Indo-US Nuclearism: Is Cash payment delaying the “deal”?

by Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

(October 07, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The world economic giant USA is reeling under devastating economic crunch and it seeks support of world economies, and Indian money, for a bailout. America has been trying all the tricks of the trade to mitigate the economic crisis. India has been longing for a foothold in USA under some pretext and the nuclelarism is expected to do the magic. Washington would like India to join the anti-Islamic terror forces engaged in killing Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq, while USA is expected to come away from Pakistan ties and closer to New Delhi. Further, India is duty bound to assist the USA in all possible ways including economically and financially.

Since India has enough experience in torturing and killing Muslims in Kashmir and India, USA is eager to engage the trained Indian terror forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and in all future invasions and, in return, India would get some bones as service charges. Both china and Pakistan could be easily scared by India’s emerging proximity with the tallest terror power of the world.

After dealing the nuclelarism deal for a along time, USA quickly passed the bill to cash in at the right time. Indian government influenced the Senate members of USA directly and through its mission in Washington and non-government agencies including business magnets camping in the USA. Needless to state that lot resources has been wasted in bribing the big guys in the USA to “clinch” the Indian nuclear issue. As a follow-up action of meeting between Indian and US top leaders in USA recently, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came to India on Sept 04 to commemorate — but it seems not put her signature to — a historic deal that opens up U.S. nuclear trade with India. A signing ceremony that had been scheduled was dropped ostensibly because, according to U.S. officials, a series of administrative steps have yet to be taken in Washington following Senate approval of authorizing legislation last week. Rice was meeting here with top government officials, including Prime Minister Manmohan and political opposition leaders. Even without a signing ceremony during her visit, Rice said, "I'm going to draw a line under this" deal to strengthen and broaden the relationship. She said the agreement "removes for India a barrier to full integration on a whole range of technologies"said it was not certain whether she would sign the deal on her visit. .

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President Bush has yet to sign the authorizing legislation, and once he does he is required to certify that the agreement with India is consistent with U.S. obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, designed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. He must also certify that it is U.S. policy to cooperate with international efforts to further restrict transfers of technology related to uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. In Washington Rice had announced she expected the civil nuclear cooperation agreement will trigger an across-the-board expansion of American-Indian relations. Rice said only administrative — not substantive — matters were delaying the signing of the agreement.

Critics in India argue the constraints compromise their country's right to conduct nuclear bomb tests. The deal, which has been approved by the UN's nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency, gives India access to US civilian nuclear technology and fuel in return for inspections of its civilian, but not military, nuclear facilities. It ends a boycott imposed by nuclear supplier states because India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The leftists are dead against bringing Indian foreign policy into US scrutiny and control.

The US Senate approved the deal Sept 30, ending a three-decade ban on nuclear trade with Delhi to "liberate" itself from "the constraints of technology denial of 34 years". The U.S. agreement on civil nuclear cooperation allows American businesses to begin selling nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India in exchange for safeguards and U.N. inspections at India's civilian — but not military — nuclear plants. Indian ruling regime has had a rough ride over the agreement in India from critics who say it will bring the country's foreign policy too much under US influence.

A BBC world affairs correspondent says the deal is the best of a bad situation for some, including the IAEA, as it will subject India to a more substantial inspection regime than at present. But many say it undermines the NPT because it effectively acknowledges that India has nuclear weapons while not being a signatory to the treaty. They argue it sets a bad example for countries like Iran and will spark off a nuclear arms race in Asia.

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Rice said it was not certain whether she would sign the deal on her visit. The Bush administration has made the deal one of its key foreign policy achievements and hopes the agreement will bolster ties with India which were cooled during the Cold War. America has restricted nuclear co-operation with India since 1974, after it tested a nuclear weapon. Trade volume would expand, but the nuclear tensions would also raise considerbly snce n nuclear power has so far renounced nuclear arms unilaterally.

President Bush personally considers the deal a crowning achievement of the president's second term in office and hopes his party candidate McCain would be his successor in White House. If at all, it could, however, turn out to be the last major diplomatic achievement of a presidency that is struggling in its final months on a number of other fronts, including a setback in relations with Russia after its invasion of Georgia and the prospect of a breakdown in a nuclear agreement with North Korea.

