[NukeNet] India Must Quickly Finalize Nuclear Deal

[Bill Smirnow]

  >The nuclear deal faces opposition in the U.S., too. Critics, including
some in Congress, say providing U.S. fuel to >India would free up India's
limited domestic supplies of nuclear material for use in atomic weapons,
which they >argue could spark a nuclear arms race in Asia.





http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-India-US-Nuclear-Deal.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=nuclear&st=nyt&oref=slogin
 India Must Quickly Finalize Nuclear Deal
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 5, 2008
Filed at 5:12 a.m. ET

NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- India must work fast to finalize its landmark
nuclear energy deal with the United States, a top American diplomat warned
Wednesday as India's prime minister said he was trying to overcome fierce
domestic opposition to the pact.

''We're kind of playing in overtime right now. There's a lot of work, not a
lot of time,'' Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told reporters
in New Delhi.

With American elections coming up -- and no guarantee the next U.S.
administration will keep the deal on the table -- Boucher said Wednesday
that India needed to complete final steps by May to give the Congress time
to debate and approve the nuclear pact.

Touted as the foundation of a new partnership between New Delhi and
Washington, the deal would reverse three decades of American
anti-proliferation policy by allowing the United States to send nuclear fuel
and technology to India, even though the country has refused to sign
nonproliferation treaties and tested of nuclear weapons.

India, in exchange, would allow international inspections of its civilian
nuclear reactors. The country's leaders say the pact is needed to help meet
the growing energy demands of India's booming economy.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faces stiff domestic opposition to the nuclear
deal, especially among communist parties that are key to his ruling
coalition. The communists have suggested they would pull out of the
government if Singh moves to finalize the pact.

Singh told lawmakers Wednesday that his government is seeking ''the broadest
possible consensus within the country to enable the next step to be taken.''

The nuclear deal faces opposition in the U.S., too. Critics, including some
in Congress, say providing U.S. fuel to India would free up India's limited
domestic supplies of nuclear material for use in atomic weapons, which they
argue could spark a nuclear arms race in Asia.
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