Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

A seat at the table: Obama supports India for Security Council membership

Good for him. This strikes me as the right move strategically. China will be miffed, but that is OK. The message is sent that we will work with our rivals but support our allies. "It is my firm belief," the president said, "that the relationship between the United States and India — bound by our ...

kjarrett/flickr
kjarrett/flickr
kjarrett/flickr

Good for him. This strikes me as the right move strategically. China will be miffed, but that is OK. The message is sent that we will work with our rivals but support our allies. "It is my firm belief," the president said, "that the relationship between the United States and India -- bound by our shared interests and values -- will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."

Good for him. This strikes me as the right move strategically. China will be miffed, but that is OK. The message is sent that we will work with our rivals but support our allies. "It is my firm belief," the president said, "that the relationship between the United States and India — bound by our shared interests and values — will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."

Also, it shows that while the U.S. is trying to bolster the rotten regime in Pakistan, we understand where our long-term interests lie. He should get some credit for not being an idiot about on this.

Now, let’s see if the Krauthammers of the world give him credit when it is due, even by their harsh lights.

Globally speaking, it will be interesting to see how the United Nations changes if China, Japan and India all have permanent seats at the adults’ table. It also probably is time to kick out France and Britain and instead give the EU one seat, which would make the permanent members:

  • United States
  • Russia
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • EU

That means 3.5 members of the council would be Asian.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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