Critical stage for Indo-US N-pact

NEW DELHI: In the face of mounting criticism against the Indo-US nuclear agreement, the action will shift to US early September, with a multi-pronged initiative from both sides. US will send one of its key diplomats, under secretary for political affairs, Nicholas Burns, to India next month.
The next step will be the extraordinary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), expected in October.According to diplomatic sources, there is only one issue on the agenda - the US-India agreement. The first important step will be a proposal that the Bush administration will make in the US Congress soon after it reconvenes in September - requesting the legislative body to amend US laws to accommodate India. Its passage is critical because this is the signal other countries are waiting for.
The spurt of activity in the US administration to get to work comes as the voices of criticism in Washington achieve higher decibel levels. The opposition is coming from all quarters - from the Democratic party non-proliferation lobby, which includes the likes of former assistant secretary for non-proliferation to even heavyweights in the US Senate like majority leader Bill Frist and chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, Richard Lugar.
The message from the naysayers is the same: India doesn���t deserve to be the exception, that dismantling an entire global nuclear regime for India could put North Korea and Iran on the same path, that India had not offered anything substantial in return, except some old promises and maybe some nuclear reactors.
Since the pact comes at a time when the North Korea talks and the Iran crisis are in spotlight, it has willy-nilly drawn the India deal under the scanner.