Strong protests over US-India nuclear deal

WASHINGTON: A firestorm of protest has erupted from Washington's nuclear non-proliferation pundits over the Bush administration's nuclear deal with India, indicating just how difficult it will be for the agreement to bear results.
Congressional opposition for the deal came even before the ink was dry on the joint statement by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"Now that Russia and China have agreed to adhere to the Nuclear Supplier Groups requirements, the United States is going to ignore the rules?
What will Russia say when they want to supply more nuclear materials or technology to Iran?" asked Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts.
"You can be sure that Pakistan will demand equal treatment. Will the Bush administration soon be announcing equal treatment with them?" Markey, a senior Democrat on the House Energy Committee, said in a statement.
The lawmaker threatened to introduce legislation in Congress "to make sure we don't jeopardize the delicate balance of our existing non-proliferation policy."
Others invoked the possibility of countries such as Brazil, Japan and South Korea, which have refrained from producing nuclear weapons because they are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, being tempted to go overtly nuclear in the hopes of getting similar treatment as India.
"If you open the door for India, a lot of other countries are likely to step through it," Leonard Spector, deputy director of the Monterey Center for Nonproliferation Studies was quoted as saying. "China is already thinking of selling additional reactors to Pakistan."
Indian officials dismissed the criticism as "reflexive and knee-jerk" reactions, pointing out that the agreement also envisaged greater accountability from New Delhi, including expanding safe-guards to Indian nuclear facilities that benefit from foreign inputs.
They pointed out that the critics had ignored the fact that India had committed to reciprocally assume the same responsibilities and practices to acquire the same benefits and advantages as other leading countries with advanced nuclear technology, such as the United States – "nothing more, nothing less."
But the non-pro ayatollahs in the U.S have dominated the nuclear debate for so long that the Indian side is bracing for a further onslaught from lobbies with various agenda, from pure scare-mongering to getting the same deal for Pakistan.
"There are people who have made a career out of the so-called non-proliferation activity. Their lexicon has not changed in decades to reflect the realities of the 21st century," one Indian official said, maintaining that the oldtimers simply did not take into account India's energy crisis.