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Posted on 03/03/2006 12:22:19 AM PST by saganite
WASHINGTON: US critics accused President George W Bush of selling out weapons non-proliferation goals in order to close a landmark nuclear deal with New Delhi, hardening battle lines as the US Congress prepares to debate its fate.
Congress and the 44-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group must both approve the agreement, which would allow India, after three decades of pariah status, access to billions of dollars in US and other foreign atomic technology and fuel to meet its soaring energy needs.
Although many US lawmakers favor closer ties with the world's largest democracy, non-proliferation advocates said details that had so far emerged suggest Bush gave away too much in the nuclear agreement in an effort to ensure a successful summit with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
Democratic Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts said the accord “undermines the security not only of the United States, but of the rest of the world.”
With one simple move the president has blown a hole in the nuclear rules that the entire world has been playing by and broken his own word to assure that we will not ship nuclear technology to India without the proper safeguards,” said Markey, co-chair of the bi-partisan task force on non-proliferation.
Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association faulted the White House for a “rush to meet artificial deadlines (that) sold out core non-proliferation values” in favor of a deal that would “implicitly endorse, if not indirectly assist, the further growth of India's nuclear arsenal.”
Until Thursday's deal, Washington and New Delhi were divided on how India will separate its military and civilian nuclear plants, opening the latter to international inspections as a hedge against weapons proliferation.
Officials said India agreed to list 14 of its 22 reactors as civilian and open them to international inspection.
But experts said the fast-breeder reactors - a major sticking point in negotiations - appeared to be exempt, or at most inspections would be at India's discretion, and many more facilities - research reactors, reprocessing facilities and spent fuel stockpiles - also look to be excluded from safeguards.
“It's a sweetheart deal for India ... The administration told Congress the agreement would be about the growth of India's electricity and not the growth of Indian bomb making potential and that standard clearly has not been met,” said Michael Krepon of the Henry L Stimson Center.
Rep. Ed Royce of California, chairman of the House subcommittee on international terrorism and non-proliferation and a member of Bush's Republican party, said there is enthusiastic support in Congress for growing Indo-US ties.
“However, the Indo-US agreement on civil nuclear cooperation has implications beyond Indo-US relations. In this process, the goal of curbing nuclear proliferation should be paramount. Congress will continue its careful consideration of this far-reaching agreement,” Royce said.
Bush, at a news conference, acknowledged the agreement will be difficult to sell to Congress but was confident he could defend it as being in US interests.
Ron Somers, president of the Indo-US Business Council, which is leading a lobbying campaign on behalf of the nuclear agreement, said by telephone from New Delhi there is no question Congress supports deepening ties with India. But asked whether the deal can win legislative approval, he said “we must succeed. This is too important not to succeed.”
Abandon nukes, China tells India
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588632/posts
Oh gee, I bet you're right.
headline:
U.S. Critics slam everything U.S. does
The only surprise is if anyone is deeply concerned with what "US critics" say. As far as I'm concerned, the Left has adequately proved that they don't really care about what is good or best...they are simply interested in power and will say and do anything at any cost to obtain it. Their words have become nothing more than a clanging background noise with no effect other than to annoy.
Good grief. It didn't take these idiots long to forget about Dubai, did it?
Gee whiz...
All this riot over a country that is friendly to the United States, while reactions over Iran's nuclear program elicit only the occasional outburst, and that not even from the people criticizing this deal with India.
"Mind your own business, and set your own house in order first". India tells the Chinese.
India's Leftists and Communists, who otherwise don't miss a chance to blame "American influence" in India's affairs, give an eerie silence to this overtly perverted call from China to dismantle India's nuclear deterrence against China.
B@stards. If I had it my way, I'd see each one of them dipped slowly into a tank of concentrated acid. And allowed to heal. And dipped again. Allowed to heal...
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If nothing else, then this at least will help even out our trade imbalance with India. ;-)
These people are Democrats bribed by Chinese lobbyists. Democrats seems to be pro-China, as you have seen during the Clinton administration.
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