Experts Warn About Dangers of U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Urge Careful Consideration

The Center for Arms Control
and Non-Proliferation today warned of the dangers of the U.S.-India
agreement and urged the U.S. Congress to consider the implications of
this far-reaching deal carefully.

The Bush administration submitted the agreement to Congress late
yesterday evening (September 10). If approved, the agreement would
allow nuclear trade with India, reversing decades of non-proliferation
policy and undermining U.S. and international security. The
administration is pushing for a congressional vote by the end of
September.

"The greatest threat to the security of the United States is the proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Lt. General Robert Gard (USA, Ret.), Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. "This
deal significantly weakens U.S. and international security by granting
an exception to the rules of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and American
laws, thereby undermining the entire non-proliferation regime and
inviting violations by other nations."

"Congress should consider this agreement very carefully given its long-term implications," remarked Leonor Tomero, Director for Nuclear Non-Proliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. "It
is now up to Congress to remedy the failures of this agreement and
insist on adding some of the key conditions that Congress insisted on
when it changed U.S. law to allow negotiations in 2006."

Tomero added: "The Bush administration ignored
congressional conditions and gave away the store in its negotiations
with India, with nothing to show for the deal now except having helped
foreign companies, enabled the increase of nuclear weapons and
nuclear-weapons materials in India, and seriously eroded a thirty-year
norm of preventing nuclear proliferation."

Despite claims by advocates of the nuclear deal, there is no guarantee
that India will ink contracts with American businesses. Liability
issues actually make it less likely that U.S. firms will engage in
nuclear trade with India.

Last week, the Nuclear Suppliers Group changed long-standing
international rules to allow nuclear trade to India. The 45-nation
Nuclear Suppliers Group is an international consortium that regulates
international nuclear exports. The group was formed in response to
India using assistance, intended for peaceful purposes, from Canada and
the United States to conduct a nuclear explosive test in 1974.