Throughout the Cold War, relations between India and the USA were chilly. In the past decade, however, ties have grown closer in a range of areas, including trade, energy and security. The United States is now India's largest trading partner. U.S. opponents of the nuclear agreement say lawmakers rushed consideration of a complicated deal that could spark a nuclear arms race in Asia. The extra fuel the measure allows India to purchase, those critics say, could boost India's nuclear bomb stockpile by freeing up its domestic fuel for weapons.

India keeps adding more precision weapons to its nuclear arsenals. But India says the "US deal" is vital to meet civilian energy demands, but critics say it undermines efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons. Increasingly, India figures into U.S. strategic interests in other ways, including its long standoff with neighboring Pakistan. The Pakistani government is concerned about US strengthening a terror state in the region and USA-India due would encircle Pakistan in future. USA wants to use India as a bargaining chip with Pakistan on its terror agenda in Pakistan.

India claims by 2050 nuclear power is expected to provide 25% of the country's electricity. India has limited coal and uranium reserves. Its huge thorium reserves - about 25% of the world's total - are expected to fuel its nuclear power program long-term. The real purpose of nuclear energy, however, is to make more weapons to scare its neighbors. USA is keen to use India against China. Enemy’s enemy is a friend and that is the basis of Indo-US deal now. Other wise, why should the global terrorist USA suspect Iran of its nuclear energy ambitions?

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It sees India has pledged huge cash apart from support for US actions around the world. India is not trusted by the USA and other world nations, because it does not pay the retirement benefits to Muslim employees as promised by the government laws and rules. And, hence, Rice has been instructed by the Bush administration not to sign the finale until further orders.

Indo-US relations are bases on mutual suspicions and hatred. India flirts around Washington with its newly acquired cash for military-nuclear relationship that would undermine US-Pakistan reactions. It appears the USA now under severe economic depression and financial crisis affecting the global finances very badly, has received bulk of the sum pledged by India during the Singh visit to USA recently for the passage of the “deal”, and the remaining cash is supposedly cleared during the Rice visit to Delhi. USA seems to be annoyed that after the clearance by the US Senate of the bill, India has taken the matter as a "usual" matter is reluctant to pay the balance amount. Unless India pays the reminder amount ot USA and the mediators, USA would not sign the final document.

India built its nuclear bombs outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it refuses to sign. It has faced a nuclear trade ban since its first atomic test in 1974; its most recent nuclear test blast was in 1998. Rice said she spoke Oct 03 morning with the administration's chief nuclear envoy to North Korea, Christopher Hill, who was in Pyongyang this week to try to persuade the North Koreans to resume dismantling their nuclear problem in exchange for energy aid. USA seems to have second thought on the ‘deal” with Hindu India to subsidize its energy resources accumulation efforts. Indian ambitions to become a strong competitor to USA in world markets and regional power games do not make USA any happy, though Indian cash is luring them into the “deal”.

India has remained a serious threat to its neigbors. A nuclear weapons terror state that terrorizes Muslims in the subcontinent and kills Muslims in Kashmir on a regular basis, India has 14 reactors in commercial operation and 9 (nine) under construction. Nuclear power supplies about 3% of India's electricity. India is eager to showcase its military power to its neighbors to scare them into Indian bully. It has amazed piles of nuclear and conventional weapons to threaten its neighbors, particularly Pakistan and China. While china is a UNSC veto member and an economic giant competing with Japan, Pakistan, ill-focused by India, has it has serious economic problems. And USA has exploited Islamabad’s weakness and terrorized the Muslims there. Anti-Islamic media continue to support the US-led terrorism in Muslim world. But bulk of Indian media is all upbeat about the nuclelarism development in this former Gandhian state that used to propogate high principles of non-violence and peace, whereas today's leaders promote state terrorim in India and Kashmir. Alredy India nuclear enabled fighter planes were patroling in alien Kashmir occupied by Indian terror forces. - Sri Lanka Guardian