Experts Warn About Dangers of U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Urge Careful Consideration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 11, 2008
CONTACT: Leonor Tomero
Washington, D.C. – 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.
For more information, see:
Put the Brakes on India's Nukes
U.S.-India Nuclear Energy Deal: What's Next?
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