor their war dead in this way. This will come back to haunt him.
Britain has one of the largest Muslim populations in all of Europe and one of the most outspoken in their attempt to actually bring all of Britain under Sharia law. We have done nothing to help stop the Islamic takeover of Britain or for any other European nation for that matter. Turkey is about to become an Islamic state and we have neglected that country as well.
Education on Muslims and their culture is one way to foster understanding and increase communication with moderate Muslims. It is important to not isolate these communities. Militants too often take advantage of them – at the least hiding in their midst.
One American, my cousin, has made it his life’s work to research less known world cultures and to bring knowledge of them and their people as expressed through their art to our shores. His focus has been Islamic art – one of the least known areas of art history. A past Director of the Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian, he wrote the following article that expresses his goals.
From the WSJ Opinion Archives
LEISURE & ARTSBridging the Cultural Gap
Look to museums to teach Americans about other peoples.by MILO C. BEACH
Thursday, May 15, 2003 12:01 A.M. EDTOne wonders whether the several hundred thousand people who visited the exhibition “The Legacy of Genghis Khan” at the Metropolitan Museum in New York last winter might well have expected a historical survey of terrorism in the Islamic world. Genghis Khan, after all, is best known for making towers from the skulls of his defeated enemies. Instead, the public saw some of the noblest, most powerfully expressive and purely beautiful works of art ever created.
For example, the early 14th-century Persian “Shahnameh” (Book of Kings) manuscript is among the greatest illustrated books ever made, and no one needed to be familiar with the text–stories about the legendary kings of Iran–to be moved by the dramatic human events, strong emotions and rich details within images the size of book pages. For many people this was an unknown world, yet they left the museum surprised by the cultural wealth and cosmopolitanism of Iran and Central Asia, where most of the works shown were made.
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The Asia Society in New York recently reported “a huge gap between the strategic importance of Asia–the largest, most populous, and fastest-growing area of the world–and Americans’ disproportionate lack of knowledge about this vital region.” And we further learn that American teachers devote less than 5% of class time to Asian content, and that the North Carolina House of Representatives attempted to cut funding to a university program that assigned reading on Islam. [Wall Street Journal]
Mr. Beach has brought the most important cultural documents of Muslim Asia to us through his many publications. Here is one about an important Muslim (Mughal) Manuscript from the period of their dominance in Northern India. It was published to celebrate India’s 50th year of independence.
The King of the World: The Padshahnama : An Imperial Mughal Manuscript from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle (Hardcover)
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roxannadanna
November 25, 2009
What a great piece! Enlightening and well done! Thanks for this info.
samhenry
November 25, 2009
It’s nice to have a visit from you and I am gratified that you found ideas and history that were of value to you.