A couple of weeks ago it looked as if a deal was finally struck. I must admit I was surprised. I am less surprised by the current political storm which has since erupted in India. There is little doubt but that the deal symbolizes improved US India ties and as such is in the Indian geopolitical interest. There is also little doubt that closer US India ties is distasteful to the large majority of the Anti-American Indian elite. That elite has been dedicated to a leftist/third world stance since the birth of the Indian national movement and the Congress party.

Since Gandhi's time, the ruling Congress has always been allied with the Islamists. If that is not bad enough, its parliamentary majority depends on Marxist parties (also opposed to closer ties with the US). The BJP Hindu party which began the rapprochement with the US, could have put politics aside and supported the deal. But, alas, they would rather decry the so called"limits" it supposedly places on Indian sovereignty in the hope of bringing down the government.

Who supports the deal? The Indian people. They, unlike their elites, are very pro-American. How come? They all have relatives which tell them the truth about the country. In the end, I trust India will join the democratic coalition but it will not be smooth sailing.

Click here to read an Indian experts analysis of the issue.