The New York Times (in a recent editorial) criticizes the India-US Nuclear agreement as too generous and a give away of the the store to India. Of course, this is exactly the opposite of the objections raised by the Communists and the Bharatiya Janata Party in India — their objections are that the Nuclear agreement potentially impinges upon India’s sovereignty and restricts India’s future options.
The agreement cannot be placed, if at all, before the U.S. Congress for its consideration and approval before the November elections when the Democratic party is likely to add to its majority in both the Houses of Congress, and may even capture the White House. The Democratic party leaders — Joe Biden, Barack Obama — have expressed serious reservations about the agreement.
So what is the chance that the nuclear agreement will be approved by the U.S. Congress? Small, indeed. See my opinions, http://kalyanaramgurumurthy.wordpress.com/
Here is the Times editorial –
“Three years ago, President Bush offered India a far-too-generous nuclear deal. India’s illicit pursuit of nuclear weapons would effectively be forgiven. And for the first time in 30 years, it would be allowed to buy nuclear fuel and equipment for its civilian energy program from the United States and other nations.
Instead of celebrating a big political win, the deal quickly turned into a political nightmare for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, nearly toppling his government. India’s Communist Party, his junior coalition partner, is dead set against the agreement and any broader strategic relationship with the United States.
President Bush, who is eager for any foreign policy win before he goes back to Crawford, Tex., is pressing Mr. Singh hard to finally work this out. Mr. Singh is now looking for new allies.
As far as we’re concerned, there is no reason at all to rush. President Bush gave away far too much and got far too little for this deal. No promise from India to stop producing bomb-making material. No promise not to expand its arsenal. And no promise not to resume nuclear testing.
Mr. Bush may be running out of time, but Congress, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (the 45 nations that set the rules for nuclear trade) will need plenty of it to review the agreement before deciding whether to grant their respective approvals. At a minimum, they must insist that international suppliers halt nuclear trade if India tests another nuclear weapon, as it last did in 1998. And they must insist that India accept the fullest possible monitoring of its civilian nuclear facilities by I.A.E.A. inspectors.
The United States must ensure that any rule the suppliers’ group adopts for selling technology to India is not weaker than anything already in American law. Otherwise, New Delhi will be able to end run Washington and buy technology and fuel from states — like Russia and France — that are even more eager for the business and even less punctilious than this country.
Mr. Bush was right to build on the Clinton administration legacy and forge stronger ties with India, a burgeoning power whose democratic values provide a unique basis for cooperation. But it was a mistake to let India and industry lobbyists persuade him to make the nuclear deal the centerpiece.
If Mr. Singh finds a way to push the deal forward, it would be a mistake for the United States to try and ram through the remaining approvals — by the I.A.E.A. board, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Congress — just to meet the artificial deadline of Mr. Bush’s presidency.”
Tags: India-US Nuclear agreement, Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, Nuclear Suppliers' Group, The New York Times, 123 agreement, IAEA
