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US upbeat on nuclear deal with India
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-19 08:44
The Bush administration is confident Congress will approve a sweeping new
U.S. nuclear deal with India before a summit in early 2006, Undersecretary of
State R. Nicholas Burns said on Tuesday.
Burns, speaking shortly before leaving on a visit to New Delhi, said the
chances had been improved by India's recent vote in support of a U.S.-European
resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency faulting Iran's nuclear
activities.
His optimism was not shared by some Republican sources, who believed many in
President George W. Bush's own party believed the deal gave India, a nuclear
power but not a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, too much
latitude.
For nearly 30 years the United States led the global fight to deny India
access to nuclear technology because it developed nuclear weapons and tested
them.
But Bush jettisoned this approach with an agreement with India in July to
allow U.S. nuclear cooperation. He is seeking changes in U.S. law and
international regulations to allow India to get restricted items, including
nuclear fuel.
As Burns noted, the administration considers India a democratic ally and
"rising global power" whose economic and political clout will be central to
promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the decades ahead.
Many experts fear this will undermine global efforts to stem the spread of
nuclear weapons.
"Since the Indian government's very decisive and clear vote in the IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Agency) that issue (Iran) has disappeared in the
U.S. Congress and we now find substantial support in the U.S. Congress for the
agreement reached on July 18" between President Bush and Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, Burns told the Asia Society in New York.
He said his New Delhi trip aimed to produce a concrete plan for India to
separate its military and civilian nuclear facilities so U.S. cooperation would
benefit only the civilian nuclear energy program, not weapons development.
"I think by the time President Bush visits Delhi in early 2006, you will see
that both of our countries will have met our commitments in this landmark
agreement and we will see it come to fruition," he added.
U.S. Congressional sources and experts agreed India improved its chances of
having new rules approved when it voted with the United States and key European
states last month to threaten Iran with referral to the U.N. Security Council
for its nuclear activities.
But many lawmakers remain concerned that the U.S.-India nuclear deal is too
permissive, said Republicans, who predicted it would have to be modified or
could even fail.
"Congress is in no mood to go this route ... I think a combination of
Democrats and Republicans will look at the policy issue substantively rather
than in a partisan way and they will block the president's efforts," one
Republican insider told Reuters.
Another Republican, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (news, bio, voting record), a
key member of the House International relations Committee, said the deal had
"long-term implications for U.S. non-proliferation efforts" and Congress needed
to spend more time studying both the potential benefits and negative
consequences.
The administration on Tuesday put an India-related proposal before a meeting
in Vienna of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which seeks to control nuclear
exports, but so far has not told Congress how it wants to approach changes in
U.S. law.
Burns' speech -- on the "nascent strategic partnership" with India, and a
subsequent question and answer session -- was seen on an interactive
video-conference with Washington.
He called India a "rising global power" and said the United States was
confident that 50 years from now India would still be a stable multi-ethnic
democracy.
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