So it appears Trump (and, surprise, Jared Kushner!) have pulled quite the rabbit out of the Middle East hat. My thoughts on what this means for India: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-uae-to-establish-diplomatic-ties/articleshow/77535619.cms

The battle lines that have been vaguely etching themselves across West Asia for the last decade are solidifying. In one camp are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Egypt, and the US. In the other: China, Iran, Qatar, and Turkey. Russia plays balancer. Pakistan plays prostitute.

The contested zones are Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and of course Afghanistan.

Pakistan for now is locked by sheer weight of its debts into the China camp. In fact the CPEC & Karakoram Highway are the very lifeline of this axis, giving China access to the Persian Gulf and thence Iran/Qatar/Turkey, and also to a dominating position over Afghanistan.

What sits directly athwart the CPEC & Karakoram Highway? Why, Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) of course, including Gilgit and Baltistan.

So all this is the Western theatre of US-China geopolitical confrontation. The Eastern theatre is the Indo Pacific.

In the Indo-Pacific Eastern theatre, Washington has (for years) been wooing India to commit itself to a military partnership known as the Quad, alongside America, Australia and Japan.

For years, India shied away from full commitment. That appears to have changed recently. Why?

What has GOI extracted from the US in exchange for full commitment to the Quad? I believe it is an understanding on POK.

If India reclaims POK, which is rightfully Indian territory, the lifeline between China & its West Asian allies stands severed.

Moreover, India (a US-allied Quad member) gains a presence directly abutting Afghanistan, where China is preparing to fill the vacuum after the US withdraws.

Supporting India's reclamation of POK, then, coincides with American geopolitical interests for the 1st time in history.

The US gains a committed Quad ally in New Delhi for its Indo-Pacific theatre of confrontation with China. India restores its rightful territory across all Kashmir & links up with Afghanistan and Central Asia. And the lifeline between China and its West Asian vassals is broken.

This explains the surge funding of US-based Islamic front organizations-- by Beijing, Islamabad, Doha, AND Ankara-- to lobby desperately against India's move to consolidate the status of Indian Kashmir by repealing Article 370. They see this as a precursor to India retaking POK.

Like it or not, many members of the #DemocraticParty have become key players (whether wittingly or as patsies) in these anti-India, Kashmir-related lobbying efforts. However, this time they stand in opposition not just to India's national interest, but America's global interests.

A free, democratic Kashmir fully restored to a free, democratic India is what Washington needs. It blocks Chinese expansion towards the Persian Gulf, helps curb emerging Islamic terrorist hotbeds in AfPak, AND gains India as a valuable, committed Quad partner in the Indo-Pacific.