Allies
The Senate approved the nuclear deal that President Bush has reached with India last night. The agreement would have India certify part of its fleet of nuclear reactors as civilian and open those reactors up to international inspection. Other reactors would remain under military control. In exchange for splitting their reactor programs, the US would be able to supply nuclear fuel and reactor parts to India.
By a vote of 85 to 12, senators agreed to a program that would allow the United States to send nuclear fuel and technology to India, which has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
The agreement, negotiated by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India in March, calls for the United States to end a decades-long moratorium on sales of nuclear fuel and reactor components. For its part, India would divide its reactor facilities into civilian and military nuclear programs, with civilian facilities open to international inspections.
Critics have been unwavering in arguing that the pact would rally nations, such as North Korea and Iran, to press ahead with nuclear weapons programs despite international complaints and threats. Opponents of the measure also warned the deal would allow India to build more bombs with its limited stockpile of radioactive material, and could spur a regional nuclear arms race with Pakistan and China.
Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Indiana Republican who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hailed the measure’s passage as “one more important step toward a vibrant and exciting relationship between our two great democracies.”
His endorsement was significant, coming from a Senator respected for efforts in nonproliferation and whose name is part of sweeping legislation to secure nuclear bomb-making materials in the former Soviet Union. He also expressed “thanks for a truly bipartisan effort” to Senator Joseph R. Biden, the Delaware Democrat set to become Foreign Relations chairman with the new Congress.
While advocates of the measure said it would be an incentive for India to refrain from further nuclear tests, denunciations came quickly from a minority of Senators who opposed it, as well as from critics in the House.
Frankly, I think this is a good idea. The fact is that India is a nuclear state and has had their own working system for some time. The genie isn't going back in the bottle, so it is better we keep the strong democracy of India aligned with us, rather than pushing them away. Anything that helps us bind India more closely as an ally right now is an overall good thing.
World news | Gaius Friday, 17 November , 2006
By sarge, Saturday, 18 November , 2006 @ 6:05 am
We tried to keep India from developing nuclear weapons with sanctions, and they still tested their first bomb almost a decade ago. If anything, this resolution is long overdue. Vineger sure didn’t work; why not try honey?