The South Asia story : the first sixty years of U.S. relations with India and Pakistan

This book deals with the complex and changing U.S. relations with India and Pakistan in the sixty years since World War II. It carries a series of brief sketches on how twelve U.S. presidents, starting with Franklin Roosevelt, perceived and dealt with South Asia. The author proposes that though there are broad historical patterns in which the policies and decisions of these American presidents can be classified, yet their unique personalities and ideological predispositions also played a role in the political choices they made. Since none of them ever had any substantial experience with South Asia prior to assuming office, probing the reasons for their preferences and decisions is an enlightening and interesting exercise. With the unfolding of the South Asia policies of the new U.S. President, Barrack Obama, this book will provide the much needed background study to the readers. This book carries a series of brief sketches on how twelve US presidents since Franklin Roosevelt perceived and dealt with South Asiamost particularly, of course, India and Pakistan, from World War II to present day. It proposes that US foreign policy was influenced by broad political-historical patterns as well as the personal whims and preferences of the elected president at any given point in time. In this way, though political considerations which underlie their individual actions and define their contexts, foreign policy was also influenced by their unique personalities, levels of awareness, and intellectual gifts (or lack of them). Contents List of Photographs Prelude Acknowledgements 1 - World War II and the Roosevelt Administration 2 - The Truman Administration (1945–1953) 3 - The Eisenhower Administration (1953–1961) 4 - The Kennedy Administration (1961–1963) 5 - The Johnson Administration (1963–1969) 6 - The Nixon Administration (1969–1974) 7 - The Ford Administration (1974–1977) 8 - The Carter Administration (1977–1981) 9 - The Reagan Administration (1981–1989) 10 - The Bush-1 Administration (1989–1993) 11 - The Clinton Administration (1993–2001) 12 - The Bush-2 Administration (2001–2009) Postscript Notes References Index About the Author World War II and the Roosevelt administration The Truman administration (1945-1953) The Eisenhower administration (1953-1961) The Kennedy administration (1961-1963) The Johnson administration (1963 to 1969) The Nixon administration (1969-1974) The Ford administration (1974-1977) The Carter administration (1977-1981) The Reagan admin: (1981-1989) The Bush -1 administration (1989-1993) The Clinton administration (1992-2001) The Bush-2 administration (2001-2009). This text carries a series of brief sketches on how 12 US presidents since Franklin Roosevelt perceived and dealt with South Asia - most particularly, of course, India and Pakistan from World War II to present day