Things have changed quite a bit since then. We became a willing supporter of the US war on terror in as much as we welcomed the anti-Taliban offensive in Afghanistan. But, we went along unwittingly, and unwillingly too, with the US occupation of Iraq, as did most countries of the region and outside, fearing the backlash of failing to be on the right side of President Bush's "either you are with us or against us" policy.

The government chose to be on the right side of the US, a policy that found little resonance in the popular mind, primarily because of the lies and deceits that the US government resorted to, to justify "Operation Enduring Freedom."

Coming to the recent past, recall the suggestion made to the US government by a high-powered security delegation consisting of, among others, retired generals of the US military, which visited Bangladesh last month. It called on the US government to accord high priority to charting the future course of US-Bangladesh relationship. In fact, the delegation went so far as to recommend that Bangladesh be considered a strategic partner of the US.

These are very significant developments in the relational matrix between a superpower and a developing country. We would have felt flattered had it not been for the fact that it was not so much for Bangladesh, per se, but rather for realising its strategic objectives in the region that the US planners are contemplating such arrangements.

Apart from that, the political developments in Bangladesh occasioned comments from the State Department's spokesperson, ranging from the urgency and the need to give a timeline for elections, to reminding the caretaker government not to forget the legal obligation of the state towards, and of the need to follow the procedures in dealing with, the gentlemen hauled up in the government's anti-corruption drive.

What has Bangladesh done to elicit so much US interest, and the status of a potential US strategic partner? We will leave that question for some other time. For now, we will dwell on another US visitor to Bangladesh.

Mr. Milam is an old acquaintance of Bangladesh. But I believe renewing old acquaintance was not the primary motive of his end-of-May visit, going by the comments he made during the visit and also in his bi-weekly column in the Daily Times of Pakistan of May 30. We will expand on some of his comments since those have great bearing on the bi-lateral relationship between the two countries.

The purpose of his visit was to get a first-hand account of what is happening, and what is going to happen in Bangladesh on the political front, in the near future. And, of course, his opinion, he being an expert on the region, would be of help to the US establishment in getting a clearer picture of the likely turn of events in Bangladesh.

And the fact that the Woodrow Wilson Center, of which he is a Senior Policy Scholar, is a bi-partisan establishment having no political agenda to serve, his suggestions will be particularly acceptable.

Apparently, the establishments and think-tanks that help inform decisions of the US policy planners are not clear about the likely future course of actions of the caretaker government. They are very anxious that the democratic arrangement that is on hold now may be put permanently on hold by a different dispensation, as sequel to the compulsions of circumstances beyond the caretaker government's control.

That is why his very first public comments, on the conditions that will determine the future US-Bangladesh relationship, which he considered to be at a critical point now, must be taken seriously by our authorities. The former US ambassador at a seminar at the BEI said that Bangladesh's future relations with the United States hinge on whether the caretaker government is successful, or the military takes over in future.

He cautioned that relations between the two countries might turn for the worse if Bangladesh fails to "return to a revived democratic system." We will be wrong in dismissing such cautionary notes because they come from a person not directly linked with the US government; that it echoes the attitude of the US policy makers we can be sure.

Perhaps Washington is still unsure of the military's role in a future political arrangement. Even after our special envoy's trip to the US to assuage any misgivings that US authorities might have in this regard, we are cautioned in a veiled fashion about what might befall our lot should we fail to return to the democratic ways.

However, one is glad to note that his apprehensions have been put to rest after his interactions with various personalities, including the CAS. That is the impression one gets from his column, entitled "Dhaka's spring of eternal hope," in the Daily Times of Pakistan of May 30, wherein he states very clearly that the junior and mid-level officers of the army appear to have very little interest in running the country. I presume very few will have any objection to theirs being interested, nonetheless, in how the country is being run.

One would like to hope that Mr. Milam will be able to convey to the US policy makers that the government is trying its best to overcome the current imbroglio. Has he not seen how the nation was subverted, and its ethos undermined, by unscrupulous and immoral persons holding the offices of ministers?

The people will not accept the likes of those who damaged our legal process for a hefty sum, to return to power. Mr. Milam has acknowledged the challenges being faced by the caretaker government, which, if left unattended, has serious portends for the country in the form of a more robust military involvement.

Not even the suffering multitudes who have endured the "benefits" of the democratic rule in the last decade and a half would wish for more vigorous military intervention. But certainly the people's hopes spring eternal in the "spring of eternal hope" for better days ahead.

Recently, the Awami League chief called upon her party workers to wait with patience for better days to come. There is, of course, a vast difference in what the political parties call "better days" and the "better days" that the people are hoping for. And while the political parties may be in hurry for their better days the people are willing to wait a little while longer for it. That is what our friends and well-wishers must understand.

The author is Editor, Defense &Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star