Our Opportunity With India (Condi Rice Op-Ed)

Washington Post ^ | March 13, 2006 | Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

[RWR8189]

The week before last President Bush concluded a historic agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation with India, a rising democratic power in a dynamic Asia. This agreement is a strategic achievement: It will strengthen international security. It will enhance energy security and environmental protection. It will foster economic and technological development. And it will help transform the partnership between the world's oldest and the world's largest democracy.

First, our agreement with India will make our future more secure, by expanding the reach of the international nonproliferation regime. The International Atomic Energy Agency would gain access to India's civilian nuclear program that it currently does not have. Recognizing this, the IAEA's director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, has joined leaders in France and the United Kingdom to welcome our agreement. He called it "a milestone, timely for ongoing efforts to consolidate the non-proliferation regime, combat nuclear terrorism and strengthen nuclear safety."

Our agreement with India is unique because India is unique. India is a democracy, where citizens of many ethnicities and faiths cooperate in peace and freedom. India's civilian government functions transparently and accountably. It is fighting terrorism and extremism, and it has a 30-year record of responsible behavior on nonproliferation matters.

Aspiring proliferators such as North Korea or Iran may seek to draw connections between themselves and India, but their rhetoric rings hollow. Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism that has violated its own commitments and is defying the international community's efforts to contain its nuclear ambitions. North Korea, the least transparent country in the world, threatens its neighbors and proliferates weapons. There is simply no comparison between the Iranian or North Korean regimes and India.

The world has known for some time that India has nuclear weapons, but our agreement will not enhance its capacity to make more. Under the agreement,

[Arjun]

She certainly knows what she is talking about.

[varg]

Condi for Pres! She would wipe Hillary off the map...

[son of caesar]

The USA should be very careful about snuggling up too close to India. This manuver is classic, when in need, cozy up to anyone who looks more or less ok. Still, it is a mistake to get too close to India. Cooperation on some issues is fine, but the push to make India our best friend is a mistake.

[Walkingfeather]

You may be correct, but lets hear why.

[afz400]

"The USA should be very careful about snuggling up too close to India."
Very good point. Corruption that makes Bill Clinton look like an amateur is a way of life in India as evidenced by this article:
Man's Acquittal Sparks a Backlash in India
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/09/AR2006030901012.html

[Gengis Khan]

Yes but unlike O. J. Simpson's trial at least this case is being reopened for a better trial.

[son of caesar]

There is such a variance of what is moral between us and India that the twain shall not meet. India is a democracy in the manner of Big Machine politics at its best. Also, the caste system while being done away with, is very far from over. I will say no more because I like Indians in general and yet some of my comments on India are taken as a bash on India by some of our Indian Freepers. I assure you this is not the case at all.