The US had tactically given the green signal to India. Though it was bound to help Portugal under the NATO clause, US never that Portugal was on the wrong foot. Kennedy and Nehru were close and the in-between role played was by US ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith, who by the way was a Canadian. The Harvard economist has given some of his thoughts in his Ambassador's Journal: A Personal Account of the Kennedy Years.
Eugene On Mon, Dec 19, 2016 at 8:09 PM, Roland <roland.fran...@gmail.com> wrote: > That Portugal was for many years (specially in the 60s) the Poor Man of > Europe, was no secret to anybody. > > My contention was not based on 'who you are' but 'who you know'. Nobody > presupposed that Portugal was a powerful or affluent nation, but one can > safely presuppose that the U.S. was, in addition to its strategic and > important bases in Azores and Madeira that were key to its USSR > containment, a very useful ally to that country. Besides, clearly a treaty > was in place. Any attack on Portugal (and Portugal had clearly made Goa its > metropolitan Territory and not a colony) would be considered an attack on > all the other NATO countries. > > Clearly, this was not the first time and certainly wouldn't be the last > that for the US, national interests come first, treaties afterwards. > > If the US was not on board to help Portugal defend Goa against India, I > can only put it down to Salazar's lack of puppeteer skills. > > Roland Francis > 416-453-3371 > > > On Dec 19, 2016, at 3:26 PM, Frederick FN Noronha फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या > *فريدريك نورونيا <fredericknoro...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > This argument presupposes that the Portugal of the 1950s and 1960s was a > > powerful, affluent nation, with all the resources in the world ... > > > > In actual fact, it stepped out of its role of being the "poor man of West > > Europe" only in the 1980s or 1990s: > > http://www.csmonitor.com/1990/0719/ffill19.html > > > > Please share other perspectives, I'm going by what I read and could be > > wrong.... > > > > FN > > > >> On 19 December 2016 at 23:55, Roland <roland.fran...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> > >> Interesting article for those with a fondness of the history of December > >> 1961 of Goa. > >> > >> Goa was the jewel that adorned Portugal's seafaring past but it is > pretty > >> disgraceful that they were cheap enough not to have any planes to defend > >> the territory, nor any arms or personnel to put up a good fight against > >> Indian forces. > >> > >> At a certain point in time, Salazar the economics professor might have > >> been the saving grace of a tired Portugal but as far as any diplomatic > >> energy was concerned, he possessed none. > >> > >> Portugal was a member of NATO and a friend of Pakistan and the Agha > Khan. > >> He had sufficient knowledge of what India was going to do and yet he > had no > >> strategy or foresight to ensure Goa would not fall into Indian hands > like a > >> ripe mango. He deserved what he got - a humiliating defeat. > >> > >> Roland Francis > >> Toronto > >> > >>> On Dec 19, 2016, at 8:36 AM, Goanet Reader <goanetrea...@gmail.com> > >> wrote: > >>> > >>> December 18, 1961: A Message of *Paz e Calma* > >>> > >>> Panjim-based veteran advocate > >>> Fernando Jorge Colaco has a > >>> different perspective from the > >>> dominant narrative of what > >>> happened in Goa on Dec 18-19, 1961. > >>> > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > > _/ > > _/ Frederick Noronha http://about.me/noronhafrederick > http://goa1556.in > > _/ P +91-832-2409490 M 9822122436 Twitter @fn Fcbk:fredericknoronha > > _/ Hear Goa,1556 shared audio content at > > https://archive.org/details/goa1556 > > _/ > > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ >