top of page

By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Chaos Diplomacy

Donald Trump has always understood one thing better than most modern politicians that markets respond to perception. In the grinding drama over Iran, the American president appears to have weaponised uncertainty itself. One day he hints at a diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran and signals the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz which causes investors to breathe a sigh of relief. However, hours later, he reverses course by declaring there is “no rush” for a deal and that restrictions will remain...

Chaos Diplomacy

Donald Trump has always understood one thing better than most modern politicians that markets respond to perception. In the grinding drama over Iran, the American president appears to have weaponised uncertainty itself. One day he hints at a diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran and signals the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz which causes investors to breathe a sigh of relief. However, hours later, he reverses course by declaring there is “no rush” for a deal and that restrictions will remain until Iran bends fully to American conditions. The markets wobble again Trump’s defenders may argue that unpredictability is a negotiating tactic. Henry Kissinger once cultivated strategic ambiguity during the Cold War. Richard Nixon perfected the so-called ‘madman theory’ to keep adversaries guessing. Yet Trump’s oscillations differ in both scale and intent. In recent weeks, analysts and ethics experts in the United States have raised uncomfortable questions about whether political messaging is increasingly shaping market volatility in ways that benefit insiders, speculators and politically connected traders. When geopolitical brinkmanship begins to resemble a financial instrument, public trust in democratic institutions erodes. Nearly a fifth of the world’s oil passes through Hormuz. A closure or blockade affects fuel prices in Mumbai as much as manufacturing costs in Shanghai or inflation in Berlin. Trump’s repeated shifts between escalation and reconciliation have had grave implications for India, which imports more than 80 percent of its crude oil requirements. Any prolonged instability in Hormuz translates directly into higher import bills, inflationary pressures and stress on the rupee while ratcheting prices of essentials. India has spent years carefully balancing its ties between Iran, the Gulf monarchies and the United States. Tehran remains important for connectivity projects such as Chabahar Port and for India’s access to Central Asia. But allies and adversaries alike are forced into a perpetual state of recalibration because American policy itself appears unstable. Trump’s Iran manoeuvring reflects a dangerous transformation in global politics, which is the merger of geopolitics with spectacle capitalism. International crises are increasingly consumed like market-moving entertainment. This may generate short-term leverage for him or even produce tactical victories at the negotiating table. Iran, under immense economic strain, reportedly agreeing in principle to surrender its highly enriched uranium stockpile is no small development. Yet diplomacy built on volatility carries long-term costs and lead to the weakening of institutions. Markets become addicted to chaos and chaos, once normalised, rarely remains controllable. The world’s largest economy cannot afford to conduct foreign policy like a reality television script, with cliffhangers designed to manipulate sentiment every news cycle. Great powers are supposed to provide stability, not amplify uncertainty for strategic theatrics. Trump may believe that time is on America’s side. But for an anxious global economy already strained by wars, inflation and fragmentation, time spent trapped in manufactured uncertainty is becoming increasingly expensive.

26/11 attacks shocked entire world; America supports India's pursuit of justice: US on Rana extradition

  • PTI
  • Apr 11, 2025
  • 3 min read


WASHINGTON: The 26/11 terror attacks shocked the entire world and America has long supported India's efforts to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, the US has said, as Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana was extradited to India to face justice for his involvement in the Mumbai carnage.


On April 9, the United States extradited Rana, 64, to India "to face justice for his role in planning the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks," US Department of State Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Thursday.


"The United States has long supported India's efforts to ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice, and as President Trump has said, the United States and India will continue to work together to combat the global scourge of terrorism," she said.


"Rana is in India's possession and we are very proud of that dynamic," she said.


Bruce added that some people may not remember the attacks that resulted in the tragic loss of 166 lives, including six Americans, that shocked the entire world.


"I encourage you to look them up and to find out exactly how horrible this was in the importance of this situation today," she said.


Earlier, a spokesperson for the US Department of Justice said in a statement to PTI that Rana's extradition is a "critical step toward seeking justice" for the victims of the heinous attacks.


The DOJ spokesperson said that the US extradited the convicted terrorist and Pakistani-Canadian citizen to stand trial in India on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

"Rana's extradition is a critical step toward seeking justice for the six Americans and scores of other victims who were killed in the heinous attacks," the spokesperson said.


A team led by NIA authorities landed in India late Thursday with Rana who will now face justice in the country for his role and involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks carried out by Pakistan based LeT terrorists.


The multi-agency team from India had gone to the US and all paperwork and legalities to bring Rana back to India were completed.


The hugely significant development comes just days after Rana's last-resort attempt to evade extradition to India failed after the US Supreme Court justices denied his application, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities to face justice in the dastardly attacks.


Rana was lodged in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles and had submitted an Emergency Application For Stay Pending Litigation of Petition For Writ of Habeas Corpus' on February 27, 2025 with Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit Elena Kagan.


Kagan had denied the application earlier last month.


Rana had then renewed his 'Emergency Application for Stay Pending Litigation of Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus previously addressed to Justice Kagan', and requested that the renewed application be directed to US Chief Justice John Roberts.


An order on the Supreme Court website had noted that Rana's renewed application has been distributed for Conference on April 4 and th application has been referred to the Court.


A notice on the Supreme Court website Monday said the application was "denied" by the court.


In his emergency application, Rana had sought a stay of his extradition and surrender to India pending litigation, asserting that if extradited to India, he will be "in danger of being subjected to torture" and "the likelihood of torture in this case is even higher though as petitioner faces acute risk as a Muslim of Pakistani origin charged in the Mumbai attacks".


The application also said that his "severe medical conditions" render extradition to Indian detention facilities a "de facto" death sentence in this case.


It cited medical records from July 2024 that confirm Rana has multiple "acute and life-threatening diagnoses", including multiple documented heart attacks, Parkinson's disease with cognitive decline, a mass suggestive of bladder cancer, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, and a history of chronic asthma, and multiple COVID-19 infections.


Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.

Comments

bottom of page