Obamas’s predicament

THE Republicans had a majority in the US House of Representatives from the start. Now they have won a majority in the Senate in the mid-term polls. Congress is in the grip of the Republicans threatening the stronghold of Democratic President Barack Obama in the last two years of his term.  In a country like India, such a situation would have rocked the government. The US system is different but even there the Republican majority in Congress can thwart Obama’s mission on many issues. Obamacare has long been freezing on ice. But what now come under fire are US foreign policy and security. Obama has been facing flak for some time for pussyfooting in his approach to the Islamic State menace in Iraq and Syria. He somewhat belatedly authorized air strikes and put together an anti-IS coalition. It spiked the guns of the Jihadis to some extent but the feeling in Washington is that the President has not been sufficiently pro-active. The Republicans may now give a new thrust to the US offensive deploying ground troops in Iraq and Syria. Ukraine also seeks greater US support in its confrontation with Russia. Sanctions against Russia may be tightened the need for which has been accentuated by the recent rebel polls in Ukraine. Obama may be pushed to go ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations to take China on.
The Republican victory may strengthen ties between Washington and Delhi. Recent years have witnessed a slight cooling off. Bilateral relations improved at the time of Republican President George Bush with the signing of the nuclear energy pact. Obama is a bit ambivalent on the outsourcing issue while Republicans wish to pull down trade and investment barriers. Narendra Modi has done an impressive job in the US and his ‘Make in India’ campaign, as well as other steps to juice up the Indian economy have gone down well. The picture has now brightened for him in Capitol Hill.