WASHINGTON (Reuters) - India on Wednesday defended a controversial new civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United States and rejected demands by American critics that New Delhi accept curbs on its atomic weapons program. [snip]
Saran, who later met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said a fissile material cutoff halting India's production of bomb-grade nuclear fuel, and other changes suggested by nonproliferation advocates, would be "deal-breakers."
The agreement, which must be approved by the U.S. Congress, would give India access to nuclear technology, including fuel and reactors, that it has been denied for 25 years.
Experts fear that as the deal is now written, India would acquire nuclear fuel from the United States for civilian use, thus freeing up its own stocks for more weapons.
Carnegie experts say India has enough weapons-grade plutonium for 75 to 110 nuclear bombs.
For more than two decades, Washington led the fight to deny India access to nuclear technology because it rejected the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and developed nuclear weapons.
But President George W. Bush, aiming to build an alliance with the world's largest democracy, reversed that approach.
Read this in conjunction with my original piece on Russia-Iran Matrix.
This is us clearly understanding that Iran is going to go nuclear, that Russia is going to be the one that builds it and gives them the fuel (probably the technology for nukes as well) and that we need to have an ally and counter part in the area strong enough to offset both Pakistani and Iranian nuke power.
Did you really think the Cold War was over?
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