For all its hollering on sundry issues and proclamations of “biting (watch)dogs,” the Left is quickly materializing as the 5-year-long (if this government lasts its full term) roadblock threatening India’s progress towards superpowerdom. The Iran issue is its latest weapon to blackmail the Congress. Its stubborn anti-America blinkers, chiefly among other reasons is what drives them to support terrorists and dictators.

I don’t wish the position Manmohan Singh is in even to my enemies. At every turn, the Left has put in the spanner and like a husband eager to please, Dr. Singh has had to pacify these morons almost on a daily basis.

Despite its public campaign to force a change in the Government stand on the Iran nuclear issue, the Left has backed off for now, at least in the House. With the PM and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi stepping in, the Left parties have given notice for a Lok Sabha discussion on India’s stand on the Iran vote at the IAEA under Rule 193 which only allows a short duration discussion but no voting.

It is admirable to be steadfast with your ideology but infinitely deplorable to mortgage your wisdom to it. The Left’s pro-Iran stance for example. Their posturing is on the lines of a Kannada proverb which talks about feeding a snake with milk. While I’m severely critical of the Left, I don’t discount the fact that they have extremely intelligent and articulate people in their fold. What’re the odds that they’re not aware of Iran’s (Link courtesy: Sea Blogger) true colours? But…. America! Enemy of an enemy is a friend. This analysis puts the Left’s psychotic behaviour in perspective.

Supporting Iran at this juncture means supporting Pakistan and A.Q.Khan’s proliferation, and generally supporting proliferation everywhere. [...] On the other hand, what does going with Iran give? LNG? But this deal is unviable for us on the count that Iran is selling us gas stripped of petrochemicals (Intelligence, ” Iran LNG deal under scanner for lean gas,” 11 October 2005). Is, therefore, Iran a friend, who we go out on a limb to save, or just another schmucky oil-rich theocracy, that puts commerce above everything else? And second, with the denial of liquefaction technologies from GE and other Western companies, it looks impossible how Iran will fulfill its commitment. And besides, by threatening to scupper the LNG deal after the first anti-Iran vote in September, Iran has shown its true face. Iran may be valid in its responses, it has a right to defend its sovereign interests, but by that token, shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we recognise the Iranian blackmail for what it is, and take protective steps?

Anyway you look, we get nothing from supporting Iran in its illegalities, and we lose everything by defending it against the Western powers. We can no longer take sides on a North-South basis, because we will lose our hard-won emerging power status.

[India Reacts]

And the last line is of paramount importance to India. And should ideally be the factor in calling the Left’s bluff even in the extreme event that they actually withdraw their support (ha!). The Left should not be allowed to usurp India’s foreign policy with the brazenness they’ve displayed, not to mention their “reasoning,” citing fossilized policies like the NAM.

Whatever be the merits of the American argument to contain Iran, the writing is clear: Iran is doubly dangerous for its current head of the State has such noble intentions as blowing countries off the map.