August 06, 2007	Monday	Rajab 21, 1428

NEW YORK, Aug 5: Underscoring that the Bush administration’s nuclear deal with India is “ deeply flawed “ the New York Times said Sunday “it has been made even worse by a newly negotiated companion agreement that lays out the technical details for nuclear commerce.’

In a hard hitting editorial — A Bad Deal Gets Worse — it asked the US congress to “reject the agreement and demand that the administration, or its successor, negotiate a new one that does not undermine efforts to restrain the spread of nuclear weapons.”

Observing that President Bush is understandably desperate for some kind of foreign policy success’ the newspaper asserted “that cannot justify sacrificing his principled stand against weapons proliferation to seal a nuclear cooperation deal with India. The agreement could end up benefiting New Delhi’s weapons programme as much as its pursuit of nuclear power.”

“Unfortunately, Mr Bush’s accord with India jettisoned that essential principle. Washington capitulated to India’s nuclear establishment and endorsed continued reprocessing. And while US law calls for nuclear cooperation to end if India detonates another weapon, the agreement makes no explicit mention of that requirement — while it promises that Washington will acquiesce, if not assist, in India’s efforts to find other fuel suppliers”, the Times said.

“Bringing India — which never signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty — in from the cold is not a bad idea, the Times says that “the problem is that the United States got very little back. No promise to stop producing bomb-making material. No promise not to expand its arsenal. And no promise not to resume nuclear testing.”

It points out that the message of all this is unmistakable: When it comes to nuclear proliferation, Washington’s only real policy is to reward its friends and punish its enemies. Suspicion of America’s motives around the world are high enough. America cannot afford another such blow to its credibility, especially when it is trying to rally international pressure against nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea.

“Reflecting that the “Congress accepted the administration’s arguments far too uncritically when it approved the first India-related nuclear legislation last December” the Times says: “ It must now take a stand against the even more damaging companion agreement.”

“At a time when far too many governments are re-examining their decision to forswear nuclear weapons, the United States should be shoring up the nuclear rules, not shredding them”, the newspaper said.